Mind the gap … in our knowledge: addressing information bias in conservation science

Perhaps the single most important element of conservation science is information. Without sufficient information, how can we possibly expect to understand and protect species and habitats?

Perhaps the single most important element of conservation science is information. Without sufficient information, how can we possibly expect to understand and protect species and habitats? However, despite the volume of knowledge we currently have in the “information-age”, we have a tenuous grasp of what drives trends in scientific research. If much of it is driven by the motivation and passion of individual scientists and the public at large, then does the sum body of research provide the public with a balanced understanding of the species around us? Such an understanding is critical given the diversity of species around us and current levels of threats on a global scale. This event will look at extremely well known and diverse groups of animals in which individual species vary greatly in the degree to which they are studied and recorded by scientists. We will explore biases in the information-base, highlight reasons and mechanisms behind gaps in our knowledge, and will outline some of the implications of these biases for the success of conservation science.

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