Tracing taxonomic discoveries of Amazonian palms

Referencia: JAEINT22_EX_1299

Investigador responsable: Juliana Stropp (juliana.stropp@mncn.csic.es)

Much of the Amazonian flora remains unknown to science. Thus, addressing simple questions of how many tree species grow there, and how many are threatened by deforestation or climate change can trigger contentious scientific debate. Conflicting views on the number of tree species in Amazonia rise in part from incongruences between existing species checklists. Compiling such checklists is far from trivial. Challenges include defining what species should be on the list, based on the level of confidence in their taxonomy and geographic range. In this context, the objective of this internship is to offer training on:

1) Theoretical concepts of species description and taxonomic changes.

2) Technical skills for compiling and managing species checklists. 

3) Data analysis and scientific writing.

Training and workplan:

The activities will focus on a compilation of a checklist of Amazonian palms following Pyle et al. (2021)*. Throughout five months, the principal investigator (PI) and the JAE-fellow (JF) will have weekly 30-min. meetings (Spanish). There will be also meetings with a data technician from the MNCN-CSIC and specialists on Amazonian palms based in Brazil (English). Teleworking is possible, in line with the guidelines of the MNCN-CSIC.

MONTH 1: The PI will provide a checklist of Amazonian palms, which contain species published until 2012. The JF will conduct a literature search to identify species published after 2012. During the meetings, the PI and JF will discuss challenges faced during the literature search and on the societal implications of publishing new species descriptions, taxonomic changes, and updating existing species checklists.

MONTHS 2 & 3: The JF will compile a database with species names of Amazonian palms and their associated bibliographical information. The JF will document uncertainty regarding species taxonomy or geographic range. For this, the JF will receive training in MySQL and R. Training will focus on technical questions about database compilation and summary statistics of the newly compiled checklist of Amazonian palms. By the end of M3, the JF will have become familiar with the SQL language and R scripts.

MONTH 4: The JF will propose a scientific question that can be addressed based on concepts and analytical skills acquired so far. The JF will be encouraged to draft his/her activities in the form of a scientific article.

*R. Pyle et al. Org. Divers. Evol. 21: 657–675 2022.