Biodiversidata: An Open-Access Biodiversity Database for Uruguay

Abstract

The continental and marine territories of Uruguay are characterised by a rich convergence of multiple biogeographic ecoregions of the Neotropics, making this country a peculiar biodiversity spot. However, despite the biological significance of Uruguay for the South American subcontinent, the distribution of biodiversity patterns in this country remain poorly understood, given the severe gaps in available records of geographic species distributions. Currently, national biodiversity datasets are not openly available and, thus, a dominant proportion of the primary biodiversity data produced by researchers and institutions across Uruguay remains highly dispersed and difficult to access for the wider scientific and environmental community. In this paper, we aim to fill this gap by developing the first comprehensive, open-access database of biodiversity records for Uruguay (Biodiversidata), which is the result of a large-scale collaboration involving experts working across the entire range of taxonomic diversity found in the country. As part of the first phase of Biodiversidata, we here present a comprehensive database of tetrapod occurrence records native from Uruguay, with the latest taxonomic updates. The database provides primary biodiversity data on extant Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves and Mammalia species recorded within the country. The total number of records collated is 69,380, spanning 673 species and it is available at the Zenodo repository: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2650169. This is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically comprehensive database of Uruguayan tetrapod species available to date and it represents the first open repository for the country.

Biodiversidata: A novel dataset for the vascular plant species diversity in Uruguay

“…In this second stage, we focused on plants. The sampling bias scenario seems to mirror the scenario described for tetrapods ( Grattarola et al 2019a ). Here, we present the first comprehensive open-access database of vascular plant species of Uruguay, including all species for which data are currently available.…”

“…However, the boundaries and ecotones of these phytogeographic regions have remained under sustained debate fundamentally given the lack of comprehensive and accessible databases on the diversity and distribution of species from Uruguay. While recent efforts have endeavoured to resolve this limitation for vertebrates ( Grattarola et al 2019a ), data on the country’s plant biodiversity remain limited and scattered across a range of small-scale databases, the majority of which are inaccessible. Our work fills this gap by presenting such a comprehensive database for the plant biodiversity of Uruguay.…”

“…It is imperative for Uruguay to change its biodiversity information management to a widespread approach, based on the digitisation of specimen and literature records and on open-access of the available databases. Under accelerating scenarios of human-induced alterations of the global climate and natural landscapes ( Butchart et al 2010 , Lovejoy and Hannah 2019 , Parmesan 2006 ), with more than 36.2% of the Uruguayan territory already modified ( Brazeiro et al 2020 , Cespedes-Payret et al 2009 ), the least developed network of protected areas in the region ( Soutullo and Gudynas 2006 ) and the lowest levels of digitally-available biodiversity data of Latin America ( Grattarola et al 2019a ), developing scientific databases in Uruguay is a critical need.…”

“…Biodiversidata – Uruguay’s first Consortium of Biodiversity Data ( https://biodiversidata.org/ ) – has recently emerged with the aim of assembling a constantly growing, open-access database for Uruguay’s biodiversity ( Grattarola et al 2019a ). The range of beneficiaries of the biodiversity data resources that this initiative provides is wide, including individuals and institutions from the scientific, educational and governmental sectors.…”

“…The range of beneficiaries of the biodiversity data resources that this initiative provides is wide, including individuals and institutions from the scientific, educational and governmental sectors. Biodiversidata relies on the assemblage of biodiversity experts, with the aim of collating a comprehensive database spanning all components of the country’s biodiversity ( Grattarola et al 2019a ). This aim is being achieved by overcoming the main obstacles detected in the process of data-sharing ( Grattarola and Pincheira-Donoso 2019 ), focusing on data digitisation, curation and standardisation, as well as on the use of the data to collaboratively address questions of conceptual global impact/interest.…”