POLINIZADORES: DESAFIOS E OPORTUNIDADES NO DESENVOLVIMENTO DE SISTEMAS DE INFORMAÇÃO ON-LINE

Polinizadores apresentam um grande desafio para o desenvolvimento de sistemas de informação on-line. Além de dados taxonômicos e geográficos é importante integrar informações sobre as diferentes interações inseto - planta. Novas tecnologias de informação e comunicação estão viabilizando a integração de sistemas heterogênios que incluem coleções biológicas, dados de observação, referências bibliográficas e mapas. O artigo procura apresentar os trabalhos desenvolvidos na rede speciesLink

Data Leakage and Loss in Biodiversity Informatics

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.The field of biodiversity informatics is in a massive, “grow-out” phase of creating and enabling large-scale biodiversity data resources. Because perhaps 90% of existing biodiversity data nonetheless remains unavailable for science and policy applications, the question arises as to how these existing and available data records can be mobilized most efficiently and effectively. This situation led to our analysis of several large-scale biodiversity datasets regarding birds and plants, detecting information gaps and documenting data “leakage” or attrition, in terms of data on taxon, time, and place, in each data record. We documented significant data leakage in each data dimension in each dataset. That is, significant numbers of data records are lacking crucial information in terms of taxon, time, and/or place; information on place was consistently the least complete, such that geographic referencing presently represents the most significant factor in degradation of usability of information from biodiversity information resources. Although the full process of digital capture, quality control, and enrichment is important to developing a complete digital record of existing biodiversity information, payoffs in terms of immediate data usability will be greatest with attention paid to the georeferencing challenge.JRS Biodiversity Foundatio

Data Leakage and Loss in Biodiversity Informatics

The field of biodiversity informatics is in a massive, “grow-out” phase of creating and enabling large-scale biodiversity data resources. Because perhaps 90% of existing biodiversity data nonetheless remains unavailable for science and policy applications, the question arises as to how these existing and available data records can be mobilized most efficiently and effectively. This situation led to our analysis of several large-scale biodiversity datasets regarding birds and plants, detecting information gaps and documenting data “leakage” or attrition, in terms of data on taxon, time, and place, in each data record. We documented significant data leakage in each data dimension in each dataset. That is, significant numbers of data records are lacking crucial information in terms of taxon, time, and/or place; information on place was consistently the least complete, such that geographic referencing presently represents the most significant factor in degradation of usability of information from biodiversity information resources. Although the full process of digital capture, quality control, and enrichment is important to developing a complete digital record of existing biodiversity information, payoffs in terms of immediate data usability will be greatest with attention paid to the georeferencing challenge

The Importance of Biodiversity E-infrastructures for Megadiverse Countries

Addressing the challenges of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development requires global cooperation, support structures, and new governance models to integrate diverse initiatives and achieve massive, open exchange of data, tools, and technology. The traditional paradigm of sharing scientific knowledge through publications is not sufficient to meet contemporary demands that require not only the results but also data, knowledge, and skills to analyze the data. E-infrastructures are key in facilitating access to data and providing the framework for collaboration. Here we discuss the importance of e-infrastructures of public interest and the lack of long-term funding policies. We present the example of Brazil’s speciesLink network, an e-infrastructure that provides free and open access to biodiversity primary data and associated tools. SpeciesLink currently integrates 382 datasets from 135 national institutions and 13 institutions from abroad, openly sharing ~7.4 million records, 94% of which are associated to voucher specimens. Just as important as the data is the network of data providers and users. In 2014, more than 95% of its users were from Brazil, demonstrating the importance of local e-infrastructures in enabling and promoting local use of biodiversity data and knowledge. From the outset, speciesLink has been sustained through project-based funding, normally public grants for 2–4-year periods. In between projects, there are short-term crises in trying to keep the system operational, a fact that has also been observed in global biodiversity portals, as well as in social and physical sciences platforms and even in computing services portals. In the last decade, the open access movement propelled the development of many web platforms for sharing data. Adequate policies unfortunately did not follow the same tempo, and now many initiatives may perish

The Bari Manifesto : An interoperability framework for essential biodiversity variables

Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBV) are fundamental variables that can be used for assessing biodiversity change over time, for determining adherence to biodiversity policy, for monitoring progress towards sustainable development goals, and for tracking biodiversity responses to disturbances and management interventions. Data from observations or models that provide measured or estimated EBV values, which we refer to as EBV data products, can help to capture the above processes and trends and can serve as a coherent framework for documenting trends in biodiversity. Using primary biodiversity records and other raw data as sources to produce EBV data products depends on cooperation and interoperability among multiple stakeholders, including those collecting and mobilising data for EBVs and those producing, publishing and preserving EBV data products. Here, we encapsulate ten principles for the current best practice in EBV-focused biodiversity informatics as 'The Bari Manifesto', serving as implementation guidelines for data and research infrastructure providers to support the emerging EBV operational framework based on trans-national and cross-infrastructure scientific workflows. The principles provide guidance on how to contribute towards the production of EBV data products that are globally oriented, while remaining appropriate to the producer's own mission, vision and goals. These ten principles cover: data management planning; data structure; metadata; services; data quality; workflows; provenance; ontologies/vocabularies; data preservation; and accessibility. For each principle, desired outcomes and goals have been formulated. Some specific actions related to fulfilling the Bari Manifesto principles are highlighted in the context of each of four groups of organizations contributing to enabling data interoperability - data standards bodies, research data infrastructures, the pertinent research communities, and funders. The Bari Manifesto provides a roadmap enabling support for routine generation of EBV data products, and increases the likelihood of success for a global EBV framework.Peer reviewe

Global Biodiversity Informatics Outlook: Delivering biodiversity knowledge in the information age

The Global Biodiversity Informatics Outlook helps to focus effort and investment towards better understanding of life on Earth and our impacts upon it. It proposes a framework that will help harness the immense power of information technology and an open data culture, to gather unprecedented evidence about biodiversity and to inform better decisions. This document is accompanied by a website, www.biodiversityinformatics.org, that will report progress towards each part of the framework and provide a forum for ideas, projects and funding sources supporting the goals of the Outlook

New Brazilian Floristic List Highlights Conservation Challenges

A comprehensive new inventory of Brazilian plants and fungi was published just in time to meet a 2010 Convention on Biological Diversity target and offers important insights into this biodiversity's global significance. Brazil is the home to the world's richest flora (40,989 species; 18,932 endemic) and includes two of the hottest hotspots: Mata Atlantica (19,355 species) and Cerrado (12,669 species). Although the total number of known species is one-third lower than previous estimates, the absolute number of endemic vascular plant species is higher than was previously estimated, and the proportion of endemism (56%) is the highest in the Neotropics. This compilation serves not merely to quantify the scale of the challenge faced in conserving Brazil's unique flora but also serves as a key resource to direct action and monitor progress. Similar efforts by other megadiverse countries are urgently required if the 2020 targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation are to be attained.Ministerio do Meio AmbienteMinisterio do Meio AmbienteCentro Nacional de Conservacao da FloraCentro Nacional de Conservacao da FloraNational Council for Scientific and Technological DevelopmentNational Council for Scientific and Technological DevelopmentBentham and Moxon TrustBentham and Moxon Trus

Figure 1 from: Canhos D (2017) Data Management Plan: Brazil's Virtual Herbarium. Research Ideas and Outcomes 3: e14675. https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.3.e14675

Figure 1 - System architecture of the BVH and supporting systems

Biodiversity information systems and publica policies in the digital age

Orientador: Maria Beatriz Machado BonacelliTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de GeociênciasResumo: A tese apresenta como tema a influência das tecnologias da informação e comunicação (TICs) na circulação do conhecimento científico e o seu efeito na elaboração de políticas públicas em biodiversidade. O avanço das TICs está afetando a forma com que o conhecimento é produzido e como os resultados são difundidos. As TICs tornaram possível o envolvimento de mais atores na gênese do conhecimento, atores de diferentes disciplinas, especialidades, instituições, localidades, países, culturas e realidades sociais. O paradigma tradicional de compartilhamento de dados e resultados científicos por meio apenas de publicações em livros e revistas especializadas não é mais suficiente para atender à demanda contemporânea que necessita não só da disponibilidade dos dados, mas dos processos, análises e métodos e, quando possível, em tempo real, proporcionando uma maior transparência e reprodutibilidade dos resultados. Também não basta a disponibilidade dos dados on-line; estes precisam estar organizados de forma padronizada em formatos úteis e utilizáveis, acessíveis, tanto por interfaces humanas, como também via serviços web. Além da tecnologia e da necessidade científica de compartilhar dados, métodos e análises em diferentes escalas e disciplinas, existe uma necessidade de acesso e uso dos dados e aplicativos para processos de tomada de decisão, também em diferentes escalas, do local ao global. Isso é particularmente verdadeiro quando o tema é meio ambiente e desenvolvimento sustentável. A tese argumenta que a política para dados sobre biodiversidade deve promover o seu acesso livre e aberto. Destaca a importância de políticas de longo prazo voltadas ao desenvolvimento e manutenção contínua de infraestruturas de dados para armazenar, organizar, preservar, recuperar e disseminar on-line, de forma livre e aberta, em formato útil e utilizável, dados e informações sobre biodiversidade, geradas com recursos públicos. Indica a necessidade das agências e do poder público se capacitarem para se apropriarem desses dados e informações disponibilizadas nessas e-infraestruturas. Na tese são analisadas três infraestruturas de dados sobre biodiversidade: a rede global GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility); a rede mexicana Conabio (Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, Mexico) e a rede brasileira speciesLink. Para cada rede é apresentada uma breve análise dos pontos fortes e fracos, buscando elementos para avaliar a adequação das políticas de fomento para o desenvolvimento e manutenção desses sistemas. São também apresentados três exemplos de uso da infraestrutura brasileira, a rede speciesLink: (i) para o monitoramento e acompanhamento de programas e projetos e para avaliação e valorização dos serviços científicos prestados por curadores e taxonomistas; (ii) para a identificação de lacunas de dados e conhecimento sobre a ocorrência de espécies da flora e fungos do Brasil; e (iii) para a definição de estratégias de apoio à informatização dos acervos de coleções biológicas do país. A tese procura mostrar a oportunidade, viabilidade e importância de usar e-infraestruturas em biodiversidade, não só para ampliar o acesso e a usabilidade dos dados para o desenvolvimento científico, mas para a elaboração e avaliação de políticas públicas, inclusive para melhorar a qualidade, confiabilidade e completude dos dados e informaçõesAbstract: The theme of this thesis is the influence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the circulation of scientific knowledge and its effect on the formulation of public policies on biodiversity. Advances in ICTs are affecting the way in which knowledge is produced and how results are disseminated. ICTs have enabled the involvement of more actors in the genesis of knowledge, actors from different disciplines, specialties, institutions, localities, countries, and from different social and cultural backgrounds. Thus, the traditional paradigm of sharing scientific data and results through books and journals is not sufficient to attend contemporary demands that require not only the availability of data, but also processes, analysis, and methods and, when possible, in real time, providing increased transparency and reproducibility of results. But just making data available on-line is not sufficient. It must be organized following accepted standards, in useful and usable formats, and accessible, both through human interfaces and as web services. In addition to the technology and the need to share scientific data, methods and analysis in different scales and disciplines, there is the need to use a data infrastructure with tools for decision making, also in different scales, from local to global. This is particularly true when the theme is environment and sustainable development. The thesis argues that policy for biodiversity data must promote its free and open access. It also stresses the importance of long term policies for ongoing maintenance and development of electronic biodiversity data infrastructures, responsible for storing, organizing, preserving, recuperating, and for on-line free and open dissemination of information and data, generated with public funding. The thesis also indicates the need for public agents and authorities to make efficient and effective use of the data and information provided by such e-infrastructures. The thesis analyses three biodiversity data infrastructures: the global network GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility); the Mexican network Conabio (Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, Mexico); and the Brazilian network speciesLink. A brief analysis is presented for each network, evaluating strengths and weaknesses, seeking elements to assess the adequacy of policies to promote the development and maintenance of these systems. Three examples of possible uses of the Brazilian network speciesLink are also presented: (i) for monitoring programs and projects and for the evaluation and acknowledgement of scientific services provided by curators and taxonomists; (ii) to identify data and knowledge gaps on the occurrence of species of flora and fungi of Brazil; and, (iii) to define strategies to support the computerization of biological collections in the country. The thesis aims at showing the opportunity, feasibility and importance of using e-infrastructures in biodiversity, not only to increase access and usability of data for scientific development, but for the development and evaluation of public policies, including those to improve the quality, reliability, and completeness of data and informationDoutoradoPolitica Cientifica e TecnologicaDoutora em Política Científica e Tecnológic