Accelerating the pace of biodiversity documentation and discovery in early land plants: Bridging the taxonomic endeavor with broader impact activities

Extinction is the greatest threat to biodiversity in many ecosystems throughout the world. The likely loss of organisms, even before they can be described, coupled with a lack of taxonomic expertise is considered a major taxonomic impediment. Here, we present and analyze a novel approach to help accelerate the pace of biodiversity documentation and discovery using a diverse lineage within liverworts as a case study. Liverworts (Marchantiophyta) form a significant component of biodiversity in many habitats throughout the world and are potential indicators of global warming. The liverwort genus Frullania represents an exceptionally hyper-diverse, taxonomically complex genus with over 2000 published names. Many Frullania species have interesting biological and pharmacological properties. Yet, despite their critical phylogenetic significance, Frullania remains an obscure and elusive group.

A novel approach was taken to involve students from different institutions in capturing research data thus relieving some of the taxonomic impediment. Pilot studies were conducted at three institutions where students conducted measurements and catalogued observations from digitally-rendered specimens of Frullania. This could serve as a model for future systematic studies by helping to overcome the ‘taxonomic impediment’ by connecting biodiversity research to class curriculum. Here, we evaluate and assess student understanding of the scientific method and data capturing techniques. The data was statistically analyzed to test for validity and for its application to biodiversity studies of Frullania. Best practices and future suggestions are also presented. This effort is part of an NSF funded international, multi-institutional consortium representing an unprecedented investigation of this scale.