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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 26, 2026

A Concoction Pipeline for Generating Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) Among Riparian and Aquatic Beetles

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Time to change how we describe biodiversity.

Andrew R Deans¹, Matthew J Yoder, James P Balhoff

¹Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA. andy_deans@ncsu.edu

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

|December 23, 2011

Summary

Taxonomists can revolutionize biodiversity research by digitizing phenotype data. Formalizing these data will create a valuable resource, rivaling genomics in its research potential.

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Area of Science:

Biodiversity Informatics
Taxonomy
Digital Biology

Background:

Taxonomists generate millions of annual phenotype data through species descriptions.
Existing data formats limit the research potential of taxonomic information.
Electronic innovations have begun to transform biodiversity description methods.

Purpose of the Study:

To advocate for the formalization of taxonomic phenotype data.
To highlight the potential of digitized taxonomic data to rival genomics.
To call for the completion of the taxonomic revolution through digital transformation.

Main Methods:

The study is an opinion piece, synthesizing current trends in taxonomic data collection and digital informatics.
It reviews the impact of electronic innovation on biodiversity description.
It proposes the adoption of semantically based digital scaffolding.

Main Results:

Formalizing taxonomic data can unlock significant research potential, comparable to genomics.
A new generation of digital tools is needed to fully realize this potential.
Commitment from taxonomists is crucial for this transformation.

Conclusions:

Completing the taxonomic revolution requires embracing semantically based digital scaffolding.
This transformation will broaden the relevance and impact of taxonomic products.
Digitized phenotype data represents a vast, underutilized research resource.