Advancing the Catalogue of the World’s Natural History Collections

Hobern, Donald; Paul, Deborah; Robertson, Tim; Groom, Quentin; Thiers, Barbara M.; Asase, Alex; Luo, Maofang; Semal, Patrick; Woodburn, Matt; Zschuschen, Eliza

doi:10.3897/biss.4.59324

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Supported by the European Union, the Distributed System of Scientific Collections (DiSSCo) is actively developing the infrastructure to implement the digital specimen framework for managing the constellation of data related to specimens ( 55 ), with synergistic efforts in the United States through the Extended Specimen Network ( 47 ). Related efforts include the development of a global registry of the world’s natural history collections ( 56 ). These physical, cyber, and human expertise resources are sought to be effectively leveraged together to form an alliance for biodiversity knowledge ( 57 ), toward the common goal of biodiversity synthesis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Data integration enables global biodiversity synthesis

Heberling

Miller

Noesgaard

et al. 2021

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

184

168

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The accessibility of global biodiversity information has surged in the past two decades, notably through widespread funding initiatives for museum specimen digitization and emergence of large-scale public participation in community science. Effective use of these data requires the integration of disconnected datasets, but the scientific impacts of consolidated biodiversity data networks have not yet been quantified. To determine whether data integration enables novel research, we carried out a quantitative text analysis and bibliographic synthesis of >4,000 studies published from 2003 to 2019 that use data mediated by the world’s largest biodiversity data network, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Data available through GBIF increased 12-fold since 2007, a trend matched by global data use with roughly two publications using GBIF-mediated data per day in 2019. Data-use patterns were diverse by authorship, geographic extent, taxonomic group, and dataset type. Despite facilitating global authorship, legacies of colonial science remain. Studies involving species distribution modeling were most prevalent (31% of literature surveyed) but recently shifted in focus from theory to application. Topic prevalence was stable across the 17-y period for some research areas (e.g., macroecology), yet other topics proportionately declined (e.g., taxonomy) or increased (e.g., species interactions, disease). Although centered on biological subfields, GBIF-enabled research extends surprisingly across all major scientific disciplines. Biodiversity data mobilization through global data aggregation has enabled basic and applied research use at temporal, spatial, and taxonomic scales otherwise not possible, launching biodiversity sciences into a new era.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Data integration enables global biodiversity synthesis

Heberling

Miller

Noesgaard

et al. 2021

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

184

168

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Furthermore, in terms of discoverability of collections, while directories for natural-history collections exist, e.g. GRSciColl ( Schindel et al , 2016 ), they are in need of significant development ( Hobern et al , 2020 ), hampering discoverability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strengthening the global network for sharing of marine biological collections: recommendations for a new agreement for biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction

Collins

Rabone

Vanagt³

et al. 2020

ICES Journal of Marine Science

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Biological collections are fundamental to marine scientific research and understanding of biodiversity at various scales. Despite their key importance, sample collections and the institutes that house them are often underfunded and receive comparatively little attention in the discussions associated with global biodiversity agreements. Furthermore, access to collections can be limited by inadequate systems, infrastructure, and networks. With negotiations underway for a new implementing agreement on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, marine genetic resources (MGR), including questions on the sharing of benefits, remains the most debated and contentious element. Disparities remain between States regarding access to and utilization of marine biological samples (including MGR) from areas beyond national jurisdiction. Addressing capacity gaps related to collections could provide a point of agreement during negotiations and enhance global inclusivity in access to and utilization of MGR. Here, we examine both existing capacity and regional gaps in marine collections. We propose the strengthening of a distributed network of marine biological collections, building on existing initiatives and emphasizing best practices to bridge regional gaps. Our recommendations include: promoting scientific best practice for the curation of collections; alignment with ocean observing, and sampling initiatives; a potential pairing scheme for collections in developing and developed States; raising awareness of collections and benefits to marine science including through a global registry/directory; and promoting sustainable funding mechanisms to support collections and sustain global generation of contributors and users.

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