Parataxonomists assist taxonomists by documenting the presence of organisms in an area. Unfortunately, many countries have few records of the distribution of different kinds of organisms within the boundaries. This lack impedes the formation of sustainable management policies and the development of professional programs in these and other areas of the biodiversity sciences. MORE Trained parataxonomists can help build a country’s distribution knowledge by making well-documented records of the organisms where they live. The training required varies with the kind of organism involved but always includes learning how to provide time and location data that meets international standards. This training may help qualify them for other positions and/or further training.
Depending on the organisms involved, “documenting” the occurrence of an organism may involve:
Collecting specimens and preparing them for deposition in a museum;
Making image, video, or audio recordings and sharing them via a digital aggregator such as OpenZooMuseum or OpenHerbarium;
Preserving tissue or other samples for further analysis, such as DNA analysis.
Parataxonomists are also responsible for filling out forms stating when and where each specimen (or set of specimens) was collected. This is the other essential part of “documenting” occurrences. The information required will vary slightly depending on the organism involved. The forms will be made available on paper and/or online. Parataxonomists are not responsible for identifying the species they collect. Instead, their collections will sent to specialists for identification, with some