[adrianN]

I would be surprised if we had fewer specialists, either in absolute numbers or in relative numbers. The fields of specialization might have changed over time. Maybe many people who would've become botanists a hundred years ago now are geneticists or something like that.

[sedachv]

From the article: "It has been over a decade since a student was enrolled in a botany degree in the UK."

Botany is a very different specialty than genetics.