Abstract Detail

Biodiversity Informatics & Herbarium Digitization

Soltis, Douglas E. [1], Soltis, Pamela S. [2], Beach, James [3], Stewart, Aimee [3], Thompson, Alexander [4], Cavner, Jeffery [3], Grady, C.J. [3], Smith, Stephen [5], Fortes, Jose [6], Folk, Ryan [1], Gitzendanner, Matthew [7].

Biotaphy: Mobilizing and integrating big data in studies of spatial and phylogenetic patterns of biodiversity.

The current global challenges that threaten biodiversity are immense and rapidly growing. These biodiversity challenges demand approaches that meld bioinformatics, large-scale phylogeny reconstruction, use of digitized specimen data, and complex post-tree analyses (e.g. niche modeling, niche diversification, and other ecological analyses). Recent developments in phylogenetics coupled with emerging cyberinfrastructure and new data sources provide unparalleled opportunities for mobilizing and integrating massive amounts of biological data, driving the discovery of complex patterns and new hypotheses for further study. These developments are not trivial in that biodiversity data on the global scale now being collected and analyzed are inherently complex. To assist with this linkage we have developed BiotaPhy, linking Open Tree of Life, Life Mapper and iDigBio. The ongoing integration and maturation of biodiversity tools discussed here is transforming biodiversity science, enabling what we broadly term “next-generation” investigations in systematics, ecology, and evolution (i.e., “biodiversity science”). New training that integrates domain knowledge in biodiversity and data science skills is also needed to accelerate research in these areas. Integrative biodiversity science is crucial to the future of global biodiversity. We cannot simply react to continued threats to biodiversity, but via the use of an integrative, multifaceted, big data approach, researchers can now make biodiversity projections to provide crucial data not only for scientists, but also for the public, land managers, policy makers, urban planners, and agriculture

1 - University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, United States
2 - University Of Florida, Florida Museum Of Natural History, PO BOX 117800, Gainesville, FL, 32611-7800, USA, 352/273-1964
3 - University of Kansas, 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA
4 - University of Florida, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 339 Larsen Hall, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, United States
5 - University of Michigan, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 830 North University, 830 North University, MI, 48109, USA
6 - University of Florida, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, United States
7 - University of Florida, Biology, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, United States

Keywords:
Biodiversity
iDigBio
LifeMapper
OpenTree
niche modeling
tool linkage.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 32, Biodiversity Informatics & Herbarium Digitization II
Location: Fort Worth Ballroom 6/Omni Hotel
Date: Tuesday, June 27th, 2017
Time: 3:45 PM
Number: 32001
Abstract ID:305
Candidate for Awards:None