Speaker
Description
Understanding biodiversity and applying this knowledge for positive impact relies on access to reliable data with broad geographic and taxonomic coverage. Data on species abundances are particularly valuable for documenting trends over time or community effects, and whilst a wealth of such information exists, much is neither interoperable nor readily usable. We have recently implemented a prototype for a dedicated global and openly accessible data repository and web portal, with the goal of gathering and harmonizing the heterogeneous datasets currently scattered across generalist repositories, smaller subject-specific databases and the academic literature, together with incoming new datasets. The platform features a dynamic metadata entry form, to facilitate more rapid, intuitive and accurate entry of the extensive contextual information required to underpin advanced search functionality for portal users as well as to make data genuinely reusable. Data upload options are flexible, and when structured data is imported following pre-defined templates, Darwin Core Archives can also be generated and registered with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) at the press of a button. Variables can additionally be mapped to alternative community-accepted data standards, ontologies or external services. Our product therefore combines the advantages of a fully-fledged data repository with the additional visibility and harmonization possibilities offered by mobilization to GBIF. The repository was designed with newer standards such as the Humboldt Extension to Darwin Core in mind, and we are conducting user tests to understand how we can best support data providers in representing their event-based field data using this extension. We welcome comment on the web platform currently under construction, with the aim of ensuring the portal meets the needs of a diverse range of potential stakeholders.
| Status Group | Other |
|---|---|
| Poster Presentation Option | No, I prefer to present only as a talk. |
