The celebration of the discovery of remarkable genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity in the ocean, and the excitement and enthusiasm generated by such discoveries, threatens to be outweighed, on the scientific scales, by what appears to be the extinction curve of those scientists who describe basic species diversity. As Feldmann and Manning [1992] stated, ``It is time to address the long-term consequences of the obvious contradiction between the decline in the study of systematics in the life sciences and the international cry for the study of biodiversity.''
The decline of the number of taxonomists has been recognized continuously since the early 1950s [ Hedgpeth et al., 1953]; consequent calls of alarm and calls-to-arms have thus been sounded for the past 40 years. The growing appreciation of the extent of biodiversity, and the role of biodiversity in ecosystem structure and function, has, however, focused this concern more clearly than ever before. Without clear action now, recruitment to the field of systematics threatens to fall below the level from which recovery may be possible. Few systematists are being trained Ä none in some taxonomic fields Ä and funding for those who are being trained, and for established workers, has been and is severely restricted. Growing concern is evident from a variety of directions. One of the largest and most exhaustive analyses of this problem is the ``Systematics Agenda 2000: Integrating Biological Diversity and Societal Needs'' [ SA2000, 1994].
Without the expertise to describe, identify, and resolve species and species complexes, potential contributions of molecular genetics to species diversity and discoveries of new ecosystems will be left without a scholarly and intellectual backbone.