Washington, United States: In the age of emojis, the current catalog fails to accurately capture the rich biodiversity found in nature, hampering conservation efforts, as revealed by a recent analysis published in the journal iScience. While animals are well-represented, plants, fungi, and microorganisms are notably underrepresented in the emoji lexicon.
Conservation biologists Stefano Mammola, Mattia Falaschi, and Gentile Francesco Ficetola from the University of Milan emphasized the role of emojis in raising awareness and fostering appreciation for Earth’s diverse life forms in our increasingly digitized society.
“The development and maintenance of diverse and inclusive emoji sets are crucial to ensuring the equitable representation of the tree of life in digital communication tools,” wrote the authors.
The researchers examined emojis related to nature and animals available in Emojipedia, a curated online catalog, tracking changes between 2015 and 2022. The findings revealed an overrepresentation of vertebrates, such as mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and bony fish, constituting 76 percent of animal emojis.
Conversely, arthropods, encompassing insects, arachnids, and crustaceans, were disproportionately underrepresented, despite the existence of 1.3 million described arthropod species compared to 85,000 known vertebrate species.
The study also highlighted the absence of emojis representing platyhelminths (flatworms, including tapeworms) and nematodes, despite there being over 20,000 species of each.
Despite these gaps, the researchers noted a positive trend in emoji biodiversity. In 2020, annelids gained representation with the addition of the ‘worm’ emoji, likely depicting an earthworm. In 2021, cnidarians were included with the introduction of a red coral emoji.
As emojis continue to play a significant role in digital communication, the study emphasizes the need for a more inclusive emoji representation to accurately reflect the vast diversity of life on Earth and contribute to conservation awareness.
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