Pros and cons of gender agreement: Ideas for the new code edition

The formation and spelling of scientific names, have, since the inception of the the practice, been subject to rules of Latin and Greek grammar, including the principle of gender agreement: that an adjectival species name may have variant spellings based on the gender of the genus it refers to. Not only does this mean a degree of linguistic research is involved in creating new scientific names, but this also often necessitates a change in spelling in cases where a species is transferred from one genus to another, if the genera are of different genders. As nearly half of the names for insects are adjectives with variant spellings, entomologists are constantly revising the spellings of species names, and objections to this practice are widespread, leading to the most visible rejection of any portion of the Code by any group of taxonomists, as the majority of lepidopterists do not practice gender agreement. As the ICZN is presently engaged in drafting a new Code edition, we are evaluating the causes and consequences of the abandonment of gender agreement, and what changes, if any, should be made to the status quo in light of widespread opposition to the existing rules. My goal with this presentation is to examine the pros and cons of various alternative approaches to the issue, in particular hoping to demonstrate that our community benefits most from a system where gender agreement is maintained, but no longer requires that each individual taxonomist must engage in linguistic research.