TDWG 2022

The use-case of Biodiversity Literature Repository and TreatmentBank

Date and Time: Oct 17, 2022, 2:00 PM

Abstract: To understand the loss of species, a benchmark is needed, e.g. the status of biodiversity in 1992 when the Convention on Biological Diversity recognized biodiversity crisis to compare to its status in the successive year. Though we are far from knowning how many species there are on planet Earth, we keep track of their descriptions and number through the information kept in our libraries. Each species discovered is represented therein by at least one taxononic treatment. The library includes an estimated 500 million pages and is updated daily with an estimated 17–18,000 new species annually and over 100,000 treatments augmenting the knowledge of existing species. more

Workshop Data liberation for open knowledge systems

Date and Time: Oct 18, 2022, 4:30 PM

Abstract: A key question for biodiversity research and applied conservation, which both rely on large, dynamic and multifaceted biodiversity datasets, is how to free biodiversity data to be able to reuse them. The goal of the workshop is to arrive at a better overview of legal rules governing data publication, and empower participants to use appropriate licenses and language that will allow data to be reused. Currently, most small publishers express concerns related to copyright and are uncertain if they are allowed to share data contained within a published paper without a clear statement from the author. Similarly, many authors are also unaware of whether or not they retain copyright on their text and data in publications. Moreover, rights and obligations associated with data presented by digital infrastructures often are not clearly stated. On the basis of initial impulse statements providing background information and distinct perspectives on the topic, the main part of the session will be an interactive exchange among participants and invited legal experts. The outcomes of the workshop will contribute to the development of guidelines for the community. The workshop is jointly organized by members of the Biodiversity Heritage Library, the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF) e-Publishing working group and the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC). more

Keeping the world flora online up-to-date with new species and augmenting taxonomic treatments

Date and Time: Oct 20, 2022, 10:15 AM

Abstract: Thousands of new species are discovered each year, and new results are published to add to the knowledge of existing species. A growing number of these are immediately accessible through the Biodiversity Literature Repository (BLR) and reused by Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), bringing the number of treatments covering plant species to over 25,000 treatments. This includes the findable, accessible, interoperable, and resuable (FAIR) treatments and related figures, and in many cases the material citation of the holotype, and links to the collection, specimen and gene sequences attribured to the codes. The FAIR data is deposited in the Biodiversity Literature Repository ensuring long-term access, and includes rich, customized metadata describing its content using standard vocabularies (e.g. Darwin Core (DwC) or Open Biological and Biomedical Ontology (OBO) Foundry, as well as links to related items and data reuse (e.g. GBIF and CheckListbank). more

Using linked data to explore taxonomic names

Date and Time: Oct 21, 2022, 11:00 AM

Abstract: Synospecies is a linked data application to explore changes in taxonomic names (Gmür and Agosti 2021). The underlying source of truth for the establishment of taxa, the assignment and re-assignment of names, are taxonomic treatments. Taxonomic treatments are sections of publications documenting the features or distribution of taxa in ways adhering to highly formalized conventions, and published in scientific journals, which shape our understanding of global biodiversity (Catapano 2010). Plazi, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to liberating knowledge, extracts the relevant information from these treatments and makes it publicly available in digital form. Depending on the original form of a publication, a treatment undergoes several steps during its processing. All these steps affect the available digital artifacts extracted from the treatment's original publication. The treatments are digitalized, the text is annotated with a specialized editor, and cross-referenced and enhanced with other sources (Agosti and Sautter 2018). After these steps, the annotated text is transformed to the different structured data-formats used by other digital biodiversity platforms (e.g., Global Biodiversity Information Facility: Plazi.org taxonomic treatment database using Darwin Core Archive, generic linked data tools (e.g. lod view; RDF2h Browser) and other consuming applications (e.g Ocellus via Zenodeo using XML; openBioDiv using XML; HMW using XML; Biotic interaction browser using TaxPub XML; opendata.swiss using RDF). more