Despite best efforts, the loss of biodiversity has continued at a pace that constitutes a major threat to the efficient functioning of ecosystems. Curbing the loss of biodiversity and assessing its local and global trends requires a vast amount of datasets from a variety of sources. Although the means for generating, aggregating and analyzing big datasets to inform policies are now within the reach of the scientific community, the data-driven nature of a complex multidisciplinary field such as biodiversity science necessitates an overarching framework for engagement. In this review, we propose such a schematic based on the life cycle of data to interrogate the science. The framework considers data generation and collection, storage and curation, access and analysis and, finally, communication as distinct yet interdependent themes for engaging biodiversity science for the purpose of making evidenced-based decisions. We summarize historical developments in each theme, including the challenges and prospects, and offer some recommendations based on best practices.

Male gonopods are useful in taxonomic diagnoses and descriptions of millipedes, although they may vary intraspecifically in shape and size. To assess this intraspecific variation, we used geometric morphometric analysis to compare gonopod morphology among eight isolated populations of the colour-polymorphic southern African millipede Bicoxidens flavicollis. Our results showed that gonopod shapes vary significantly across the examined populations, and elucidated subtle variations. CVA cross-validation test indicates an average classification rate of 75% for the five populations for which we had more than one specimen. Although we had a small number of replicates for three populations, our results still illustrate the importance of applying quantitative approaches to what would otherwise be qualitative and subjective gonopod shape categories in millipedes. As such, the taxonomic assignment of the populations of B. flavicollis may require further investigation, and further revisions would be required with an integrative approach, including molecular data, in order to re-evaluate the taxonomic diversity and distribution data of this species. Finally, we highlight the conservation potential of divergent populations as evolutionary insurance against a dynamic and unpredictable climate, whether or not they undergo full speciation.