Small pieces loosely joined: towards a unified theory of biodiversity for the web.

Vincent S. Smith Natural History Museum, London, U.K. Small pieces loosely joined Toward a unified theory of biodiversity for the web

Macro taxonomy The foundation for biodiversity research
Inventory the Earth’s species
Document their relationships
“ Publish” & apply these data
Goal…
1.8 M described spp. (10M names)
300M pages (over last 250 years)
1.5-3B specimens
Data set… People…
4-6,000 scientists
30-40,000 “pro-amateurs”
Many more citizen scientists?

Micro taxonomy The process of taxonomic research
Parochial
Specialised experts
Fragmented & distributed
Sociology…
Different (domain specific)
Communities of practice
Non transferable skills
Methodology… Output…
Heterogeneous & scattered
High volume, low impact
Hard to find (use)

Micro taxonomy The process of taxonomic research
Communities of practice
Epistemological richness!
Non transferable skills
Methodology…
Parochial
Specialised experts
Fragmented & distributed
Sociology… Output…
Heterogeneous & scattered
High volume, low impact
Hard to find (use)

Traditional scholarly communication “ Paper-minds” Issues…
50% descriptions are copyright (1923)
Author pays model problematic (indiv. & societies)
Limited Open Access and accessibility
High transaction costs of publishing
No mechanism for updates & corrections
Little or no data integration (except citations)
No mechanism for community engagement
Result…
Most taxonomic “knowledge”
is never published
What is published cannot be mobilised
Low impact (but long half life)

Integrating macro & micro taxonomy Bridging the interface between policy and practice Communication ? Data People

New forms of communication Lessons for scholarly communication http://scratchpads.eu

What is a Scratchpad? A website for you & your community Your data 1 Published & reviewed on your site 3 Uploaded & tagged 2

What is a Scratchpad? A website for you & your community Your data 1 Published & reviewed on your site 3 Uploaded & tagged 2 Fast Intuitive Fit for use

What can Scratchpads do? Import, manage, search & browse: DNA & Phylogenies Literature Specimens Images

DNA & Phylogenies Specimens Literature Images What can Scratchpads do? Integration & connectivity within & between sites Taxonomy

+Administration -Change your site information -Change you front page -Change your logo -Activity and access logs +Backup -Backing up your data -Restoring your data +Bibliography -Creating a record -Importing from a ref. manager -Exporting to a reference manager +Blog -Creating and adding a blog +Custom Content -Defining a CCK -Importing from a spreadsheet -Creating a custom view +Fileshare -Creating and using a fileshare +Forum -Altering the forum settings -Creating a container for a forum -Creating a new forum -Creating a new topic inside a forum +Groups -Creating a group -Subscribing to a group +Image -Uploading & basic annotation -Linking image & location records -Linking image & specimen records -Linking image & publication records -Overlay annotations on images +Layout -Change your theme -Menus -Blocks and sidebars +Locations -Creating a record -Importing from a spreadsheet +Pages -Creating, editing, cloning & deleting -Configuring the panels template +Panels -Adding & configuring content -Creating a new panel -Citing a Panels page +Phylogeny -Adding a phylogenetic tree +Specimens -Creating a record -Importing from a spreadsheet -Linking specimen & location records -Linking specimen & pub. records +Tasks -Creating a tasklist +Taxonomy -Importing from a spreadsheet -Importing from ClassificationBank -Starting from scratch -Taxonomy manager -Displaying a classification -Adding names -Deleting names -Taxonomy & panels +Users -Your settings -Adding a new user -User roles and permissions -Adding and editing user profile fields -Logging in +Webform -Creating and using webforms What can Scratchpads do? In summary:

An ecosystem of communities Ants Bees Beetles Big-headed flies Birds Blackflies Ciliates Cockroaches Dragon Trees Dung Beetles False Buttonweed Flat worms Flies Foraminifera Fossil Insects Fungus Gnats Holometabola Leaf-miner Flies Lice Lichens of Bermuda Malvaceae Megalastrum ferns Milichiid flies Mosquitoes Mosses Nannotax fossils Nepticuloid moths Palms Pearl oysters Polychaete worms Scaleworms Termites Triticid grasses Weevils Wood Ferns Sulawesi Ferns Stick insects Sites: 130+ Users: 1500+ Pages: 170k Since March 2007

Dynamically built species pages A data management tool

Browsed through a taxonomy A data management tool

Including 3 rd party content A data publishing tool

With data curation tools A data publishing tool

Listing all “authors” A data publishing tool

Dated, permanent & citable A data publishing tool

“ Small pieces loosely joined” Scratchpad impact 1. Bringing data together Biodiversity studies are data rich, poorly archived & ever changing 2. Bringing people together Biodiversity researchers are few in number, fragmented & highly distributed 3. Bringing science together Biodiversity science demands a different approach to addressing BIG questions

Questions?

Small pieces loosely joined: towards a unified theory of biodiversity for the web.

by Vincent Smith

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Small pieces loosely joined: towards a unified theory of biodiversity for the web. Presentation Transcript