The geological and ecological sciences -- their natural interdependency reflected in cyberinfrastructure

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• The geological and ecological sciences -- their
  natural interdependency reflected in
  cyberinfrastructure

Annette Olson, John Mosesso, Sue Haseltine,
Gladys Cotter Biological Resources Division
U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological
Survey
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Biological and Geological Linkages
Earth Surface
Coastal Marine
Disasters
Minerals
Water
Biosphere
Energy
Magnetism
Climate
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The Need for Informatics

• Research needs
• data to answer new, multivariate questions
• tools for manipulating and analyzing data
• data for validating models and
• To make own data longer-lived and more valuable.
• Societal need to have accurate and integrated
  scientific information for
• increased understanding and
• Informed decision-making.

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Environmental Drivers

• Climate change
• Pollution
• Disasters
• Invasive Species
• Land and resource use
• Wildlife diseases

Amphibian deformities
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Conceptual model of factors influencing and
interacting with invasion by exotic species
University of Kansas
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Species Invasions Asian long-horned beetle
University of Kansas
(Anoplophora glabripennis) - Twenty environmental
layers
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Important Geological Data

• Data linked to specific coordinates,
• Data about the past (historical or
  prehistorical), and/or
• Data available in real-time or near real-time.
• Almost all geological information is useful
• Data collected for geological purposes may also
  serve ecological needs, now or in the future.
• Even small, brief studies original samples are
  often the only samples (Geological Society of
  America, 2005).

More than 100 million boxes of fossils are in
geoscience repositories today (Committee for
the Preservation of Geoscience Data and
Collections, 2002).
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• Integrating Diverse Data from Multiple Disciplines

Columbia Spring, Yellowstone - algae pattern in
run off
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Terminologies and research protocols
Biodiversity Complexity Thesaurus
Pacific Ecoinformatics and Computational Biology
Lab
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GAP Gap Analysis Program

• Field plot data
• Digital Land CoverDetailed classification of
  habitat type
• Predicted Species RangesModeled ranges of
  mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians
• Land Stewardship Maps Delineation of land units
  by ownership, management, and conservation status

Satellite Imagery
Elevation
Aerial Photography
Species Range Modeling
Land Management
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Temporal framework
Marsupial Evolution
http//kagi.coe21.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/tidbit/tidbit30
.html
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• Integrating Diverse Data from Multiple Disciplines

Columbia Spring, Yellowstone - algae pattern in
run off
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Spatial Uncertainty
Collection locations for small Mammals in Utah
Rowe RJ. 2005. Journal of Biogeography 32
1883-1897
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Uncertainty in 3 dimensions
pika
Rowe RJ. 2005. Journal of Biogeography 32
1883-1897
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• it is imperative for ecological forecasts to be
  associated with estimates of uncertainty or
  error bars so that decision-makers using them
  have information as to the likelihood of a given
  forecast (GEOSS, 2004).

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Scientific Informatics Systems
World Data Centers, Global Biodiversity
Information Facility, Clearinghouse Mechanism
The Inter-American Biodiversity Information
Network, e-Science (Europe)
The National Spatial Data Infrastructure, The
National Biological Information Infrastructure,
The Geosciences Network (US), Environmental
Resources Information Network (Australia)
State Heritage Programs, GAP Analysis,
Universities, Bio-Geographic Information and
Observation System
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NBIIThe National Biological Information
Infrastructure
www.nbii.gov
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NBII Major Partners

• USGS
• USFWS
• BLM
• EPA
• NPS
• NOAA
• NASA
• NSF

• USDA
• DOE/ORNL
• IAFWA
• OFWIM
• TNC
• NatureServe
• Smithsonian
• BioEco

• IABIN
• NABIN
• GBIF
• ITIS/Species 2000
• NISC
• ISSG
• CODATA

Full partner list http//www.nbii.gov/about/partn
er/
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New Data Collection Techniques
Field computers
LIDAR
UAV
BarCodes
We have about 400 years of practice with the
scientific method. However, the interaction
between science and data systems has a history of
less than 40 years (R. McCord, data manager, Oak
Ridge National Laboratory).
Smart Dust
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• Thank you
• Annette Olson
• Biodiversity Scientist
• Biological Informatics Office, USGS
• alolson_at_usgs.gov

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Variability at different scales
Gray et al., Ecology, in press
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The Vision for the Future
PEaCE Lab www.foodwebs.org
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Marsupial Evolution
http//kagi.coe21.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/tidbit/tidbit30
.html