The role of creative monography in the biodiversity crisis

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Summary: Stuessy, T. F.: The role of creative monography in the biodiversity crisis.. —Taxon42: 313–321. 1993. — ISSN 0040–0262.The increasing size and activities of the human population have resulted in pressure on the survival of other life forms. In the face of extinction of many of these organisms, we need to learn as much about them as quickly as possible. One level of understanding can be achieved through monographic studies, which contain basic descriptive information about organisms and their distributions. Monographs also contain predictive classifications and usually also evolutionary and biogeographic hypotheses for use by systematic biologists and society in general. The current rate of disappearance of the world's biota suggests need for increased levels of creative monographic activity. Funding for botanical monography in the United States, however, is declining, and fewer graduate students are being trained with these interests and skills. Large‐scale monographic projects with established workers and postdoctoral associates together focusing on large taxa (i.e., 50–100 species) are advocated as one solution to the problem.