Members of the North American diatom community are currently working to create a taxonomic certification exam to increase consistency and precision in diatom data collection. The Diatom Taxonomic Certification Committee requests a few minutes of your time to help us learn about your specific areas of interest and need. Whether you are a supervisor, professional analyst, professor, student, or citizen scientist, we want to hear from you! We will use this information to design the exams and seek appropriate funding to support the program. We appreciate your participation! The survey will be open until October 31st and only takes a few minutes. Click HERE <https://goo.gl/forms/32vkHTucaoN75HOS2> for the survey.
*About Diatom Taxonomic Certification:* Certification is an achievement that provides professional recognition of your skills in diatom taxonomy. As a Certified Diatom Taxonomist, you will have the credentials to show your commitment to training and scientific growth. Importantly, federal agencies are considering levels of taxonomic certification (and ongoing training) as requirements for obtaining biological assessment contracts. The certification exams will have different formats depending on the skill level of the test, from identification of taxa from images to more practical tasks involving microscopy or image sorting. *About us:* The Diatom Taxonomic Certification Committee includes David Burge, Mark Edlund, Julianne Heinlein, Sylvia Lee, Alison Minerovic, Jan Stevenson, and Sarah Spaulding. We have been working to design a program that will help improve taxonomic consistency and support the use of diatoms in environmental assessments. We recently submitted a proposal to the Society for Freshwater Science to fund exam design facilitation, prototype testing, and development of web infrastructure. The macroinvertebrate taxonomic certification program hosted by SFS is an important resource, and we are assessing the program elements that are transferable to diatoms.
