Embracing ignorance: tackling biodiversity knowledge shortfalls

Global biodiversity information suffers from gaps, biases, and uncertainty over time and space, afflicting all taxonomic groups. Incomplete or biased data introduce uncertainty into models of biodiversity trends, potentially generating faulty inferences with knock-on effects for conservation. We revisit how the limitations of biodiversity knowledge are conceptualised, expanding the current classification to encompass eleven major shortfalls spanning taxonomic, ecological, evolutionary, and biocultural aspects, and examine the impediments that limit progress in reducing them. Information gaps have been moulded by our capacity and willingness to collect data, which are constrained by a series of financial, taxonomic, and technological impediments that vary across regions and taxa. Addressing these challenges is crucial for understanding biodiversity patterns and processes and developing effective conservation actions.