The Biodiversity and Climate Change Virtual Laboratory: Where ecology meets big data

Advances in computing power and infrastructure, increases in the number and size of ecological and environmental datasets, and the number and type of data collection methods, are revolutionizing the field of Ecology. To integrate these advances, virtual laboratories offer a unique tool to facilitate, expedite, and accelerate research into the impacts of climate change on biodiversity. We introduce the uniquely cloud-based Biodiversity and Climate Change Virtual Laboratory (BCCVL), which provides access to numerous species distribution modelling tools; a large and growing collection of biological, climate, and other environmental datasets; and a variety of experiment types to conduct research into the impact of climate change on biodiversity. Users can upload and share datasets, potentially increasing collaboration, cross-fertilisation of ideas, and innovation among the user community. Feedback confirms that the BCCVL's goals of lowering the technical requirements for species distribution modelling, and reducing time spent on such research, are being met

The Biodiversity and Climate Change Virtual Laboratory: How Ecology and Big Data can be utilised in the fight against vector-borne diseases

Advances in computing power and infrastructure, increases in the number and size of ecological and environmental datasets, and the number and type of data collection methods, are revolutionizing the field of Ecology. To integrate these advances, virtual laboratories offer a unique tool to facilitate, expedite, and accelerate research into the impacts of climate change on biodiversity. We introduce the uniquely cloud-based Biodiversity and Climate Change Virtual Laboratory (BCCVL), which provides access to numerous species distribution modelling tools; a large and growing collection of biological, climate, and other environmental datasets, as well as a variety of experiment types to conduct research into the impact of climate change on biodiversity. Users can upload and share datasets, potentially increasing collaboration and cross-fertilisation of ideas and innovation among the user community. Feedback confirms that the BCCVL's goals of lowering the technical requirements for species distribution modelling, and reducing time spent on such research, are being met. We present a case study that illustrates the utility of the BCCVL as a research tool that can be applied to the problem of vector borne diseases and the likelihood of climate change altering their future distribution across Australia. This case study presents the preliminary results of an ensemble modelling experiment which employs multiple (15) different species distribution modelling algorithms to model the distribution of one of the main mosquito vectors of the most common vector borne disease in Australia: Ross River Virus (RRV). We use the BCCVL to do future projection of these models with future climates based on two extreme emissions scenarios, for multiple years. Our results show a large range in both the modelled current distribution, and projected future distribution, of the mosquito species studied. Most models (that were built using different algorithms) show somewhat similar current distributions of the species however there are three models that are obvious outliers. The projected models show a similar range in the distribution of the species, with some models indicating a fewer areas (and also areas with a lower probability of occurrence in specific areas) where the species is likely to be found under a climate change scenario. However, a majority of models show an expanded distribution, with some areas that have a greater probability of the occurrence of this species; this will provide a more robust indication of future distribution for policy makers and planners, than if just one or a few models had been employed. The economic and human health impact of vector borne diseases underline the importance of scientifically sound projections of the future spread of common disease vectors such as mosquitos under various climate change scenarios. This is because such information is essential for policy–makers to identify vulnerable communities and to better manage outbreaks and potential epidemics of such diseases. The BCCVL has provided the means to effectively and robustly bracket multiple sources of uncertainty in the future spread of RRV: this study focuses on two of these - the future distribution of a primary mosquito vector of the disease under two extreme scenarios of climate change. Research is underway to expand our analysis to take into account more sources of uncertainty: more vector and amplifying host species, emissions scenarios, and future climate projections from a range of different global climate model

Open Science principles for accelerating trait-based science across the Tree of Life.

Synthesizing trait observations and knowledge across the Tree of Life remains a grand challenge for biodiversity science. Species traits are widely used in ecological and evolutionary science, and new data and methods have proliferated rapidly. Yet accessing and integrating disparate data sources remains a considerable challenge, slowing progress toward a global synthesis to integrate trait data across organisms. Trait science needs a vision for achieving global integration across all organisms. Here, we outline how the adoption of key Open Science principles-open data, open source and open methods-is transforming trait science, increasing transparency, democratizing access and accelerating global synthesis. To enhance widespread adoption of these principles, we introduce the Open Traits Network (OTN), a global, decentralized community welcoming all researchers and institutions pursuing the collaborative goal of standardizing and integrating trait data across organisms. We demonstrate how adherence to Open Science principles is key to the OTN community and outline five activities that can accelerate the synthesis of trait data across the Tree of Life, thereby facilitating rapid advances to address scientific inquiries and environmental issues. Lessons learned along the path to a global synthesis of trait data will provide a framework for addressing similarly complex data science and informatics challenges

Integrated Biodiversity Infrastructure for Decision Making

The Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) is an Australian Government supported collaborative partnership of organisations that have stewardship of Australian biodiversity data. The ALA (www.ala.org.au) provides research infrastructure that enables delivery of biodiversity information to over 45,000 unique users in research, industry and government per annum. It delivers impact and enables research excellence in fields such as biodiversity, environmental management, ecology and genetic sciences. Integrated and consistent infrastructure and processes are fundamental to increasing value of collections and associated data. The Atlas of Living Australia has a mature industry engagement program that provides data standardisation, quality and analytical services to decision makers in all tiers of Australian government (local, state and federal). This program is built on formal partnerships between data providers (collection institutions) and analytical services (such as Virtual Laboratories and Research and Science Clouds www.ecocloud.org.au). The provision of high quality, authoritative data is critical to utilisation and uptake of these services and sector sustainability. This presentation will showcase data service and analytical methods for decision makers within the Australian context. It will also explore how international efforts such as DiSSCo assist in data stewardship, cultural change and system enhancement

Qualitative project management : collaboration, scalability and efficiency

Qualitative research has 'come of age‘, the methodology is now commonly used in large, multi-site, collaborative research projects. Whilst welcome to the qualitative community, this expansion brings new logistical challenges associated with data management, increased participant numbers, collaborative partners, compliance issues and geographically disparate sites

Qualitative project management : collaboration, scalability and efficiency

Qualitative research has 'come of age‘, the methodology is now commonly used in large, multi-site, collaborative research projects. Whilst welcome to the qualitative community, this expansion brings new logistical challenges associated with data management, increased participant numbers, collaborative partners, compliance issues and geographically disparate sites

'I really would like to hear your story': Incorporating clinical empathy into the ward

Whilst medical schools are increasingly recognising the importance of empathy training, the hidden curriculum - the reality of clinic care - often overrides empathy training when medical students begin work in the wards. This week, Hamish Holewa talks with Dr Rebecca Garden, who believes this is a concern, given the strong evidence that patients do better medically and are more likely to collaborate in their treatment programs when they are collaborating with empathic doctors. She says we need to teach health professionals to be as conscious of emotions as possible, and to respond to emotions in themselves and their patients, in order to deliver effective patient centred care. Rebecca stresses that the critical point in building a collaborative relationship with a patient is reached when doctors check back with patients to make sure they\u27ve \u27got it right\u27, as it gives doctors an opportunity to learn more about the factors influencing their patient\u27s health and allows the patients to be the authority on their own story of illness. She also suggests that clinical empathy can actually be energising for health professionals and need not impose on the efficiency of a busy clinical environment

Is Open Access the holy grail? : challenging inequity in publishing academic literature

Open Access (OA) refers to the free and immediate access to published information on the internet of primarily scientific and academic peer reviewed articles (Suber 2007). Made possible by the advent of new technologies such as the internet, the Open Access model advocates for the removal of restrictions to the access of journals and scholarly articles. The OA movement was officially started by the Budapest Initiative, which in 2002 set out the first international statement and definition of OA

Missed opportunities : nursing insights on end-of-life care for haematology patients

There is now extensive consumer research to indicate that patients with haematological malignancies are not receiving appropriate or timely referrals to the palliative system. This paper begins to explore the issue from the professional perspective by presenting findings from haematology nurses on their experience with terminal care. The nursing insights have been gathered through open-ended interviews with a national sample of nurses with extensive experience in haematology in both public and private hospitals throughout Australia. The findings resonate with the previous consumer research in that all the acute care nurses affirmed that it is their belief, based on their professional experience, that patients from these diagnostic groups typically die in the acute ward dealing with escalating technology and invasive treatments. For some, the statements could be qualified by the satisfaction that they worked in a haematology unit, aware of the death-denying issues, trying to address the problem. Others, caught in a ‘refractory’ subculture (i.e. a subculture with a negative perception of palliative care), outlined the factors driving the lack of integration for their specific hospital. The focus of the discussion of findings is on the latter

End-of-life care of Aboriginal peoples in remote locations: language issues

To date, there is scant research literature that explores the provision of end-of-life care to Aboriginal peoples in Australia. In particular, there is a lack of published research available on issues at the interface of Aboriginal languages and English during palliative care. The complexity and importance of the issue for palliative care provision, however, is demonstrated by the fact that in Australia, Aboriginality is itself a very broad category, containing many distinct language groups and subcultures. Thus, although to date there is some mention of the problems associated with language in the literature, there is scant research on the topic of the provision of palliative care to Aboriginal peoples in remote areas. The following findings from a recent two-year National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) study are provided to address this hiatus. The findings provide insights on the impact of language difference on palliative care practice for Aboriginal peoples in the Northern Territory of Australia