Call for Papers for Biodiversity Informatics Special Issue: Biodiversity Knowledge Shortfalls: Understanding, Quantifying, and Bridging Gaps
Call for Papers – Biodiversity Informatics Special Issue
Special Issue Title: Biodiversity Knowledge Shortfalls: Understanding, Quantifying, and Bridging Gaps
Deadline for submissions: 1 February 2026
Editors: Angela P. Cuervo-Robayo, Sara Gamboa, and Luis Escobar
Introduction
Comprehensive biodiversity information is essential for addressing current conservation and sustainability challenges. However, significant gaps in available information—known as knowledge shortfalls—continue to limit the ability to describe, monitor, and manage biodiversity, especially in the face of rapid global change (Hortal et al., 2015).
Knowledge shortfalls have been categorized into seven distinct types, including the Linnean shortfall (undiscovered or undescribed species), Wallacean shortfall (lack of data on geographic distributions of species), Prestonian shortfall (scarcity of information on abundance), Hutchinsonian shortfall (limited information about species’ ecology), Raunkiæran shortfall (lack of knowledge about species' traits and functions), Darwinian shortfall (gaps in phylogenetic and evolutionary information), and Eltonian shortfall (lack of knowledge about species; interactions) (Hortal et al., 2015). Without doubt, additional such gaps could (and should) be identified.
In recent decades, global initiatives such as GBIF, Catalogue of Life, GloBi, and GenBank, EltonTraits, among others, have played transformative roles in mobilizing biodiversity data on large scales. Nonetheless, significant challenges remain, including persistent biases, issues regarding data quality, taxonomic and geographic gaps, and underrepresentation of many regions and taxa. These gaps arise from historical biases in biodiversity research as well as contemporary barriers related to data mobilization, infrastructure, institutional priorities, and funding (Chapman et al., 2024).
This special issue of Biodiversity Informatics invites critical reflections on biodiversity knowledge shortfalls, including assessments of the achievements and limitations of biodiversity information initiatives, and approaches to addressing these shortfalls to support conservation and policy goals. This special issue aims to highlight recent methodological advances, persistent challenges, and collaborative efforts to diagnose, quantify, and bridge biodiversity knowledge shortfalls—at scales ranging from local to global.
Objectives
- Promote research that evaluates and makes visible biodiversity knowledge gaps across spatial, taxonomic, and functional dimensions.
- Encourage development of methodologies and conceptual frameworks to quantify shortfalls and prioritize actions to address them.
- Integrate studies analyzing the role of scientific collections, databases, and citizen science in generating and improving biodiversity data.
Suggested Topics
- Global, regional, or local assessments of single or multiple biodiversity knowledge shortfalls (Linnean, Wallacean, Hutchinsonian, etc.).
- Critical evaluations of major data mobilization initiatives (e.g., GBIF, Catalogue of Life, GloBi, EltonTraits, iNaturalist): progress, limitations, and future directions.
- Strategies for integrating multiple data sources (scientific collections, citizen science, gray literature) to address shortfalls.
- Use of statistical tools, spatial analysis, software, and predictive models to identify, visualize, and address knowledge gaps.
- Biodiversity gap analyses, particularly those focused on underrepresented taxonomic groups (e.g., insects, fungi, algae, microorganisms).
- The interplay between biodiversity knowledge shortfalls and global change: implications for monitoring and conservation planning.
- Prioritization frameworks for guiding new sampling, digitization, and data mobilization efforts.
- Data governance and policy solutions to improve biodiversity data accessibility, interoperability, and long-term curation.
All manuscripts will undergo peer review following the editorial process of Biodiversity Informatics, but with the special focus on creating a rich discussion of these issues. We invite contributions from researchers, data scientists, conservation practitioners, and policy-makers. Submissions may include original research articles, review papers, or methodological contributions.
Submit manuscripts at: https://journals.ku.edu/jbi/about/submissions
During the submission, please select the following Section:
- For Special Issue: Biodiversity Knowledge Shortfalls: Understanding, Quantifying, and Bridging Gaps
Email for inquiries: special.issues.bij@gmail.com
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