New survey seeks to understand how taxonomic bias impacts the ecologists involved
In the face of the current biodiversity crisis, the need to understand and protect our remaining biodiversity is urgent.
However, across many platforms (e.g. academic research and associated peer-reviewed publications, news and social media, conservation funding, and policy protections for threatened species), attention often focuses on the same, small subset of species. This pattern is known as taxonomic bias. The groups of species who miss out on this attention experience negative taxonomic bias.
While we have some understanding of the types of taxa this bias affects, what is less clear are the impacts it has on the people trying to study and protect them. How does taxonomic bias manifest in their work and workplaces? What reasoning is given when taxonomic bias occurs? Does taxonomic bias affect job satisfaction, career progression, or mental health?
To help us answer some of these questions, a team from the ESA, Deakin University, University of Sydney, Queensland University of Technology and Curtin University have put together a short survey. We would like to hear from individuals in a variety of ecological sectors – students, academics, practitioners, consultants, policymakers, educators, campaigners, communicators, marketers, and more.
The survey should take approximately 5-10 minutes to complete. Responses will remain anonymous but may be used to inform future outputs, including reports, research papers, media releases and conference presentations.
The ethical aspects of this project have been approved by a human ethics panel at Deakin University (project number SEBE-2024-15).
Thank you for sparing the time for this important project.
TAKE THE SURVEY
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