“Non-professional” taxonomists were responsible for more than 60% of new animal descriptions in Europe from 1998 to 2007. Many of these amateur naturalists devote their free time to studying little-known groups of fungi, insects, and other invertebrates that are less charismatic and surveyed than the orchids, birds, and butterflies that have long attracted the public’s interest. Retired pediatrician Emilio Rolán from Spain, for example, has spent decades becoming an expert in marine snails. In the last decade, he described more ocean species than anyone else by far — almost 5 percent, or 988, of all 21,000 new species published.
To learn more about the citizen scientists driving new species discovery visit the Yale Environment 360 website. [ e360.yale.edu ]
1. Michel Bertrand recently published his third new lichen species identification, Myriolecis oyensis, found on the coast of Brittany in western France. Photos courtesy of Michel Bertrand
2. Mushroom hunter Terri Clements used DNA sequencing to confirm a new species of black morel, Morchella kaibabensis, she found near her home in Arizona. Photos courtesy of Terri Clements
3. Retired pediatrician Emilio Rolán, seen here on a trip to Brazil, has discovered 1,500 new species since 1980. He keeps thousands of marine snail specimens at his home in Spain. Photos courtesy of Emilio Rolán
Follow @YaleEnvironment360 for more on global environmental issues.
#Yale #citizenscientist #conservation #biodiversity #ecosystem #ecology #nature #entomologist #invertebrates #insects #bugs #naturalist #environmentalist
#Yale #citizenscientist #conservation #biodiversity #ecosystem #ecology #nature #entomologist #invertebrates #insects #bugs #naturalist #environmentalist
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![“Non-professional” taxonomists were responsible for more than 60% of new animal descriptions in Europe from 1998 to 2007. Many of these amateur naturalists devote their free time to studying little-known groups of fungi, insects, and other invertebrates that are less charismatic and surveyed than the orchids, birds, and butterflies that have long attracted the public’s interest. Retired pediatrician Emilio Rolán from Spain, for example, has spent decades becoming an expert in marine snails. In the last decade, he described more ocean species than anyone else by far — almost 5 percent, or 988, of all 21,000 new species published.
To learn more about the citizen scientists driving new species discovery visit the Yale Environment 360 website. [ e360.yale.edu ]
1. Michel Bertrand recently published his third new lichen species identification, Myriolecis oyensis, found on the coast of Brittany in western France. Photos courtesy of Michel Bertrand
2. Mushroom hunter Terri Clements used DNA sequencing to confirm a new species of black morel, Morchella kaibabensis, she found near her home in Arizona. Photos courtesy of Terri Clements
3. Retired pediatrician Emilio Rolán, seen here on a trip to Brazil, has discovered 1,500 new species since 1980. He keeps thousands of marine snail specimens at his home in Spain. Photos courtesy of Emilio Rolán
Follow @YaleEnvironment360 for more on global environmental issues.
#Yale #citizenscientist #conservation #biodiversity #ecosystem #ecology #nature #entomologist #invertebrates #insects #bugs #naturalist #environmentalist](https://instagram.fpbc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/vp/de00e818f35c6050075d5dea3cd1a4fb/5D321CB7/t51.2885-15/e35/56427094_275454216668203_3193222163954426777_n.jpg?_nc_ht=instagram.fpbc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net)