Canadensys: Mobilizing biodiversity data across Canada

Talk at the Entomological Society of Canada and Acadian Entomological Society 2011 joint annual meeting in Halifax, Canada - November 8, 2011.

What is Canadensys and how can we link with the entomological community?

1. Canadensys   Mobilizing  biodiversity     data  across  Canada   Peter  Desmet  &  Anne  Bruneau  
2. A  network   Of  people  and  collec@ons  
3. Academic   11  universi@es,  5  botanical     gardens  &  2  musea    
5. 35+  researchers   Mainly  systema@sts  
8. 13  mil.  specimens   2  out  of  3  are  insects  
10. Goal   Mobilize  3  million  specimen     records  (20%)  by  2013  
11. Why?   Specimen  data  are  incredibly  useful  
12. Primary  data   What,  when,  where  and  who    of  a  species  
13. Canada’s   natural   history   collec@ons   represent   a   vast   source   of   biodiversity   informa@on.  Allowing  increased  access  to  that  informa@on  for  all  its  users  in   academia,  government,  and  non-­‐governmental  and  private  sectors  will  greatly   enhance  our  knowledge  genera@ng  capacity  in  many,  if  not  all,  areas  of  life  and   environmental   sciences.   A   broad   variety   of   life   science   fields   are   highly   dependent   on   access   to   quality   biodiversity   informa@on,   ranging   from   taxonomy,   botany,   zoology,   etc.,   to   large   scale   ecology   projects   and   environmental   research   (e.g.,   invasive   species,   climate   change,   habitat   loss),   forestry   and   agricultural   research,   and   research   on   food,   bioproduct,   bioprocess  and  drug  discovery  and  development.  Access  to  these  data  will  also   increase  our  ability  to:  manage  our  natural  resources  sustainably;  mi@gate  and   adapt  to  environmental  changes;  ensure  that  essen@al  ecological  services  are   maintained   and   species-­‐at-­‐risk   protected;   and   support   a   range   of   important   regional,   na@onal   and   interna@onal   science   ini@a@ves   (Council   of   Canadian   Academies,  2010).  Finally,  access  to  quality  biodiversity  informa@on  is  essen@al   for   clear,   science-­‐based   policies   and   regula@ons   and   to   streamline   environmental   assessments   and   permit   permissions.   This   is   necessary   to   minimize   uncertainty,   to   provide   innova@ve,   evidence-­‐based   solu@ons   for   natural   resource   industries   while   ensuring   an   appropriate   balance   between   socio-­‐economic  costs  and  environmental  protec@on.    
14. How?  
15. Collect   Prepare   Digi@ze   Standardize   Publish   Aggregate   Download   Use  
16. Collect   Prepare   Digi@ze   Standardize   Publish   Aggregate   Download   Use  
17. Digi@ze   In  each  individual  collec@on  (2  years)   Share  experience  &  best  prac@ces   bit.ly/Canadensys-­‐forum    
18. Time  consuming!   Imaging  +  ci@zen  science?   Get  metadata  first?   Georeferencing?  
19. bit.ly/mt-­‐inventory-­‐blog  
20. Standardize   Different  database  systems   Darwin  Core  Archives   bit.ly/DarwinCore  
22. Publish   Make  available  online   GBIF  Integrated  Publishing  Toolkit  (IPT)   data.canadensys.net/ipt  
27. Download   Per  dataset   Not  very  flexible  
28. Aggregate   Can  be  done  by  anyone   Global  Biodiversity  Informa@on  Facility   www.gbif.org  
29. eol.org/pages/344/maps  
31. Download   Explore  and  search  across  datasets   data.gbif.org  
33. Collect   Prepare   Digi@ze   Standardize   Publish   Aggregate   Download   Use  
34. Complete  workflow   Standardize,  publish,  register,  available   Since  2011,  thanks  to  IPT!  
36. Checklists   Data  about  taxa  (vs  specimens)     Now  also  supported  by   DwC-­‐A,  GBIF  &  IPT  
37. VASCAN   Database  of  Vascular  Plants  of  Canada   data.canadensys.net/vascan  
42. How  can  we  help?  
43. Data  hos@ng   Only  registered  IPT  in  Canada   Full  afribu@on  via  registra@on   data.canadensys.net/ipt  
44. Data   Available  for  use   More  datasets  coming  soon   data.canadensys.net  
47. What  we  want  
48. More  data   It’s  out  there!   NSERC  proposal  submifed     to  support  more  of  it  
49. Darwin  Core  Archives   The  format  war  is  over  
50. Collabora@on   CBIF,  NatureServe  Canada,  Canadensys   With  other  organiza@ons   Between  data  holders  and  users  
51. Na@onal  coordina@on   www.canadensys.net/ofawa-­‐2011    
52. 2-­‐way  communica@on   Links  back  to  the  data  holder   Befer  cita@ons   Persistent  iden@fiers  
53. Training   Darwin  Core  can  be  overwhelming   bit.ly/AppleCore  for  insects  
55. Thanks!   www.canadensys.net   @canadensys   @peterdesmet   Peter  Desmet  &  Anne  Bruneau