Framing the future for taxonomic monography: Improving recognition, support, and access

Abstract

Taxonomic monographs synthesize biodiversity knowledge and document biodiversity change through recent and geological time for a particular organismal group, sometimes also incorporating cultural and placebased knowledge. They are a vehicle through which broader questions about ecological and evolutionary patterns and processes can be generated and answered (e.g., MuñozRodríguez et al., 2019). Chiefly, monography represents the foundational research upon which all biological work is based (Hamilton et al., 2021). Moreover, monography can be a pathway to developing inclusive scientific practices, engaging diverse audiences in expanding and disseminating indigenous and local knowledge and significance of place.