Happy Taxonomist Appreciation Day!

March 19th is Taxonomist Appreciation Day, which recognizes the work of taxonomists responsible for classifying and naming organisms, a foundation for understanding and protecting biodiversity. 

In an age of advanced technology and genomic breakthroughs, some might wonder why traditional taxonomy and biodiversity studies still matter. The truth is, despite our ability to sequence DNA at an unprecedented scale, we still need to know what we are sequencing. Understanding biodiversity isn’t just about collecting data; it’s about making sense of the living world and ensuring we can recognize, describe, and classify organisms, potentially before they disappear forever. Nowhere is this more critical than in Antarctica, a region that remains one of the least explored and most rapidly changing ecosystems on the planet. The Southern Ocean is home to a surprising diversity of marine invertebrates (and other organisms) and many of these organisms live here and nowhere else. Many species of small marine invertebrates remain undescribed, and without taxonomists, they may never be formally recognized. Without proper species identification, we can’t track biodiversity changes, study evolutionary relationships, or make informed conservation decisions.

Taxonomy is considered by some a “dying art,” with fewer experts being trained in the meticulous work of species identification and classification. This gap in expertise threatens our ability to document biodiversity effectively. While molecular tools offer powerful insights, they cannot replace the foundational work of taxonomy. DNA sequences are only meaningful when tied to properly identified specimens, and without skilled taxonomists, that critical link is lost. Training the next generation in these skills is essential for continuing this work. Expeditions like ours expand our understanding of life in Antarctica but also provide invaluable hands-on experience and training for not just the student members on our team, but all of us. Moreover, working with a team of invertebrate zoologists with different taxonomic expertise has been fun because we can all teach each other something. I've been learning a ton about cumaceans from my shift-mate Victoria, for example.

This cruise reminds us that the unknown still exists, and many exciting organisms (like the undescribed cumaceans mentioned by Victoria in a previous blog post) and interactions (like the tanaid parasite mentioned by Kamila in yesterday's post) are just waiting to be discovered. Every new species described adds to our understanding of life’s complexity and adaptation to the frigid waters of Antarctica. Ensuring we have experts to carry this work forward is just as crucial as the discoveries themselves. Without taxonomists, we risk losing not only species but the knowledge needed to protect them.

Dr. Kevin Kocot
University of Alabama

The NBP25-01 IcyInverts team. From left to right: Kevin Kocot, Sarah Gerken, Victoria Vandersommen, Kamila Gluchowska.