Who Describes the Spiders? With Katherine Montana and Cláudia Xavier

<p>“I hope that individual taxonomists take a step back and really think about the choices they make when it comes to collaboration…I want taxonomists to consider equity in their work, and not just consider that but actively support actions that are making a difference in the way we do science.” Cláudia Xavier’s words here address the issue that is the focus of her new paper; who actually gets the opportunity to be a taxonomist? </p><p>In this episode, I talk to Katherine and Cláudia about their experiences writing this paper, but also being taxonomists in a field that wasn’t built with everyone in mind. They tell me the stories of two marginalized taxonomists who made outsized impacts on their field, and how they hope their research lays the foundation for a more equitable and just arachnology in the future.</p><p><br></p><p>Katherine Montana and Cláudia Xavier’s paper “If history is written by the victors, who describes the spiders? Species author trends reflect gender and geopolitical disparities in biodiversity science” is in volume 146, issue 1 of the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. </p><p>It can be found here: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blaf067"><u>https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blaf067</u></a></p><p>A transcript of this episode can be found here:</p><p> <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jqwu_5g_LBRRWnGaYTn6p7VXnftp4PlvngqnKmbySZM/edit?usp=sharing"><u>Cláudia and Katherine</u></a></p><p>A spanish transcript of this episode can be found here:</p><p> <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Sk9Jn-7-LflPGRPMzqR30euXBnwZvSgDN7S9cJDpuHU/edit?usp=sharing"><u>Cláudia and Katherine en español</u></a></p><p>Follow Cláudia on Bluesky: @claudiaxavier.bsky.social </p><p>And learn from her on Instagram: @geaaoficial</p><p>Check out more from the Esposito lab:</p><p><a href="https://www.arachnerds.info/"><u>https://www.arachnerds.info/</u></a></p><p>And follow them on Instagram: @arachnerds</p><p>Dr. Esposito is also the founder of the 500 Queer Scientists project:</p><p><a href="https://500queerscientists.com/"><u>https://500queerscientists.com/</u></a></p><p>World Spider Catalog: <a href="https://wsc.nmbe.ch/"><u>https://wsc.nmbe.ch/</u></a></p><p>Untold Stories from the Academy:</p><p><a href="https://www.calacademy.org/scientists/library/untold-stories"><u>https://www.calacademy.org/scientists/library/untold-stories</u></a></p><p>Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller<a href="https://pushkinpress.com/book/why-fish-dont-exist/"><u>https://pushkinpress.com/book/why-fish-dont-exist/</u></a></p><p><u>Additional reading</u>:</p><p>Developing scientific equity for biodiversity research: a thematic analysis of ecological change impacts on ranchers in Baja California Sur, Mexico: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170525100100"><u>https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170525100100</u></a></p><p>Science in Indigenous homelands: addressing power and justice in sustainability science from/with/in the Penobscot River</p><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-021-00904-3"><u>https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-021-00904-3</u></a></p><p>Promoting equity between the Global North and Global South in entomological research</p><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2025.101357"><u>https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2025.101357</u></a></p><p>Anti-racist interventions to transform ecology, evolution and conservation biology departments</p><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01522-z"><u>https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01522-z</u></a></p><p><br></p><p>Be sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and “like” the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast).</p><p>Music in this podcast is &quot;No More (Instrumental),&quot; by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)</p><p>If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com</p><p>If you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bon