Towards a macroscope: Leveraging technology to transform the breadth, scale and resolution of macroecological data

Dornelas, María; Madin, Elizabeth M. P.; Bunce, Michael; DiBattista, Joseph D.; Johnson, Mark; Madin, Joshua S.; Magurran, Anne E.; McGill, Brian J.; Pettorelli, Nathalie; Pizarro, Oscar; Williams, Stefan B.; Winter, Marten; Bates, Amanda E.

doi:10.1111/geb.13025

Cited by 23 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 117 publications

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“…This is particularly the case for occurrence data, as globally researchers have yet to adopt the routine deposition of species occurrences in OBIS as a cultural norm, in the way that genetic sequence data is deposited in GenBank. To this end, improving incentives for researchers to add their data to global repositories in an important goal [25], while data archaeology and rescue initiatives can help to ensure that historical data are captured [68]. Equally, it remains vital that ongoing survey schemes are properly valued [69], even as novel exploration is planned.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking dimensions of data on global marine animal diversity

Webb

Vanhoorne

2020

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Recent decades have seen an explosion in the amount of data available on all aspects of biodiversity, which has led to data-driven approaches to understand how and why diversity varies in time and space. Global repositories facilitate access to various classes of species-level data including biogeography, genetics and conservation status, which are in turn required to study different dimensions of diversity. Ensuring that these different data sources are interoperable is a challenge as we aim to create synthetic data products to monitor the state of the world's biodiversity. One way to approach this is to link data of different classes, and to inventory the availability of data across multiple sources. Here, we use a comprehensive list of more than 200 000 marine animal species, and quantify the availability of data on geographical occurrences, genetic sequences, conservation assessments and DNA barcodes across all phyla and broad functional groups. This reveals a very uneven picture: 44% of species are represented by no record other than their taxonomy, but some species are rich in data. Although these data-rich species are concentrated into a few taxonomic and functional groups, especially vertebrates, data are spread widely across marine animals, with members of all 32 phyla represented in at least one database. By highlighting gaps in current knowledge, our census of marine diversity data helps to prioritize future data collection activities, as well as emphasizing the importance of ongoing sustained observations and archiving of existing data into global repositories. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Integrative research perspectives on marine conservation’.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking dimensions of data on global marine animal diversity

Webb

Vanhoorne

2020

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…• General information on the study, including year initiated, duration, location, and type of data collected (ecological, social, socio-ecological), and if there are socio-ecological linkages included in the discussion. • Ecological study details, including depth, habitat type, survey techniques [63], and methods [86], response variables measured, habitat associations investigated, ecosystem processes [87], and biological characteristics [71] assessed in the study. • Social study details, including type of data sources used, type of data collected, methods used in study [88], and social system characteristics being assessed (including demographic factors, economics (e.g., markets and trade), technological factors, knowledge, attitudes and values, and institutions and governance systems [20].…”

Section: Data Coding Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Emergent technologies that can be used to monitor the marine environment at larger scales and at a higher resolution [62,63], will undoubtably facilitate a better understanding of multi-and cross-scale variability in these ecosystems [64,65]. Integrating big data from new technologies with multi-scale social drivers and fine-scale ecological processes does have its associated challenges and significant practical hurdles [62,63]. Nonetheless, recent attempts to integrate new technological tools with traditional research methods have shown promising results [66,67], and should enable more effective and efficient monitoring if scaling issues are addressed as a critical requirement [6].…”

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Spatial and temporal scales of coral reef fish ecological research and management: a systematic map protocol

et al. 2021

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Background Coral reefs are rapidly changing in response to local and global stressors. Research to better understand and inform the management of these stressors is burgeoning. However, in situ studies of coral reef ecology are constrained by complex logistics and limited resources. Many reef studies are also hampered by the scale-dependent nature of ecological patterns, and inferences made on causal relationships within coral reef systems are limited by the scales of observation. This is because most socio-ecological studies are conducted at scales relevant to the phenomenon of interest. However, management often occurs across a significantly broader, often geopolitical, range of scales. While there is a critical need for incisive coral reef management actions at relevant spatial and temporal scales, it remains unclear to what extent the scales of empirical study overlap with the scales at which management inferences and recommendations are made. This systematic map protocol will evaluate this potential scale mismatch with the goal of raising awareness about the significance of effectively addressing and reporting the scales at which researchers collect data and make assumptions. Methods We will use the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence (CEE) systematic mapping guidelines to identify relevant studies using a framework-based synthesis to summarise the spatial and temporal scales of coral reef fish ecology research and the scales at which management inferences or recommendations are made. Using tested predefined terms, we will search for relevant published academic and grey literature, including bibliographic databases, web-based search engines, and organisational websites. Inclusion criteria for the evidence map are empirical studies that focus on coral reef fish ecological organisation and processes, those informing management interventions and policy decisions, and management documents that cite coral reef research for management decision-making. Study results will be displayed graphically using data matrices and heat maps. This is the first attempt to systematically assess and compare the scales of socio-ecological research conducted on coral reef systems with their management.

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“…Addressing the tropical biodiversity crisis therefore requires an efficient, distributed, long-term monitoring system to assess species abundance and diversity (12). Traditional, groundbased biodiversity inventories are logistically prohibitive to conduct at scale, and limited taxonomic expertise perpetuates large data discrepancies for lesser-known taxa, such as insects, which constitute the bulk of tropical biodiversity (6).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal soundscapes reveal key markers of Amazon forest degradation from fire and logging

Rappaport¹,

Swain

Fagan

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Safeguarding tropical forest biodiversity requires solutions for monitoring ecosystem composition over time. In the Amazon, logging and fire reduce forest carbon stocks and alter tree species diversity, but the long-term consequences for wildlife remain unclear, especially for lesser-known taxa. Here, we combined data from multi-day acoustic surveys, airborne lidar, and satellite time-series covering logged and burned forests (n=39) in the southern Brazilian Amazon to identify acoustic markers of degradation. Our findings contradict theoretical expectations from the Acoustic Niche Hypothesis that animal communities in more degraded habitats occupy fewer acoustic niches. Instead, we found that habitat structure (e.g., aboveground biomass) was not a consistent proxy for biodiversity based on divergent patterns of acoustic space occupancy (ASO) in logged and burned forests. Full 24-hr soundscapes highlighted a stark and sustained reorganization in community structure after multiple fires; animal communication networks were quieter, more homogenous, and less acoustically integrated in forests burned multiple times than in logged or once-burned forests. These findings demonstrate strong biodiversity co-benefits from protecting Amazon forests from recurrent fire activity. By contrast, soundscape changes after logging were subtle and more consistent with community recovery than reassembly. In both logged and burned forests, insects were the dominant acoustic markers of degradation, particularly during midday and nighttime hours that are not typically sampled by traditional field surveys of biodiversity. The acoustic fingerprints of degradation history were conserved across replicate recording locations at each site, indicating that soundscapes offer a robust, taxonomically inclusive solution for tracking changes in community composition over time.

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Towards a macroscope: Leveraging technology to transform the breadth, scale and resolution of macroecological data

Cited by 23 publications

References 117 publications

Linking dimensions of data on global marine animal diversity

Linking dimensions of data on global marine animal diversity

Spatial and temporal scales of coral reef fish ecological research and management: a systematic map protocol

Animal soundscapes reveal key markers of Amazon forest degradation from fire and logging

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