[Taxacom] Editorial on biodiversity collections

[Miller, Scott]

This editorial published today in SCIENCE focuses attention on the importance of biological collections in efforts to preserve biodiversity.  The final paragraph, shown below, is especially relevant in these times.

Raven, P. H., and S. E. Miller. 2020. Here today, gone tomorrow. Science 370(6513):149.

Free download at https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6513/149

"Many of the world's biological collections are in institutions that depend in part on attendance for their support. In this time of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many of them will fail financially or be unable to continue maintaining their own collections. These and other potentially "orphan" collections have immense value and should be monitored and incorporated as needed into permanent homes. This is likely to be our last chance to know many of Earth's species. We must make the most of it."