Dr Hiranya Sudasinghe: What Happens When Conservation Gets a Fish’s Name Wrong?

STORY 1 OF 10: Part of a series of short stories inspired by our conversation with Dr Hiranya Sudasinghe, sharing what years of experience have taught them to see.

The fish is known from one stream.

It receives a scientific name. It is declared highly threatened. Money and attention begin moving towards saving it.

Then someone asks an awkward question.

What if it was never a separate species at all?

That would be embarrassing.

The opposite mistake could be catastrophic.

Several genuinely different species may be grouped under one name. Because the combined “species” appears widespread, nobody notices that one unique population is disappearing.

This is why taxonomy matters.

Taxonomy is the science of identifying, distinguishing and describing species.

Examining subtly different fish specimens. Photograph contributed by Hiranya Sudasinghe. Photo credit: Tharindu Ranasinghe.

It may sound like an exercise involving labels, Latin and shelves of preserved specimens. But conservation laws, threat assessments and recovery programmes all depend upon those labels being correct.

A weak scientific conclusion can produce a long chain of practical consequences.

The name is not the conservation work.

But if the name is wrong, much of the work that follows may also go wrong.

Hiranya’s words that inspired this story

“For conservation, the baseline we need to have is an understanding of what we are trying to conserve. Taxonomy gives the baseline of how to differentiate the different species.”

“Bad taxonomy can be really bad for conservation as well.”

“What we do there can be a cascade of effects in the more practical sense.”

Why it matters

Taxonomy can influence

• What is legally protected

• What is assessed as threatened

• Which habitat receives attention

• Whether populations are managed together or separately

• Where conservation money is spent

  
  

What this changes

Basic scientific research is not a luxury that comes after conservation.

It is part of conservation.

When scientists spend years examining specimens, measurements and genetic differences, they are helping society answer the most basic conservation question:

What exactly are we trying to save?

Next beneath the surface

Even when two fish belong to the same-named species, they may not carry the same genetic history.

Next: Can Two Identical-Looking Fish Carry Different Histories?

Meet Dr Hiranya: Read He Chose the Fish