Biologer: an open platform for collecting biodiversity data

Abstract

We have developed a new platform named "Biologer" intended for recording species observations in the field (but also from literature resources and collections). The platform is created as user-friendly, open source, multilingual software that is compatible with Darwin Core standard and accompanied by a simple Android application. It is made from the user’s perspective, allowing everyone to choose how they share the data. Project team members are delegated by involved organisations. The team is responsible for development of the platform, while local Biologer communities are engaged in data collection and verification. Biologer has been online and available for use in Serbia since 2018 and was soon adopted in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In total, we have assembled 536 users, who have collected 163,843 species observation records data from the field and digitalised 33,458 literature records. The number of active users and their records is growing daily. Out of the total number of gathered data, 89% has been made open access by the users, 10% is accessible on the scale of 10×10 km and only 1% is closed. In the future, we plan to provide a taxonomic data portal that could be used by local and national initiatives in Eastern Europe, aggregate all data into a single web location, create detailed data overview and enable fluent communication between users.

AGRYPON POLYXENAE (SZÉPLIGETI, 1899) (HYMENOPTERA: ICHNEUMONIDAE: ANOMALONINAE); NEWLY RECORDED PARASITOID OF ZERYNTHIA POLYXENA (DENIS & SCHIFFERMÜLLER, 1775) (LEPIDOPTERA: PAPILIONIDAE: PARNASSIINAE) IN THE FAUNA OF SERBIA

“…The flight period of Zygaena polyxena is only a few weeks long, in Serbia it occurs usually between late-March and mid-May, depending on the altitude (Biologer Community in Serbia 2018; Popović et al, 2020). On the territory of Serbia, the primary host plant for this butterfly is Aristolochia clematitis, a very abundant species, especially in ruderal areas.…”

“…On the territory of Serbia, the primary host plant for this butterfly is Aristolochia clematitis, a very abundant species, especially in ruderal areas. A. pallida has also been reported sporadically as a feeding plant, primarily in the regions with higher altitudes [14,15]. Since A. pallida and A. lutea are morphologically very similar and given the distribution of A. lutea on the territory of Serbia [16], it is more likely that Z. polyxena was found on A. lutea in some reports due to misidentification of Aristolochia species.…”

New data on hoverfly fauna (Diptera: Syrphidae) of Bosnia and Herzegovina

“…The survey was conducted in period from 16 th June to 4 th July 2021 on the territory of Blidinje Nature Park and surrounding environment, in the high mountain area of North Herzegovina region of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Fig. 1), as a result of regional collaboration on biodiversity research and the development of Biologer, an open platform for collecting biodiversity data in South -Eastern Europe (Popović et al 2020). The location of the research area area belongs to the western part of the high mountain complex around the Neretva River, in the North Herzegovina region of the country.…”

The distribution of crested newts in Serbia: An overview and update

“…The remaining populations are designated based on morphology and their position relative to genetically known composition of surrounding populations. Most of new faunistic data were collected in year 2020, as results of the projects mentioned in the acknowledgements and from the public internet faunistic database BIOLO-GER (Popović et al 2020).…”