Protecting stable biological nomenclatural systems enables universal communication: A collective international appeal

• Authors: JIMENEZ-MEJIAS Pedro; MANZANO Saul; GOWDA Vinita; KRELL Frank-Thorsten; LIN Mei-Ying; MARTIN-BRAVO Santiago; MARTIN-TORRIJOS Laura; GONZALO Nieto Feliner; MOSYAKIN Sergei L; NACZI Robert F C; ACEDO Carmen; ALVAREZ Ines; CRISCI Jorge V; MODESTO Luceno Garces; MANNING John; CARLOS Moreno Saiz Juan; MUASYA A Muthama; RIINA Ricarda; ANDREA Sanchez Meseguer; SANCHEZ-MATA Daniel; EL-HAWAGRY Magdi S A; RAD Mohammad Amini; BLANDIN Patrick; SCHMITT Michael; HAYASHI Ryota; KIM Sangtae; RONIKIER Anna; RONIKIER Michal; CHOZAS Sergio; ANJOS Andreia; GARBINO Guilherme Siniciato Terra; ROGOV Mikhail; MORALES Manuel B; VERDE Carlos Luis Leopardi; CILDEN Emre; SHUKA Donald; GJETA Ermelinda; SHUKA Lulezim; MECO Marjol; SHUMKA Spase; BENGHANEM Abdelkader Nabil; TAHRI Djilali; HOCINE Laouer; MEDDOUR Rachid; POLÁŠEK Marek; STRAKA Michal; CHYTRÝ Milan; BUREŠ Petr; PAŘIL Petr; ŠMARDA Petr; MALENOVSKÝ Igor; DANIHELKA Jiří; AL E. T.
• Year of publication: 2024
• Type: Article in Periodical
• Magazine / Source: Bioscience
• MU Faculty or unit: Faculty of Science
• Citation: JIMENEZ-MEJIAS, Pedro, Saul MANZANO, Vinita GOWDA, Frank-Thorsten KRELL, Mei-Ying LIN, Santiago MARTIN-BRAVO, Laura MARTIN-TORRIJOS, Gonzalo Nieto FELINER, Sergei L MOSYAKIN, Robert F C NACZI, Carmen ACEDO, Ines ALVAREZ, Jorge V CRISCI, Modesto Luceno GARCÉS, John MANNING, Juan Carlos Moreno SAIZ, A Muthama MUASYA, Ricarda RIINA, Andrea Sánchez MESEGUER, Daniel SANCHEZ-MATA, Igor MALENOVSKÝ, Jiří DANIHELKA, Marek POLÁŠEK, Martin VÁCHA, Milan CHYTRÝ, Petr BUREŠ, Petr PAŘIL and Petr ŠMARDA. Protecting stable biological nomenclatural systems enables universal communication: A collective international appeal. Bioscience. Oxford: OXFORD UNIV PRESS, 2024, vol. 74, No 7, p. 467-472. ISSN 0006-3568. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biae043.
• web: https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biae043
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biae043
• Keywords: PROPOSAL; AMEND; PREAMBLE; NAMES; TAXA
• Description: The fundamental value of universal nomenclatural systems in biology is that they enable unambiguous scientific communication. However, the stability of these systems is threatened by recent discussions asking for a fairer nomenclature, raising the possibility of bulk revision processes for "inappropriate" names. It is evident that such proposals come from very deep feelings, but we show how they can irreparably damage the foundation of biological communication and, in turn, the sciences that depend on it. There are four essential consequences of objective codes of nomenclature: universality, stability, neutrality, and transculturality. These codes provide fair and impartial guides to the principles governing biological nomenclature and allow unambiguous universal communication in biology. Accordingly, no subjective proposals should be allowed to undermine them.