How can biologists embrace natural history once again?
A unique organism can be vastly explored to understand the basis of genetic and biochemical regulations, developmental processes, morphology, physiology, and behavior. Organisms are the starting point to understand dynamics across organizational scales. Current frontiers aim to integrate these processes, but without the guidance of natural history information this will not be possible. Additionally, organisms are usually the ”face” of conservation and connection with the general public. Ecological descriptions support public engagement, attract financial support, and help the development of effective conservation plans. Still, natural history continues to be overlooked, affecting the formation of young ecologists and precluding postmodern scientists from recognizing it as a promoter of advances in specialized fields.
The formation of ecologists and evolutionary biologists must consist of a strong theoretical foundation and practical experiences achieved through a balance between active learning inside laboratories and out in the field. The lack of incentive and financial support to natural history related courses, as taxonomy, field biology, and organismal biology, has deep impacts on the formation of new generations of ecologists and on the future of ecology science. To revert this scenario and change the view that naturalists are old-fashioned, it will be necessary to upgrade field teaching practices with technology. The twenty-first century naturalist must take advantage of high-tech devices that become each day more accessible to obtain high-quality data (Tosa et al. 2021). Notebooks and binoculars, inseparable tools of nineteenth century naturalists, should be improved with camera-traps capturing 24/7 HD wildlife footage, nano tracking devices, microcontrollers, high quality acoustic recorders, drones, and eDNA analysis (Tosa et al. 2021). However, to incorporate these methods while changing the prejudiced view of natural history, an educational reform is necessary. The change of the mindset strongly depends on educational institutions to appraise a naturalist approach of professors on research and in class. Furthermore, it is essential that students learn ecology once again from practical experiences while in the field. Field teaching promote integration among students, research partnerships, and, more importantly, it builds the consciousness that ecology science is not only made of models and analytical tools, but also of “live” biological history that can only be documented while observing and collecting data on natural phenomena. Thus, the toolkit of the twenty-first century naturalist has an inherent power to promote the education of ecology to a state where natural history is not only recognized but acknowledged as part of the scientific process. By revitalizing the teaching of taxonomy, organismal biology, and field courses (Agnarsson & Kuntner 2007; Fleischner et al. 2017), students will also be more motivated to learn about nature with hands-on experience.
At the same time attention must be given to current socio-economic inequalities that might become a barrier. It is important to mind that not all institutions and countries will have the same opportunities and possibilities to improve teaching, courses, and curricula. Still, ecology as a unified scientific discipline must thrive from a global endeavor (Nuñez et al. 2021), not only at the research and co-authorship publication levels (Armenteras 2021). To overcome these barriers, more educational partnerships will be required within and between countries, to provide training on the technologies of next-generation natural history, exchange and loan of equipment, and exchange of students as well. Such educational reciprocity will assist to reduce asymmetries in the restricted access of knowledge and technology that science currently faces, while also contributing for a more diverse learning environment, especially on field courses (Zavaleta et al. 2020).
The endless search for order in nature is what connects the ecologists and evolutionary biologists of today with naturalists of the nineteenth century. The vitality of natural history depends, more than ever, on us, biologists, to recognize ourselves first as naturalists to then promote its appreciation by future generations. Allying new technologies, global partnerships, and inclusive teaching in an out-door class environment can help to revitalize natural history and merge it once again with biology. The toolkit of the twenty-first century naturalist has the power to inspire enthusiasm and creativity in new generations. This educational change will be a critical step to increase the numbers of graduated biologists with hands-on knowledge about nature by the end of the century, while contributing to ecological theory and many aspects of society, such as health, food security, conservation, and restoration of degraded habitats.