Re: [ECOLOG-L] errors in ecology due to bad taxonomy

[William Silvert]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the problems caused by good 
taxonomy. I don't do much work on the species level, but from time to time a 
species I have worked on gets reclassified and this can lead to real 
confusion. Fortunately search engines seems to be able to cope with this --  
I just did a search on the toxicology of Monochrysis lutheri and was pleased 
to see my paper on Pavlova lutheri pop up on the top of the list even though 
the word "Monochrysis" does not appear anywhere in the paper. Still, I am 
not sure whether changing the names of species may lead to problems in 
tracking down earlier work.

Bill Silvert