Canadian Taxonomy: Exploring Biodiversity, Creating Opportunity the Expert Panel on Biodiversity Science
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Canadian Taxonomy: Exploring BiodivErsiTy, CrEaTing opporTuniTy The Expert Panel on Biodiversity Science Science Advice in the Public Interest CANADIAN TAXONOMY: EXPLORING BIODIVERSITY, CREATING OPPORTUNITY The Expert Panel on Biodiversity Science It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth, and to reflect that these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other, and dependent on each other in so complex a manner, have all been produced by laws acting around us. [...] There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved. Darwin, Charles R. (1859). On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. (First ed.). London: John Murray. Canadian Taxonomy: Exploring Biodiversity, Creating Opportunity The Council of Canadian Academies 180 Elgin Street, Suite 1401, Ottawa, ON Canada K2P 2K3 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was undertaken with the approval of the Board of Governors of the Council of Canadian Academies. Board members are drawn from the RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE), and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS), as well as from the general public. The members of the expert panel responsible for the report were selected by the Council for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This report was prepared for the Government of Canada in response to a request from the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages via the Minister of Industry. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors — the Expert Panel on Biodiversity Science. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Canadian taxonomy [electronic resource] : exploring biodiversity, creating opportunity / Expert Panel on Biodiversity Science. Issued also in French under title: La taxonomie canadienne. Includes bibliographical references. Electronic monograph in PDF format. Issued also in print format. ISBN 978-1-926558-30-1 1. Biology–Canada–Classification. 2. Biodiversity–Canada. I. Council of Canadian Academies. Expert Panel on Biodiversity Science QH83.C36 2010a 578.0971 C2010-905756-2 The Expert Panel on Biodiversity Science i Disclaimer: The internet data and information referenced in this report were correct, to the best of the Council’s knowledge, at the time of publication. Due to the dynamic nature of the internet, resources that are free and publicly available may subsequently require a fee or restrict access, and the location of items may change as menus and web pages are reorganized. The views expressed in this document are the personal opinions and projections of the individual authors as subject matter experts and do not necessarily represent the views of their organizations of affiliation or employment. © 2010 Council of Canadian Academies Printed in Ottawa, Canada This assessment was made possible with the support of the Government of Canada. ii Canadian Taxonomy: Exploring Biodiversity, Creating Opportunity The Council of Canadian Academies www.scienceadvice.ca The Council of Canadian Academies (the Council) is an independent, not-for-profit corporation that supports independent, science-based, expert assessments to inform public policy development in Canada. Led by a 12-member Board of Governors and advised by a 16-member Scientific Advisory Committee, the Council’s work encompasses a broad definition of “science”, incorporating the natural, social and health sciences as well as engineering and the humanities. Council assessments are conducted by independent, multidisciplinary panels of experts from across Canada and abroad. Assessments strive to identify: emerging issues; gaps in knowledge; Canadian strengths; and international trends and practices. Upon completion, assessments provide government decision makers, academia, and stakeholders with high-quality information required to develop informed and innovative public policy. All Council assessments undergo a formal report review and are published and made available to the public free of charge in English and French. Assessments can be referred to the Council by foundations, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, or any level of government. The Council is also supported by its three founding Member Academies: RSC: The Academies of the Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada is the senior national body of distinguished Canadian scholars, artists and scientists. The primary objective of the RSC is to promote learning and research in the arts and sciences. The RSC consists of nearly 2,000 Fellows — men and women who are selected by their peers for outstanding contributions to the natural and social sciences, the arts and the humanities. The RSC exists to recognize academic excellence, to advise governments and organizations, and to promote Canadian culture. The Canadian Academy of Engineering is the national institution through which Canada’s most distinguished and experienced engineers provide strategic advice on matters of critical importance to Canada. The Academy is an independent, self-governing and non-profit organization established in 1987. Members of the Academy are nominated and elected by their peers to honorary Fellowships, in recognition of their distinguished achievements and career-long service to the engineering profession. Fellows of the Academy are committed to ensuring that Canada’s engineering expertise is applied to the benefit of all Canadians. The Expert Panel on Biodiversity Science iii The Canadian Academy of Health Sciences recognizes individuals of great accomplishment and achievement in the academic health sciences in Canada. The Academy provides timely, informed and unbiased assessments of urgent issues affecting the health of Canadians. CAHS also represents Canada on the InterAcademy Medical Panel (IAMP), a global consortium of national health science academies whose aim is to alleviate the health burdens of the world’s poorest people; build scientific capacity for health; and provide independent scientific advice on promoting health science and health care policy to national governments and global organizations. iv Canadian Taxonomy: Exploring Biodiversity, Creating Opportunity Expert Panel on Biodiversity Science Thomas E. Lovejoy (Chair), Biodiversity Chair, Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, Washington, D.C. Luc Brouillet, Professor and Curator of the Marie-Victorin Herbarium, Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Université de Montréal, Quebec W. Ford Doolittle, FRSC, Professor, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia Andrew Gonzalez, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Biodiversity Science, and Director of the Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec David M. Green, Professor and Director of the Redpath Museum, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec Peter Hall, Honourary Research Associate (retired), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario Paul Hebert, FRSC, Professor and Director, Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph, Ontario Thora Martina Herrmann, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Ethnoecology and Biodiversity Conservation, University of Montréal, Quebec Douglas Hyde, Executive Director, NatureServe Canada, Ottawa, Ontario Jihyun Lee, Environmental Affairs Officer, Marine and Coastal Biodiversity and Ecosystems Approach, United Nations Environment Programme/Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Montréal, Quebec Wayne P. Maddison, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Biodiversity and Systematics, and Director of the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, University of British Columbia, Vancouver The Expert Panel on Biodiversity Science v Sarah P. Otto, FRSC, Professor and Director of the Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver Felix Sperling, Professor and Curator of the E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum, University of Alberta, Edmonton R. Paul Thompson, Professor, University of Toronto, Ontario vi Canadian Taxonomy: Exploring Biodiversity, Creating Opportunity Acknowledgements During the course of its deliberations, the Panel sought assistance from many people and organizations that provided valuable information for consideration. Special thanks to the staff of the Royal Ontario Museum, Beaty Biodiversity Museum, Redpath Museum, Montreal Botanical Gardens, and the Canadian Museum of Nature for providing tours of their facilities. The Panel also benefitted greatly from in-person discussions with Henry Lickers from the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, Robert Höft from the Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat, members of the Federal Biodiversity Information Partnership, and Donald McAlpine from the Alliance of Natural History Museums. Thank you to James Edwards for his many insights early in the Panel’s work. The Panel also acknowledges with thanks the data and information provided by organizations and individuals throughout our deliberations. The Panel wishes to thank each of the 432