User:TanyaDapkey/sandbox-ACG

Work on ACG project edits

To Do List

- Create parataxonomist page - maybe as a subheading in the parataxonomy page? Could expand specific people's stories if Winnie uploads some photos

Parataxonomist
"Parataxonomist" is a term coined by Dr. Daniel Janzen and Dr. Winnie Hallwachs in the late 1980's. It describes a person who collects specimens for ecological studies as well as the basic information for a specimen as it is being collected in the field. Information they collect includes date, location (lat/long), collector's name, the species of plant and caterpillar if known, and each specimen is assigned a unique voucher code. The term was a play on the word "paramedic", someone who can operate independently, does not have a specialized college degree, but has some taxonomy training.

Most parataxonomists are native Costa Ricans and have lived on or farmed the land they now protect and study.

Hallwachs and Janzen created and implemented an intensive six month course that taught everything from taxonomy to how to operate a chainsaw. Dr. Janzen trained the first cohort in January of 1989, additional cohorts receiving training up until 1992. From 1992 onward, all other training was conducted by parataxonomists.