Integrating Art, History and Diverse Knowledge Systems in Systematics: A Framework to Advance Inclusive Practice in Taxonomy

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This project is designed to integrate the history of science with modern cultural and technology-based knowledge through participatory research to advance inclusive practice in systematics and taxonomy. The project focuses on crocodiles, a group of animals which figure prominently in cultures and communities around the globe, to develop a model of interdisciplinary team-based surveys of cultural heritage materials from archaeological, artistic and archival contexts reflecting cultural beliefs related to natural history and taxonomy. The project will result in a model of knowledge integration that is to be disseminated by publishing a reference database online and by providing opportunities for research participation, outreach, and education in an exciting, shared endeavor among students and participants representing diverse communities and cultures. Other outcomes of the project include public science communication events, interdisciplinary journal articles, and international collaborative research and professional development opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers. A workshop focused on this research is to be developed for the annual Student Conference on Conservation Science. Systematic taxonomy strives to recognize all levels of biological diversity, yet much of the data used in the documentation of diversity has relied on knowledge provided by the communities from which these collections were sourced without appropriate attribution. This project will strive to resurface, re-attribute and integrate place based and traditional knowledge to enhance our understanding of biological diversity. Through team based co-produced archival research on the contributions of source and descendant communities we will re-visit the interpretation of natural and cultural diversity with additional societal stakeholders and expand pathways of knowledge production and presentation. The integration of technological advances in digitization, mapping and bio-molecular analysis methods with Indigenous and place-based knowledge systems may provide us with the next big jump in understanding the history of and relationships among living systems.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.