10.1186/1742-9994-10-55Frontiers in Zoology101

Balke, M.

Bergsten, J.

Buffington, M.

Dietrich, C.

Fikáček, M.

Hagedorn, G.

Hausmann, A.

Hobern, D.

Hájek, J.

Häuser, C.L.

Krogmann, L.

Kroupa, A.

La Salle, J.

Mantle, B.

Michat, M.C.

Ng, P.K.L.

Polaszek, A.

Riedel, A.

Schmidt, S.

Toussaint, E.F.A.

Ubaidillah, R.

Zwick, A.

Frontiers in Zoology

PubMed

ScholarBank@NUS

Biodiversity into your hands - A call for a virtual global natural history 'metacollection'

Background: Many scientific disciplines rely on correct taxon delineations and identifications. So does a great part of the general public as well as decision makers. Researchers, students and enthusiastic amateurs often feel frustrated because information about species remains scattered, difficult to access, or difficult to decipher. Together, this affects almost anyone who wishes to identify species or verify identifications. Many remedies have been proposed, but we argue that the role of natural history collections remains insufficiently appreciated. We suggest using state-of-the-art mass imaging technology and to join forces to create a global natural history metacollection on the internet, providing access to the morphology of tens of millions of specimens and making them available for automated digital image analysis. Discussion: Robotic high-resolution imaging technology and fast (high performance) computer-based image stitching make it now feasible to digitize entire collection drawers typically used for arthropod collections, or trays or containers used for other objects. Resolutions of 500 megapixels and much higher are already utilized to capture the contents of 40x50 cm collection drawers, providing amazing detail of specimens. Flanked by metadata entry, this helps to create access to tens of thousands of specimens in days. By setting priorities and combining the holdings of the most comprehensive collections for certain taxa, drawer digitizing offers the unique opportunity to create a global, virtual metacollection. The taxonomic and geographic coverage of such a collection could never be achieved by a single institution or individual. We argue that by joining forces, many new impulses will emerge for systematic biology, related fields and understanding of biodiversity in general. Digitizing drawers containing unidentified, little-curated specimens is a contribution towards the beginning of a new era of online curation. It also will help taxonomists and curators to discover and process the millions of “gems” of undescribed species hidden in museum accessions. Summary: Our proposal suggests creating virtual, high-resolution image resources that will, for the first time in history, provide access for expert scientists as well as students and the general public to the enormous wealth of the world’s natural history collections. We foresee that this will contribute to a better understanding, appreciation and increased use of biodiversity resources and the natural history collections serving this cause.Fil: Balke, Michael. Ludwig Maximilians Universitat; Alemania. Zoologische Staatssammlung; AlemaniaFil: Schmidt, Stefan. Zoologische Staatssammlung; AlemaniaFil: Hausmann, Axel. Zoologische Staatssammlung; AlemaniaFil: Toussaint, Emmanuel F. A.. Ludwig Maximilians Universitat; Alemania. Zoologische Staatssammlung; AlemaniaFil: Bergsten, Johannes. Swedish Museum of Natural History; SueciaFil: Buffington, Matthew. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; Estados UnidosFil: Häuser, Christoph L.. Museum für Naturkunde; AlemaniaFil: Kroupa, Alexander. Museum für Naturkunde; AlemaniaFil: Hagedorn, Gregor. Museum für Naturkunde; AlemaniaFil: Riedel, Alexander. Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe; AlemaniaFil: Polaszek, Andrew. Natural History Museum; Reino UnidoFil: Ubaidillah, Rosichon. Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense; IndonesiaFil: Krogmann, Lars. Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart; AlemaniaFil: Zwick, Andreas. Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart; AlemaniaFil: Fikácek, Martin. National Museum; República ChecaFil: Hájek, Jiří. National Museum; República ChecaFil: Michat, Mariano Cruz. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Dietrich, Christopher. University of Illinois; Estados UnidosFil: la Salle, John. CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences; AustraliaFil: Mantle, Beth. CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences; AustraliaFil: Ng, Peter K. L.. National University of Singapore; SingapurFil: Hobern, Donald. GBIF Secretariat; Dinamarc

Balke, Michael

Schmidt, Stefan

Hausmann, Axel

Toussaint, Emmanuel F. A.

Bergsten, Johannes

Buffington, Matthew

Häuser, Christoph L.

Kroupa, Alexander

Hagedorn, Gregor

Riedel, Alexander

Polaszek, Andrew

Ubaidillah, Rosichon

Krogmann, Lars

Zwick, Andreas

Fikácek, Martin

Hájek, Jiří

Michat, Mariano Cruz

Dietrich, Christopher

la Salle, John

Mantle, Beth

Ng, Peter K. L.

Hobern, Donald

CONICET Digital

Biodiversity into your hands - A call for a virtual global natural history ‘metacollection’

Michael Balke

Stefan Schmidt

Axel Hausmann

Emmanuel FA Toussaint

Johannes Bergsten

Matthew Buffington

Christoph L Häuser

Alexander Kroupa

Gregor Hagedorn

Alexander Riedel

Andrew Polaszek

Rosichon Ubaidillah

Lars Krogmann

Andreas Zwick

Martin Fikáček

Jiří Hájek

Mariano C Michat

Christopher Dietrich

John La Salle

Beth Mantle

Peter KL Ng

Donald Hobern

Crossref

Many scientific disciplines rely on correct taxon delineations and identifications. So does a great part of the general public as well as decision makers. Researchers, students and enthusiastic amateurs often feel frustrated because information about species remains scattered, difficult to access, or difficult to decipher. Together, this affects almost anyone who wishes to identify species or verify identifications. Many remedies have been proposed, but we argue that the role of natural history collections remains insufficiently appreciated. We suggest using state-of-the-art mass imaging technology and to join forces to create a global natural history metacollection on the internet, providing access to the morphology of tens of millions of specimens and making them available for automated digital image analysis

Toussaint, Emmanuel FA

Fikáček, Martin

Michat, Mariano C.

La Salle, John

Ng, Peter KL

University of Canberra Research Repository

LAReferencia - Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas Latinoamericanas

Background: Many scientific disciplines rely on correct taxon delineations and identifications. So does a great part of the general public as well as decision makers. Researchers, students and enthusiastic amateurs often feel frustrated because information about species remains scattered, difficult to access, or difficult to decipher. Together, this affects almost anyone who wishes to identify species or verify identifications. Many remedies have been proposed, but we argue that the role of natural history collections remains insufficiently appreciated. We suggest using state-of-the-art mass imaging technology and to join forces to create a global natural history metacollection on the internet, providing access to the morphology of tens of millions of specimens and making them available for automated digital image analysis. Discussion: Robotic high-resolution imaging technology and fast (high performance) computer-based image stitching make it now feasible to digitize entire collection drawers typically used for arthropod collections, or trays or containers used for other objects. Resolutions of 500 megapixels and much higher are already utilized to capture the contents of 40x50 cm collection drawers, providing amazing detail of specimens. Flanked by metadata entry, this helps to create access to tens of thousands of specimens in days. By setting priorities and combining the holdings of the most comprehensive collections for certain taxa, drawer digitizing offers the unique opportunity to create a global, virtual metacollection. The taxonomic and geographic coverage of such a collection could never be achieved by a single institution or individual. We argue that by joining forces, many new impulses will emerge for systematic biology, related fields and understanding of biodiversity in general. Digitizing drawers containing unidentified, little-curated specimens is a contribution towards the beginning of a new era of online curation. It also will help taxonomists and curators to discover and process the millions of ``gems{''} of undescribed species hidden in museum accessions. Summary: Our proposal suggests creating virtual, high-resolution image resources that will, for the first time in history, provide access for expert scientists as well as students and the general public to the enormous wealth of the world's natural history collections. We foresee that this will contribute to a better understanding, appreciation and increased use of biodiversity resources and the natural history collections serving this cause

Haeuser, Christoph L.

Fikacek, Martin

Hajek, Jiri

Open Access LMU

English

Biodiversity into your hands - A call for a virtual global natural history `metacollection'

Springer - Publisher Connector

http://ri.conicet.gov.ar/bitstream/11336/29067/1/Balke_et_al__2013__-_Drawer_digitization.pdf

Biodiversity into your hands - A call for a virtual global natural history 'metacollection'

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