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ICT field recording tools and techniques for
biodiversity conservation New approaches and
old challenges from All Taxa Biodiversity
Inventory Monitoring (ATBIM) programs under
the European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy
(EDIT)
Christoph L. Häuser (1), Alexander Kroupa (2)
J. Carlos Monje Staatliches Museum für
Naturkunde, Rosenstein 1, 70191 Stuttgart,
Germany 1, 2 present address Museum für
Naturkunde, Invalidenstr. 43, 10115 Berlin,
Germany email chaeuser_at_gmx.de
haeuser.smns_at_naturkundemuseum-bw.de
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The real challenge biodiversity loss

• Mammals IUCN red lists - www.iucnredlist.org
  
• (1990) threatened endangered 647 spp.
• (2008) threatened (CR, EN, VU) 1141 spp.
  ( 23 of all mammal species known)!
• Reptiles
• (1990) threatened ( endangered) 207 spp.
• (2003) threatened 293 spp.
• (2008) threatened 423 spp.
• increases from 2000 - 2003 -
  2008
• plants 5,611 6,774
  8,457 spp.
• vertebrates 3,507 3,524
  5,966 spp.
• invertebrates 1,928 1,959
  2,496 spp.
• n.b. insects ( 950,000 spp.) only 0.02 of
  all insect species could yet be evaluated!!

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Background some shortcomings

• Scientific biodiversity inventory ongoing since
  gt 250 years (1753 / 1758)
• no global checklist yet available!
• most countries without accurate / up-to-date
  national faunas / floras (inventories,
  checklists)!
• no complete species inventory for any Protected
  Area in the World!!!
• majority of described species known 1-5 specimens
  / records / publications
• Biodiversity crisis information crisis !?!

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The Challenge new ways for biodiversity
science (new taxonomy)

• Impediments bottlenecks
• biodiversity inventories / assessments
  (systematics, taxonomy) cumulative science (!!)
• contemporary biodiversity science
  individualistic, hypothesis / analysis driven
  research
• no / little incentives yet for sustainable
  collection, management maintenance of data
• However, opportunities for improving efficiency
  through recent technological developments (ICT,
  www), particularly for field and inventory work!

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The issues for more efficient biodiversity
inventories

• Work flow
• field protocols for data capture / recording
• referencing metadata (time place)
• Data standards
• Darwin Core (DiGIR), ABCD (BioCASE), TAPIR
• GUIDs, LSIDs
• Data sustainability
• data policy
• best practices and responsibilities

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gt100.000 field generated data records every day ?!
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gt1.000.000 field generated data records every day
!??
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Work flow (field work) - analysis

• every day gt100.000 scientific primary biological
  datasets / records / specimens are newly
  observed / collected / recorded
• many / most of these data are - still not
  recorded digitally
• majority of these data are not recorded using
  standard protocols or proper (geo-)referencing
• nearly all of these data (ca 90) are still not
  shared or managed / maintained sustainably

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Data sustainability

• most biodiversity field data are only collected
  for a specific purpose (i.e., to answer a single
  scientific hypothesis / question )
• usually, no protocols or standards applied beyond
  those connected to research question(s)
• no longer-term vision for use of primary data
• incentives / requirements for providing (long
  term) access and sharing primary data needed !!

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• EDIT Towards The European Distributed
• Institute of Taxonomy http//www.e-taxonomy.eu
• a  network of excellence  supported by the
  European Commission (FP6)
• funded for 5 years (2007 2011)
• 27 partner institutions (18 EU, 2 Russian 2
  US museums biological collections)
• coordinated by the Museum National dHistoire
  Naturelle, Paris (Prof Simon Tillier)

WP7
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EDIT WP7 (ATBIM) approach

• organizes all taxa biodiversity inventory and
  monitoring (ATBIM) projects at selected
  conservation areas in and outside Europe in need
  of inventories
• organizes and supports teams of taxonomic experts
  for field work to update/complete inventories at
  ATBIM pilot sites
• tests and develops new standards, protocols, and
  tools for efficient field recording techniques
  (geo-referencing, field-based ID techniques,
  GUIDs for records specimens, etc.)
• delivers primary occurrence data as digital
  records (compatible with BioCASE/DiGIR/TAPIR
  protocols) hosted in openly accessible web-based
  information systems (GBIF www.gbif.org) - for
  actual future use

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(ATBIM) field work flow

• Recording primary data 4 steps / successive
  levels
• Localities / locations (geographic coordinates,
  elevation geo-referencing)
• Recording / collecting events (date, time,
  collecting/recording methods, name of recorder,
  etc)
• Code field records / samples (preliminary
  identifications, recorders notes / IDs)
• Identified individual records (subsequent
  determinations of individual records / specimens,
  GUIDs)
• Green field activities

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(ATBIM) improving work flow

• Localities Automated geo-referencing (GPS
  receivers in cameras, PDAs, notebook PCs)
• Events Automated dating/timing of events,
  simultaneously with geo-referencing of
  localities individual recording of techniques,
  names of recorders, special circumstances, etc.
• Field records Automated ID generation, at least
  for automated sampling / recording methods (e.g.,
  digital photos, measurements, etc),individual
  assigning of unique IDs to field samples
• combine 1. 3. in a single device / tool !

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Mobile GIS-biodiversity data systemFirst approach
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Mobile GIS/PC-SystemA possible solution

• MobileMapper 6
• Pocket PC from Magellan
• Windows Mobile 6

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MobileMapper 6One tool - for many / all field
recording requirements

• PDA and GPS in one tool
• Runs different applications (GIS, dbs, editors,
  )
• GPS accuracy 2-3 meters
• QVGA Touchscreen
• Integrated camera (2 Megapixel)
• Battery capacity up to 10 hours
• Memory chip card (SD)
• Voice recording is possible
• Weight only 225 g

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ProMark 500 High Accuracy and postprocessing

• ProMark 500
• GPS, GLONASS, SBAS (EGNOS)
• Accuracy up to 1 cm
• RTK-System, real-time und postprocessing
• Weight lt 2 kg, IP67
• MM CX as field-computer

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Rangefinder-System Recording mobile objects
Vector 1500

• Distance measurement (up to 2km)
• Direction and slope are recorded
• Supplementary to GPS
• Battery capacity up to several days

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Remaining challenges

• Biodiversity research (taxonomy) need to
  transform into a more efficient and sustainable
  information science, through
• accepting and implementing new (digital) data
  recording tools and protocols
• valuing the generation of new (primary) data in a
  re-usable, sustainable manner
• overcoming personal ownership feeling of data,
  freely sharing (primary) data
• scaling up from individual driven research
  towards international cooperative efforts

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(Field) work flow recommendations

• field collecting and recording should be
  immediately digital, conforming to recognized
  data standards and protocols and applying
  available technologies tools
• any field activity must first be accurately
  geo-referenced ( dated/timed) integration of
  GPS antenna / receivers into all devices / tools
• any field collecting or recording event / sample
  needs unique IDs and be properly referenced
  (documented protocols, methods, etc.)

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Conclusions for sustainable biodiversity
science

• All (field) data generating projects should be
  requested to share primary records applying
  established digital data standards
• Providing sharing of primary biodiversity data
  should be adequately acknowledged credited
  both by funders and academia
• Funding bodies need to implement and promote new
  (biodiversity) data management policies
• International / global information
  infrastructures for biodiversity data need to be
  sustained and expanded (GBIF, CoL, EOL)

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Acknowledgements

• Many thanks to
• funding organizations EC (DG RTD), BMBF/DLR
  MWK/SMNS
• P.N. Mercantour / P.N. Alpi Marittime
• all EDIT partners participating in WP7 (ATBIs)!
• Merijn Bos, Jutta Eymann, Dietger Hausenblas,
  Joachim Holstein, Martin Nebel, Monika Pfeffer,
  Klaus Riede, Dilan Latif, Axel Steiner SMNS,
  Stuttgart
• Philippe Bouchet, Simon Tillier MNHN, Paris
• Eduard Stloukal, Comenius University, Bratislava

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1st EDIT WP7 ATBIM pilot site (www.atbi.eu)
Mercantour / Alpi Marittime NPs
Our pilot trip plans
Thank you for your attention!