Our Discovery Mission
Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to discover and document all remaining Australian species of plants, animals, fungi and other organisms ... in a generation.
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Part 5 - Synthesis
Part 5 of this process comprises a synthesis of Parts 1–4. We will draw the threads together to produce a list of actionable items from the roundtables, a summary description of the high-throughput taxonomic pipeline we will need to achieve our goal, and a roadmap for how to get there.
This page lists the action items from the roundtables, grouped into those that we could start now, those that we could start with modest funding (or redeployment of existing funding) and those that would require substantial new funding to begin. Please set your priority (High, Medium or Low) for each item, then enter your name and submit.
These ideas need no specific funding and could be started now
1
We need to build a collaboration space that combines an expertise directory (online register of taxonomists), a portal for shared field work, and a clearing-house mechanism to connect citizen scientists and scientists for taxonomic projects and a coordinated recognition system for citizen science contributions to taxonomy
2
We need to streamline the permitting process in every state to reduce the burden on collectors applying for permits
3
We need to start writing shorter, faster morphological descriptions
4
We need to agree on a controlled name-space for informal species (OTUs)
5
We need to create a new specialised journal for rapid taxonomic description and publication
6
We need to agree a community consensus on how to integrate molecular and morphological data, especially when they conflict
7
We need to measure the economic value of our collections (independently from their replacement cost)
8
We need to design collections now for years 5, 10 and 25 years of our mission
9
We need to start including funding for collections activities in grant applications
These ideas need modest funding and could be started if resources become available
10
We need to build a platform for recording traits and semi-automatically producing descriptions
11
We need to establish regular entry-level and advanced training programs and internships for students and others in morphology, genomics, bioinformatics, nomenclature and collection management.
12
We need to build the architecture for a sequence reference library (including non-types)
13
We need to start building a super-phylogeny for the Australian biota and a workable, functional, comprehensive and curated database of phylogenies, with national protocols for adding species, sequences and trees
14
We need to build a national repository for expedition metadata
15
We need to hold a series of national workshops to develop standard ontologies/descriptors for taxonomic groups
16
We need to develop a national program to use citizen science opportunities to ramp up digitisation of our collections
17
We need to co-design Indigenous engagement opportunities for taxonomy
18
We need to attract undergraduates to study taxonomy and systematics by offering more learning opportunities
19
We need to start including collection professionals on field expeditions to help handle collecting
20
We need to establish a professional exchange program between institutions to deal with the backlog of unidentified specimens
These ideas need substantial funding
21
We need to complete an inventory of our collections (including both museum/herbarium and biosecurity etc. collections)
22
We need to plan and fund a targeted, stratified sampling fieldwork campaign to collect the many new specimens we still need
23
We need to build a system to enable enhanced access to the modern tools needed for morphology (SEM, micro-CAT etc)
24
We need build a national network of paid bioinformatics specialists to help with taxonomic projects
25
We need to build a national repository to store high-resolution images both 2D and 3D
26
We need increase the number of specialised and generalised technicians in institutions
27
We need to locate, database, image and sequence all Australian types, both here and overseas
28
We need to build a high-performance, centralised (or decentralised) sequencing and bioinformatics services (with economies of scale)
29
We need to complete the National Species Lists and develop efficient and timely mechanisms to curate it
30
We need to appoint dedicated citizen science liaison officers
31
We need to fund targeted PhD programs, especially in hyperdiverse groups
32
We need to increase the number of joint appointments between collections institutions and universities
33
We need to fund targeted post-doctoral positions, especially in hyperdiverse groups, and fellowships for senior researchers
34
We need to image all incompletely identified specimens
35
We need to build more efficient data and collections management systems
36
We need to establish robotic handling of specimens where sensible
37
We need to establish paid positions to support volunteer programs
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