Science

Review 2012

Research using data accessed through the Global
Biodiversity Information Facility

Foreword
In 2012, GBIF came of scientific age. It experienced a veritable explosion in the scientificuse of the world’s biodiversity data that it serves freely and openly. The remarkable growth
in GBIF-enabled science – more than 230 recorded papers in 2012, up from 170 in 2011 –is the strongest possible demonstration of the return on investment that GBIF participant
countries have made in building the GBIF informatics infrastructure, and in mobilizing theknowledge discovered during the 300-year biological exploration of the planet. Reporting
the research citing GBIF as a data source, this Science Review is a fitting companion to
the 2012 GBIF Annual Report.
The subject areas encompassed by this research range from the impacts of climate change
and development, to modelling the dangerous spread of invasive alien species and diseaseorganisms, to the conservation of species and protected areas. Other researchers used
GBIF-mediated data to analyse the roles of biodiversity in sustaining food, biofuels andfarming. And many studies deployed GBIF-served data to advance understanding of lifeon Earth in a variety of ways.
Cumulatively, GBIF-enabled science is helping to build the knowledge base required
to fulfil the mission of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Services (IPBES), and to meet the Aichi Targets included in the United Nations 2011-20
Strategic Plan for Biodiversity.
To continue serving the needs of science and society, GBIF counts on the scientificcommunity in two crucial areas. First, authors should diligently cite and acknowledge
the use of GBIF-mediated data in all studies, so that GBIF data publishers see first-handthe rewards of sharing their data. Second, scientists should use every opportunity todemonstrate to each participant country – and to those countries not yet participating in
GBIF – the scientific importance of continued investment in GBIF’s fundamental enterprise.

LEONARD KRISHTALKACHAIR, GBIF SCIENCE COMMITTEE

01

A NOTE ON THIS REVIEWAll of the research articles included in the main
sections of this review from page 2 to page 30 assert
some use of GBIF-mediated data. They were extracted
from a continuing programme by the GBIF Secretariat
to monitor scientific literature and tag papers
according to use, discussion and mention of GBIF,
through the Mendeley academic archiving platform.
This archive is freely available at http://www.
mendeley.com/groups/1068301/gbif-public-library/.

The categories used for this review are designed tohelp navigate the major subject areas covered by
GBIF-assisted research. However, inevitably some
papers will cover multiple areas and the distinctions
may appear arbitrary in places. The countries
assigned to authors are based on the location of
the institutions given in the author information. The
free-text descriptions given to some papers in eachcategory are for illustration only – they do not imply
greater importance being attached to those papers
as opposed to others cited in the review.

NUMBER OF ARTICLES WITH AT LEAST ONE AUTHOR FROM THE COUNTRYNUMBER OF CITATIONS

80

250
GBIF USED70

GBIF DISCUSSED

200

60
50

150

40

100

30
20

50
10

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

FIGURE 1. A SUMMARY OF GBIF CITATION IN PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS,
2008–2012.

UNI
U N TE DITED STAK I TE S
NG
AU DO
ST M
R
GE ALIA
RM
AN
Y
SP
AI
CA N
NA
DA
CH
IN
FR A
AN
C
M E
EX
SW ICO
ED
N EN
SW OR
IT WA
ZE
Y
RL
A
BE N D
LG
IU
M
BR
A
CO
ZI
LO L
M
BI
A
IN
DI
A
ITA
LY

0

0

FIGURE 2. NUMBER OF SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS IN 2012 CITING USE OF GBIF­M EDIATED DATA, RANKED BY COUNTRY ACCORDING TO AFFILIATION OF AUTHOR.
TOP 17 COUNTRIES ONLY SHOWN.

Contents
Invasive alien species
Impacts of climate change
Species conservation and protected areas
Impacts of development
Biodiversity and human health
Food, farming and biofuels
Advancing biodiversity science
Data papers published during 2012
Discussion of GBIF in the scientific literature

2
7
12
16
18
20
23
31
32

02

Invasive alien species
The critical issue of invasive alien species and their impact on biodiversity and human
livelihoods was the main subject of more than 40 research papers using GBIF-mediateddata in 2012. These papers investigated a range of questions including the potential future
spread of these species and the factors that determine whether alien species become
established in a new environment. Most of the studies used records of the occurrence ofthe species in their native and/or introduced ranges, discovered and accessed via GBIF,
to generate ecological niche models and thus predict which areas are at risk of invasion.
Some examples

LANTANA CAMARA © JOAQUIM ALVES GASPAR

FROM ORNAMENT TO WEED –CONTROLLING LANTANA CAMARA
Taylor, S. et al., 2012. Climate Change and the Potential
Distribution of an Invasive Shrub, Lantana camara L A. J.
Cannon, ed. PLoS ONE, 7(4), p.e35565. Available at:
http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0035565
Bhagwat, S. a et al., 2012. A Battle Lost? Report on Two
Centuries of Invasion and Management of Lantana camara L.
in Australia, India and South Africa A. Traveset, ed. PLoS ONE,
7(3), p.e32407. Available at: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/
journal.pone.0032407

Invasions of the woody, flowering shrub Lantana
camara have had significant economic andenvironmental impacts in many tropical andsubtropical regions since the plant was introduced
from the Americas as an ornamental garden plantin the mid-19th century. It is now ranked among theworld’s top ten invasive species by the Global Invasive
Species Information Network. In the first of thesestudies, Taylor et al. investigated the potential future
distribution of the plant, based on a model of suitable
habitats under present and future climate conditions.
The model used more than 1,700 occurrence records
obtained through GBIF, along with other data.
The study identified areas of North Africa, Europe,
Australia and New Zealand where L. camara could
potentially expand its range, and recommended
monitoring of these areas by biosecurity agencies
for early signs that the plant was becoming invasive.

In the second study, Bhagwat et al. also generated a
global model of areas climatically suitable for invasion
by L. camara, using data obtained through GBIF. After
examining historical records of previous invasions andattempts to manage them, the researchers concluded
that aggressive efforts by governments in Australia,
India and South Africa had been largely unsuccessful.
They suggest that in future, the best response to someinvasive species may be adaptive management, rather
than using available resources to fight a losing battle
aimed at eradication.

Additional associated studies
Lu-Irving, P. & Olmstead, R.G., 2012. Investigating theevolution of Lantaneae (Verbenaceae) using multiple loci.
Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, online. Available at:
http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1095-8339.2012.01305.x
Taylor, S., Kumar, L. & Reid, N., 2012. Impacts of climatechange and land-use on the potential distribution of aninvasive weed: a case study of Lantana camara in Australia.
Weed Research, online. Available at: http://doi.wiley.
com/10.1111/j.1365-3180.2012.00930.x
Taylor, S. & Kumar, L., 2012. Potential distribution of aninvasive species under climate change scenarios using
CLIMEX and soil drainage: A case study of Lantana camara
L. in Queensland, Australia. Journal of Environmental
Management, online. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/pubmed/23164541
Taylor, S. & Kumar, L., 2012. Sensitivity Analysis of CLIMEXParameters in Modelling Potential Distribution of Lantana
camara L. PLoS ONE, 7(7), p.e40969. Available at: http://
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22815881

Author countries: Australia, Norway, UK, USA

03

BROWN MARMORATED STINK BUG (HALYOMORPHA HALYS) ©
USGS BEE INVENTORY AND MONITORING

POLYPEDATES LEUCOMYSTAX © JOACHIM S. MÜLLER

MAPPING INVASION RISK FROM AN
AGRICULTURAL PEST

WHY SOME ALIENS MAKE THEMSELVESAT HOME

Zhu, G. et al., 2012. Potential Geographic Distribution ofBrown Marmorated Stink Bug Invasion (Halyomorpha halys)
B. Fenton, ed. PLoS ONE, 7(2), p.e31246. Available at: http://
dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0031246

Rago, A., While, G.M. & Uller, T., 2012. Introduction pathway
and climate trump ecology and life history as predictors of
establishment success in alien frogs and toads. Ecology and
Evolution, online. Available at: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/
ece3.261

This research explored the climatic niche occupied bya pest causing widespread agricultural damage, with arapidly expanding range in North America and Europe.
To model the potential spread of the bug, it used
occurrence records from its native range in east Asia,
obtained partly from databases in Japan, South Korea
and Taiwan publishing data through GBIF.
Using these models, the study mapped areas at
risk of invasion from the pest in northern Europe,
northeastern North America, southern Australia, North
Island-New Zealand, Angola and Uruguay. The study
aimed to provide critical information for management
strategies.
Author country: China

What determines whether an alien species will
successfully establish itself in the new environment
where it is introduced? An Oxford University team
set out to answer this question by testing a range ofparameters, using data from 408 occurrence recordsof 99 frog and toad species accessed through GBIF.
The research concluded that alien amphibians weremost likely to become established if the climate in thearea of introduction was similar to that in the native
range; if they were introduced deliberately rather
than accidentally; and if they were introduced on
islands rather than continental environments. Other
studies have found that some species traits, suchas how many offspring are produced and whether
tadpoles live independently of adults, influence therisk of amphibians becoming extinct, but this researchfound little evidence that such traits were important indetermining whether they survived as alien species.
Author Country: UK

04

Other research relating to invasive species citing use of GBIF-mediated data
Title
JournalAuthors				Authorcountries

URL		

Predicting the current distribution and potential
AustralBarbosa, F.G.
Brazil,http://doi.wiley.com
spread of the exotic grass Eragrostis plana Nees
Ecologyet al.
South Africa/10.1111/j.1442-9993.
in South America and identifying a bioclimatic				2012.02399.x
niche shift during invasion.					Climate suitability and human influences
Biologicalcombined explain the range expansion ofInvasionsan invasive horticultural plant.		

Beans, C.M.,
USA
Kilkenny, F.F.		
& Galloway, L.F.		

http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/
s10530-012-0214-0

The potential global distribution of the
Biological
Bourdôt, G.
Australia,
invasive weed Nassella neesiana underInvasions
et al.
New Zealandcurrent and future climates.				

http://www.springerlink.
com/index/10.1007/
s10530-010-9905-6

Predicting the impact of climate change
Biologicalon the invasive decapods of the Iberian inland
Invasionswaters: an assessment of reliability.		

Capinha, C.,
PortugalAnastácio, P. & 		
Tenedório, J.A.		

http://www.springerlink.
com/index/10.1007/
s10530-012-0187-z

Geographical variability in propagule pressure
Journal ofand climatic suitability explain the European
Biogeography
distribution of two highly invasive crayfish.		

Capinha, C.,
Brotons, L. &Anastácio, P.

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/jbi.12025

Portugal,
Spain

Does adding multi-scale climatic variability
Ecological
Fernández, M.
USA
improve our capacity to explain niche
Modelling
et al.		
transferability in invasive species?				

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/
S0304380012003742

Cryptic extinction of a common Pacific lizard
Oryx
Fisher, R.
France,Emoia impar (Squamata, Scincidae) from		& Ineich, I.
USA
the Hawaiian Islands.				

http://journals.cambridge.
org/abstract_S0030605
310001778

Spread dynamics and agricultural impact
Weed
Follak, S.
Austriaof Sorghum halepense, an emerging
Research& Essl, F.		
invasive species in Central Europe.				

http://doi.wiley.com/
10.1111/j.1365-3180.
2012.00952.x

The grass may not always be greener: projected
Biological
Gallagher, R.V.
Australia
reductions in climatic suitability for exotic
Invasions
et al.		
grasses under future climates in Australia.				

http://www.springerlink.
com/index/10.1007/
s10530-012-0342-6

Invasive species distribution models –how violating the equilibrium assumption
can create new insights.
		GlobalGallien, L.
France,Ecologyet al.
Switzerlandand			
Biogeography		

http://doi.wiley.com/
10.1111/j.1466-8238.2
012.00768.x

Potential distribution of the American bullfrog(Lithobates catesbeianus) in Ecuador.
		South American
Iñiguez, C.A.
Ecuador
Journal of& Morejón, F.J.		
Herpetology			

http://www.bioone.org/
doi/abs/10.2994/057.
007.0211

Population structure of the melon fly,
Biological
Jacquard, C.
Belgium,
Bactrocera cucurbitae, in Reunion Island.
Invasions
et al.
France					

http://www.springerlink.
com/index/10.1007/		
s10530-012-0324-8

Using avatar species to model the potential
distribution of emerging invaders.
				

GlobalLarson, E.R.
USA
Ecology& Olden, J.D.		
and			
Biogeography

http://doi.wiley.com/
10.1111/j.1466-8238.2012.00758.x

Oviposition preference and larval developmentof the invasive moth Cydalima perspectalis
on five European box-tree varieties.

Journal ofAppliedEntomology

Leuthardt, F.L.G.
Switzerland& Baur, B.		

http://doi.wiley.com/
10.1111/jen.12013

Macfadyen, S.
Australia& Kriticos, D.J.		

http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0040313

Modelling the geographical range of a
PLoS ONEspecies with variable life-history.		

Geographic spread of Pyramica hexamera.
Terrestrial
MacGown, J.A.
USA
http://www.ingentaconnect.
		Arthropod& Wetterer, J.K.		
com/content/brill/tar/2012/
		
Reviews		
00000005/00000001/
					
art00002						

05

Title
JournalAuthors				Authorcountries

URL		

Geographic spread of Gnamptogenys triangularis
Psyche: A Journal MacGown, J.A.
USA
(Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ectatomminae).
of Entomology& Wetterer, J.K.		
					

http://www.hindawi.com/
journals/psyche/2012/571430/

Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) as an invader
Journal of Aridand threat to biodiversity in arid environments:
Environmentsa review.		

http://linkinghub.elsevier.
com/retrieve/pii/S014019
6311003399

Marshall, V.M.,
Australia
Lewis, M.M. &		
Ostendorf, B.		

Potential distribution of the Australian
PLoS One
Michael, P.J.,
Australia
native Chloris truncata based on modelling both		Yeoh, P.B. &		
the successful and failed global introductions.		
Scott, J.K.		
					
					

http://www.pubmedcentral.
nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?
artid=3407094&tool=
pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract

Invasion hotspots for non-native plants in
Global Change
O’Donnell, J.
Australia
http://doi.wiley.com/ 10.1111/
Australia under current and future climates.
Biologyet al.		
j.1365-2486. 2011.02537.x
				First record of the onion psyllid Bactericera
EPPO Bulletin
Ouvrard, D. &Switzerland,
http://doi.wiley.com/
tremblayi (Wagner, 1961) in France (Insecta: 		
Burckhardt, D.
UK
10.1111/epp.12005
Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Psylloidea), newsymptoms on leek crops and reassessmentof the B. nigricornis – group distribution.					Evidence of a climatic niche shift following
BiologicalPetersen, M.J.
USA
North American introductions of two craneInvasions			flies (Diptera; genus Tipula).				

http://www.springerlink
index/10.1007/
s10530-012-0337-3

Glacial history of a modern invader:
PLoS ONE
Porretta, D.
Italy,
phylogeography and species distribution		
et al.
Thailandmodelling of the Asian tiger mosquito				Aedes albopictus.				
					
A review of the life history, invasion process,Management
Reinhardt, J.
USAand potential management of Clavelinaof Biological& Hudson, D.		
lepadiformis Müller, 1776: a recent invasion
Invasions			
of the northwest Atlantic.
					Potential spread of recently naturalised plants
Climatic
Sheppard, C.S.
New Zealandin New Zealand under climate change.
Change								

http://dx.plos.org/
10.1371/journal.pone.
0044515		

Distribution of Candidatus Phytoplasma
EPPO Bulletin
Steffek, R.
prunorum and its vector Cacopsylla pruni		
et al.
in European fruit-growing areas: a review.			

Austria,
France,UK

http://www.reabic.net/
journals/mbi/2012/
Issue1.aspx

http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/
s10584-012-0605-3
http://doi.wiley.com/
10.1111/epp.2567

Future pest status of an insect pest in museums,
Journal of
Stengaard
Denmark,
Attagenus smirnovi: distribution and food
Cultural
Hansen, L.
Norway,consumption in relation to climate change.
Heritage
et al.
Sweden					
Humans introduce viable seeds toBiologicalWare, C.
Australia,
the Arctic on footwear.
Invasions
et al.
Norway					

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/
S1296207411000549
http://www.springerlink.
com/index/10.1007/
s10530-011-0098-4

Worldwide spread of Emery’s sneaking
MyrmecologicalWetterer, J.K.
USA
ant, Cardiocondyla emeryi (Hymenoptera:News			Formicidae).				
					

http://www.myrmecologicalnews.org/cms/images/pdf/
volume17/mn17_13-20_
non-printable.pdf

Worldwide spread of the African big-headed
MyrmecologicalWetterer, J.K
USA
ant, Pheidole megacephala (Hymenoptera:News			Formicidae).				
					

http://www.myrmecologicalnews.org/cms/images/pdf/
volume17/mn17_51-62_
non-printable.pdf

06

Title
		

Journalcountries

Authors

AuthorURL

		Worldwide spread of the Moorish sneaking
Sociobiology
Wetterer J.K.
USA
ant, Cardiocondyla mauritanica				(Hymenoptera : Formicidae).				
					
					
					
					
					
					

http://scholar.google.com/
url?hl=en&q=http://antcat.
org/documents/5737/
wetterer_2012_sociobiology-worldwide-spread-ofcardiocondyla-mauritanica.pdf&sa=X&scisig=AAGBfm3rLOO
bzXAT1DLFopVIOhJiaSAbJw&oi=scholaralrt

Worldwide spread of Cerapachys biroi
MyrmecologicalWetterer, J.K.,
USA(Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Cerapachyinae).
News
Kronauer, D.J.C.		
			& Borowiec, M.L.		
					

http://www.myrmecologicalnews.org/cms/images/pdf/
volume17/mn17_1-4_
non-printable.pdf

A qualitative ecological risk assessmentof the invasive Nile tilapia, Oreochromis
niloticus in a sub-tropical African river
system (Limpopo River, South Africa).
		

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/
aqc.2258

Aquatic
Zengeya, T. A.
South Africa
Conservation:
et al.		
Marine andFreshwater			Ecosystems

07

Impacts of climate change
A large body of research using GBIF-mediated data during 2012 looked at various aspects of
how climate change is likely to affect the survival of species, both positively and negatively,
and to alter their future distributions. This included investigation of the impacts of past
climatic changes on the evolution and distribution of species, helping to understand themechanisms of the climate-biodiversity relationship and thus improve our projections forthe future.
Some examples
currently resident in the far north of Europe, as well
as some potential colonizers from further south.
Occurrence records for 61 species were gathered fromnational databases in Norway, Sweden and Finland,
and from the GBIF data portal.

ARCTIC FOX (VULPES LAGOPUS) © ALGKALVMODELLING THE IMPACT OF CLIMATECHANGE ON ARCTIC AND SUBARCTICSPECIES
Hof, A.R., Jansson, R. & Nilsson, C., 2012. Future climatechange will favour non-specialist mammals in the (sub)arctics. PLoS ONE, 7(12), p.e52574. Available at: http://
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23285098

This paper, by researchers from Umeå University in
Sweden, suggests that climate change will favour most
mammals currently occupying Arctic and subarctic
Europe, so long as they are able to disperse to suitableareas. The conclusion runs contrary to the expectationthat species in high latitudes will be especiallysusceptible to a warming climate.
Anouschka Hof, one of the presenters at the 2012 GBIF
Science Symposium and lead author of this paper,
together with Roland Jansson and Christer Nilsson,modelled future distributions for mammal species

The results, based on climate scenarios for 2080,
indicated that 43 out of the 61 species studied would
expand and shift their ranges, mainly to the northeast,
assuming they were fully able to disperse to suitableareas. Nevertheless, species specializing in alpine
habitats, such as Arctic fox, Norway lemming andwolverine, would likely see their ranges contract. If theability to disperse is severely limited, for example due
to roads or industrial developments, most mammal
species would lose range, but none is projected to
become extinct due to climate change.

Additional associated study
Hof. A. et al., 2012. How biotic interactions may alter future
predictions of species distributions: future threats to thepersistence of the arctic fox in Fennoscandia. Diversity anddistributions. Available at: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1472-4642.2011.00876.x

Author country: Sweden

08

BOG BLUEBERRY (VACCINIUM ULIGINOSUM) © OLE HUSBYASTERIAS FORBESI © PAUL MORRISHOW CLIMATE CHANGE MAY AFFECTGENETIC DIVERSITY WITHIN SPECIESTHE IMPACT OF RISING TEMPERATURES
ON COLD-BLOODED ANIMALS

Alsos, I.G. et al., 2012. Genetic consequences of climatechange for northern plants. Proceedings of the Royal Society
B: Biological Sciences, online (January). Available at: http://
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22217725

Sunday, J.M., Bates, A.E. & Dulvy, N.K., 2012. Thermal
tolerance and the global redistribution of animals. Nature
Climate Change, 2(6), pp.1-5. Available at: http://www.
nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/nclimate1539

This research, also led by a presenter at the 2012 GBIF
Science Symposium, investigated how loss of range
for many species due to climate change may affectgenetic diversity, crucial to their long-term persistence.
It analysed the genetic diversity of 27 northern plant
species, using nearly 10,000 DNA samples from 1,200
populations. Among other data, it used validated
GBIF-mediated occurrence points for those species topredict the loss of range and genetic diversity by 2080,
employing a number of models and scenarios. The
projected loss of genetic diversity varied widely among
species, depending partly on the ability of plants todisperse over long distances. According to at least one
scenario, all 27 species were predicted to lose genetic
diversity.

A team from Canada and Australia analysed the way
in which the distribution ranges of ectotherms (coldblooded animals) were likely to be affected by climatechange. They found significant differences between
the response of marine and terrestrial species, withanimals in the ocean shifting much more predictably
towards the poles as temperatures warmed.

Author Countries: Norway, Austria, France

The research compared tolerance of animals to
extremes of heat and cold, as revealed by experiments,
with actual geographic distributions of 142 species
based on primary literature and online occurrence data
accessed mainly via GBIF. It found that marine species
tended to occupy the full range of latitudes predictedby the limits of ‘tolerable’ temperature – and thus
shifted away from the Equator at both the colder andwarmer edges of their range as the climate warmed.
Terrestrial ectotherms, on the other hand, tended not
to occupy the whole of the warmest part of their range
as predicted purely by temperature tolerance.
The study suggested that climate change impacts onland would be less predictable, with range boundaries
remaining more stagnant closer to the Equator while
they would expand towards the poles at their colder
limits. The resulting ‘stretching’ of terrestrial species
distributions could lead to unpredictable impacts due
to new combinations of species, shifting connectivity
and ecological surprises.
Author countries: Australia, Canada

09

AMAZON RAINFOREST © CIFORCLIMATE CHANGE AND AMAZON PLANTS
Feeley, K.J. et al., 2012. The relative importance of
deforestation, precipitation change, and temperaturesensitivity in determining the future distributions anddiversity of Amazonian plant species. Global Change Biology,
online. Available at: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.13652486.2012.02719.x

This study aimed to establish the most importantfactors that would determine the future diversityand distribution of plants in the Amazon region.
Using herbarium records obtained through GBIF andSpeciesLink (http://splink.cria.org.br), the researchmodelled current and future distributions of nearly
3,000 Amazonian plant species, under different
scenarios related to the magnitude and extent
of forest disturbance as well as the response of
species to changes in temperature, precipitation andconcentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

CANNONBALL TREE (COUROUPITA GUIANENSIS) © BRIAN GATWICKE

It concluded that the future diversity of the Amazon
would depend primarily on the ability of species
to tolerate or adapt to rising temperatures: ifthermal niches are relatively fixed, climate change
will overshadow the impacts of deforestation andpotentially cause massive biodiversity loss; but even if
plants can tolerate warmer temperatures, the impactsof greater seasonal water stress may be of similar
magnitude to those of deforestation in the Amazon.

Additional associated study
Feeley, K.J., 2012. Distributional migrations, expansions, andcontractions of tropical plant species as revealed in dated
herbarium records. Global Change Biology, 18(4), pp.1335–
1341. Available at: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.13652486.2011.02602.x

Author countries: USA, UK10

Other research relating to climate change citing use of GBIF-mediated data
Title
JournalAuthors				Authorcountries

URL		

Climate downscaling effects on predictive
Regional
Bucklin, D.N.
USA
ecological models: a case study for threatened
Environmental
et al.		
and endangered vertebrates in the southeastern
Change			
United States.				

http://www.springerlink.com/
index/10.1007/s10113-0120389-z

Distribution of the threatened lace hedgehog
cactus (Echinocereus reichenbachii) undervarious climate change scenarios.
		

http://dx.doi.org/10.3159/
TORREY-D-11-00049.1

The Journalof the Torrey
Botanical
Society

Butler, C.J.,
USA
Wheeler, E.A.		
& Stabler, L.B.

Not-so-splendid isolation: modeling climateEcography
Calkins, M.T.
USA
mediated range collapse of a montane mammal 		
et al.		
Ochotona princeps across numerous ecoregions.				

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1600-0587.2011.07227.x

Near-tropical Early Eocene terrestrial temperatures
Geologyat the Australo-Antarctic margin, western Tasmania.		

http://geology.gsapubs.org/
cgi/doi/10.1130/G32584.1

Carpenter, R.J.
Australia
et al.		

Modelling distribution in European stream
Global Change
Domisch, S.
macroinvertebrates under future climates.
Biologyet al.
								Predicting present and future intra-specificgenetic structure through niche hindcasting
across 24 millennia.

Ecology
Letters

Denmark,
Germany,
Portugal,
Spain

Espíndola, A.
Switzerland
et al.		

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
gcb.12107		

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1461-0248.2012.01779.x

Heathlands confronting global change:
Annals of
Fagúndez, J.
Spain
drivers of biodiversity loss from past to future
Botany			scenarios.				

http://aob.oxfordjournals.org/
cgi/doi/10.1093/aob/mcs257

Chilled but not frosty: understanding the roleof climate in the hybridization between the
Mediterranean Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl
and the temperate Fraxinus excelsior
L. (Oleaceae) ash trees.

Croatia,
Francehttp://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
jbi.12021

Australia,
Singapore,
Malaysia,USA, UK

http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/
biblio/s25/s25rbz197-247.pdf

Journal of
Biogeography

Gérard, P.R.
et al.

Using diverse data sources to detect elevational
The Raffles
Harris, J.B.C.
range changes of birds on Mount Kinabalu,
Bulletin of
et al.
Malaysian Borneo.
Zoology						On the brink of extinction? How climate change
may affect global chelonian species richness
and distribution.

Global
Ihlow, F.
Germany
Changeet al.		
Biology			Hydroclimatic and hydrochemical controls
Hydrobiologia
Kruitbos, L.M.
Canada,on Plecoptera diversity and distribution in 		
et al.
Sweden,northern freshwater ecosystems.			
Switzerland,				
UK, USA				
Frequency of local, regional, and long-distanceAmericanMüller, E.
Norwaydispersal of diploid and tetraploid Saxifraga
Journal
et al.		
oppositifolia (Saxifragaceae) to Arctic glacierof Botany
forelands.
Shrinking forests under warming: evidence
Journal of
Quiroga, M.
Argentina
of Podocarpus parlatorei (pino del cerro)
Heredity
et al.		
from the Subtropical Andes.				
Effects of re-oligotrophication and climate
Oikos
warming on plankton richness and community 		stability in a deep mesotrophic lake.

Pomati, F.
et al.

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1365-2486.2011.02623.x

http://www.springerlink.com/
index/10.1007/s10750-0121085-1

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22371855

http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/
jhered/ess031

Switzerland,
http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
the Netherlands j.1600-0706.2011.20055.x

11

Title
JournalAuthors				Authorcountries

URL		

Predicted range shifts in North American
Conservation
Ralston, J.
USA
boreal forest birds and the effect of climate
Genetics& Kirchman, J.J.		
change on genetic diversity in blackpoll 				warblers (Setophaga striata).

http://www.springerlink.com/
index/10.1007/s10592-012-0418-yPotential changes in benthic macrofaunal
Estuarine,
Rombouts, I.,
Francedistributions from the English Channel
Coastal and
Beaugrand, G.		
simulated under climate change scenarios.
Shelf Science& Dauvin, J.		
		
Online				
Past climate change and plant evolution
PLoS ONE
Töpel, M.
Sweden,in western North America: a case study 		
et al.
UK
in Rosaceae.
					Do bioclimate variables improve performance
Ecological
Watling, J.I.
USA
of climate envelope models?
Modelling
et al.		
							
Thermal variability increases the impact of
PLoS ONE
Williams, C.M.
Canada,autumnal warming and drives metabolic 		
et al.
USA
depression in an overwintering butterfly.				

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S027277
1411005488

http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/
journal.pone.0050358

http://linkinghub.elsevier.
com/retrieve/pii/S03043
80012003468
http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/
journal.pone.0034470

12

Species conservation and protected areas
Among the key practical uses of the biodiversity data published through the GBIF networkis the development of policies and priorities for protecting threatened and endemic species
and habitats. A number of research papers published during 2012 made extensive useof GBIF-mediated data to advance the science informing such policies and priorities —demonstrating the value to policy makers of investing in a global open data infrastructure.

Some examples

IDENTIFYING KEY AREAS FOR BIRDS IN A
BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT
Ríos-Muñoz, C.A. & Navarro-Sigüenza, A.G., 2012. Patternsof species richness and biogeographic regionalizationof the avifaunas of the seasonally dry tropical forest
in Mesoamerica. Studies on Neotropical Fauna andEnvironment, (November 2012), pp.1–12. Available at: http://
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01650521.2012.734175
OXBOW LAKE, YASUNI NATIONAL PARK, ECUADOR © GEOFF GALLICEPRIORITIES FOR PROTECTING PLANT
SPECIES DIVERSITY IN SOUTH AMERICA
Ramirez-Villegas, J., Jarvis, A. & Touval, J., 2012. Analysisof threats to South American flora and its implications
for conservation. Journal for Nature Conservation.
Available at: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/
S1617138112000830

In this study, researchers from Colombia, the United
Kingdom and the United States used a large volumeof data published through GBIF to identify criticalareas for conservation of plant diversity across SouthAmerica. The team analysed more than half a million
GBIF-mediated records of 16,000 plant species, anddeveloped a map showing ‘virtual parks’ where a large
number of threatened and locally-unique species
occurred within a 100km area. These were found tocorrespond well with real, existing protected areas:by prioritizing 24 protected areas, the researchers
argue, up to 70 per cent of South American plant
species diversity will be conserved. They also reveal
gaps in existing coverage, suggesting new measures
to conserve 200 plant species not currently included inany protected area. Critical areas to monitor, expandand strengthen are mainly located in the Ecuadorianand Colombian Andes, southern Paraguay, the Guyana
shield, southern Brazil, and Bolivia.
Author countries: Colombia, UK and USA

César Antonio Ríos-Muñoz, winner of the 2011
GBIF Young Researchers Award, and Adolfo G.
Navarro-Sigüenza from the National Autonomous
University of Mexico (UNAM) investigated patternsof bird distributions in the seasonally dry lowland
tropical forests of Mexico and Central America. The
study analysed biogeographic relationships of 650
resident bird species of the forests, among the mostendangered ecosystems in the world. About 40 per
cent of the bird species are only found in this habitat.
The research used occurrence data from scientific
literature, museum specimens, field guides and online
scientific collection databases accessed through
GBIF, to produce maps of species richness and areasof endemism (clusters of unique species), helping
identify key locations for the conservation of birds
in the region.
Author country: Mexico

13

ORANGE-STRIPED TRIGGERFISH (BALISTAPUS UNDULATUS) © HANS HILLEWAERTSELECTING MARINE PROTECTED AREAS
ALONG MADAGASCAR’S COAST

Puerto Rico, using records accessed through GBIF and
the New York Botanical Garden’s Virtual Herbarium.
The analysis identified 570 of Puerto Rican species as
being at some risk of extinction. While the authors do
not propose the methods as an alternative to the Red
List process, they argue that they could be an efficientmeans of meeting the GSPC target and identifying
priority areas for conservation of plants.
Author countries: USA

Allnutt, T.F. et al., 2012. Comparison of Marine Spatial
Planning Methods in Madagascar Demonstrates Value of
Alternative Approaches R. K. F. Unsworth, ed. PLoS ONE, 7(2),p.e28969. Available at: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.
pone.0028969

This paper aimed to help the government ofMadagascar to implement plans to increase thecoverage of marine protected areas off its coastline
by more than one million hectares. It compared four
different methods to select areas for protection basedon fishing pressure, exposure to climate change
and biodiversity. All results favoured the creation ofprotected areas in parts of the northern, central andsouthern zones of the island’s western coastal waters.
The calculation of biodiversity value was based on
occurrence records for 274 fish species, published by
the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS),
and accessed using GBIF.
Author countries: Canada, France, Madagascar,
New Caledonia, South Africa, USA

SETTING PRIORITIES FOR PLANTCONSERVATION
Miller, J.S. et al., 2012. Addressing target two of the Global
Strategy for Plant Conservation by rapidly identifying plants
at risk. Biodiversity & Conservation, online. Available at:
http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/s10531-0120285-3

This study addressed the challenge of meetingthe target, under the Global Strategy for Plant
Conservation (GSPC), to assess the conservation
status of all known plants by 2020. Because theexisting IUCN Red List process currently assesses
only a small proportion of known plant species, thestudy compared and contrasted two streamlined
methods for rapidly assessing which species could
be considered under some degree of risk, using
herbarium records with locality data. It analysed morethan two thousand species native to the island of

WHITE-TAILED DEER (ODOCOILEUS VIRGINIANUS) © SCOTT BAUER / USDA

ESTIMATING SPECIES DENSITY FROMOCCURRENCE RECORDS
Yañez-Arenas, C. et al., 2012. Modelling geographic patternsof population density of the white-tailed deer in central
Mexico by implementing ecological niche theory. Oikos,
online (March). Available at: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1600-0706.2012.20350.x

In this paper, a team from Mexico proposed and tested
a new system of estimating the relative abundance ofa species based only on data about where it occurs,
combined with models of the ecological niche it
occupies. Field research in two regions of Central
Mexico on the white-tailed deer, a popular gamespecies, were combined with occurrence records ofthe species obtained through GBIF and its Mexican
partner Conabio. The researchers used these data to
generate a model of the predicted range of the deer
based on a set of nine environmental variables (anecological niche model). For each pixel within thearea of environmental suitability for the species, the‘distance to the niche centroid’ (DNC) was calculated– a multi-dimensional value representing how close
any location is to the optimal set of conditions forthe deer. This value was used to predict the densityof deer across the two regions, and was found tocorrelate significantly with measures of actual densityfrom the field studies. The authors suggest this could
be a valuable tool for sustainable management andconservation of white-tailed deer and other species
by estimating relative population density even whenrecords of abundance are not available.
Author country: Mexico

14

Other research related to species conservation and protected areas, citing use of GBIF-mediated data
Title
JournalAuthors				Authorcountries

URL

Modelling geographic distribution and detecting
conservation gaps in Italy for the threatened
beetle Rosalia alpina.

Journal for
Bosso, L.
Natureet al.
Conservation		

Italy,
Portugal,UK

http://linkinghub.elsevier.
com/retrieve/pii/
S1617138112001021

Distribución potencial del jaguar Panthera onca
(Carnivora: Felidae) en Guerrero, México:
persistencia de zonas para su conservación.

Revista debiologia
tropicalPotential distribution of American black bears
Ursus
in northwest Mexico and implications for 		
their conservation.		
			
			

		

Cuervo-Robayo, Mexico
A.P. & Monroy-		Vilchis, O.

http://www.scielo.sa.cr/pdf/
rbt/v60n3/a33v60n3.pdf

Delfín-Alfonso,
MexicoC.A.,		López-González,		
C.A. &
Equihua, M.		

http://www.bioone.org/doi/
abs/10.2192/URSUSD-11-00007.1

Thinking spatially: The importance of geospatial
EcologicalGarcía-Rangel, S. UK
techniques for carnivore conservation.
Informatics& Pettorelli, N.		
					

http://linkinghub.elsevier.
com/retrieve/pii/
S157495411200115X

Situación del Zorro Vinagre (Speothos
Interciencia
Gil, G.E. &Argentina,
Venaticus) en el extremo sur de su 		Lobo, J.M.
Spain
distribución (Argentina).				
				
SerbiaDistribution of Lunaria telekiana (Brassicaceae),
Botanica
Lakušić, D.
a poorly known species of European concern.
Serbica
et al.		
					

http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/28662970/1468922882/name/GilyLobo2012.pdf

Rhododendron species in the Indian Eastern
Himalayas : new approaches to understanding
rare plant species.
		

http://www.nerist.ac.in/department/forestry/faculty/
khan/PDFs/Journals/Rhod_nicheModelling.pdf

JournalMenon, S.
India,
Americanet al.
USA
Rhododendron			Society			

A biogeographical assessment of anthropogenic
Diversity and
Mokhatla, M.M.
South Africa
threats to areas where different frog breeding
Distributions
et al.		
groups occur in South Africa: implications foranuran conservation.
				
The Alpine cushion plant Silene acaulis as
PLoS ONE
Molenda, O.,
Canadafoundation species: a bug’s-eye view to 		
Reid, A. &		
facilitation and microclimate.		
Lortie, C.J.
				High connectivity among habitats precludes
Ecography
Mora, C.
Australia,
the relationship between dispersal and range 		
et al.
Canada,size in tropical reef fishes.			
UK, USA				The importance of defining the geographic
Journal for
Mota-Vargas, C.
Mexicodistribution of species for conservation:
Nature& Rojas-Soto, 		the case of the Bearded Wood-Partridge.
Conservation
O.R.		

http://botanicaserbica.bio.
bg.ac.rs/arhiva/pdf/
2012_36_2_569_full.pdf

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1472-4642.2011.00870.x

http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/
journal.pone.0037223

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1600-0587.2011.06874.x

http://linkinghub.elsevier.
com/retrieve/pii/S1617138
111000422		

Geographic and ecological analysis of theBearded Wood Partridge Dendrortyx
barbatus: some insights on its conservation
status.

Bird
Mota-Vargas, C.
MexicoConservation
et al.		
International			

http://www.journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0959270
912000329

Mining the Himalayan uplands plant databasefor a conservation baseline using the public
GMBA webportal.

Protection
Nemitz, D.
of theet al.
Three Poles		

http://www.springerlink.com/
index/10.1007/978-4-43154006-9

Protected areas in the Spanish Pyrenees:
A meaningful way to preserve biodiversity?
				

Environmental
Otegui, J.,
Spain
http://omicron.ch.tuiasi.ro/Engineering
Villarroya, A.		
EEMJ/issues/vol11/
and Management & Ariño, A.H.		
vol11no6.htm
Journal				Germany,
Switzerland,
USA

15

Title
JournalAuthors				Applied landscape ecology, future socioeconomics
and policy-making in the neotropics.
		
		
		
		

Perspectives
on Nature
Conservation –Patterns,
Pressures andProspects

Authorcountries

RestrepoChile
Aristizábal, A.,		
Heggestad, V.		
& Acuña-		
Rodríguez, I.S.		

URL

		

http://cdn.intechopen.com/
pdfs/29849/InTech-Applied_
landscape_ecology_future_socioeconomics_and_policy_
making_in_the_neotropics.pdf

In search of critically endangered species:
PLoS ONE
SandovalMexico
the current situation of two tiny salamander 		Comte, A., 		
species in the neotropical mountains of Mexico.		
Pineda, E. &			Aguilar-López, J.L.
			
Modeling the distribution of rare or cryptic
Taiwania
Wu, T.
Chinese Taipei
bird species of Taiwan.		
et al.
(Taiwan)					

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22485155

http://tai2.ntu.edu.tw/taiwania/pdf/ tai.2012.57.
4.342.pdf

Range shifts under climate change and the role
Biological
Zimbres, B.Q.C.
Brazilof protected areas for armadillos and anteaters.
Conservation
et al.		
					

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/
retrieve/pii/		
S0006320712001929

16

Impacts of development
Data mobilized through the GBIF network are being used increasingly to inform strategicplanning and economic development, helping to ensure that decisions aimed at promoting
growth or reducing poverty can be made with minimum negative impacts on biodiversity andthe essential services that ecosystems provide.

Some examples

A TOOL FOR SENSITIVE SITING OF
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENTS
Willis, K.J. et al., 2012. Determining the ecological value oflandscapes beyond protected areas. Biological Conservation,
online, pp.1–10. Available at: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/
retrieve/pii/S0006320711003995

This paper described the methodology of the Local
Ecological Footprinting Tool (LEFT), devised by the
Oxford Biodiversity Institute to help companies avoid
the most ecologically important areas when siting
developments such as industrial, mining and oil
installations within a concession area. The tool aims
to provide fine-scale calculations of relative ecologicalvalue within a given region. It uses globally-available
databases and models to provide a score for every
300 metre parcel, based on five key ecological features(biodiversity, vulnerability, fragmentation, connectivity
and resilience).
The study demonstrated the potential of the tool inthree regions in Algeria, the Russian Federation andCanada. To obtain biodiversity values, LEFT extracts all
appropriate species occurrence records from the GBIF
data index for the same ecological region as the study
area, and uses ecological niche modelling to predict
their distribution at very fine scales. The methodology
offers reports on any land area in the world.
Author countries: UK, Norway

KRISHNA RIVER GORGE, SRISAILAM, ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA.

ASSESSING THE IMPACTS OF MAJOR
WATER TRANSFER PROJECTS
Example: Grant, E.H.C. et al., 2012. Interbasin Water
Transfer, Riverine Connectivity, and Spatial Controls
on Fish Biodiversity B. Gratwicke, ed. PLoS ONE, 7(3),p.e34170. Available at: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.
pone.0034170

A team from the United States and India researched
the impacts on the biodiversity of freshwater fishfrom major engineering projects linking up separate
river basins to transfer water from wetter to drier
regions. It took the example of India’s Interlinkingof Rivers Programme, which includes plans to movewater across eight river basins in peninsular India via
a network of more than 2000km of canals. The study
used data on more than 450 species of freshwater fishoccurring in Indian rivers, obtained partly from threecollections accessed through GBIF. It concluded thatthe water transfer project would reduce biodiversity
across the whole system, alter patterns of local
species richness, expand distributions of widespread
species and make the different basins more uniform.
The research further concluded that the negative
ecological impacts could be reduced if the projectchanged the order in which canals were added.
Author countries: India, USA

17

GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL OBSERVED FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION © NASA

MONITORING THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OFA MAJOR OIL SPILL
Chakrabarty, P. et al., 2012. SpeciesMap: a web-based
application for visualizing the overlap of distributions andpollution events, with a list of fishes put at risk by the 2010
Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Biodiversity & Conservation, online.
Available at: http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/
s10531-012-0284-4

This paper presented an application called
SpeciesMap (http://speciesmap.org), which aims tohelp assess the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil
spill in 2010 on marine species in the Gulf of Mexico.
The application uses occurrence records derived
through GBIF on 124 fish species, including all 77
species endemic to the Gulf, to establish the areaof overlap with the extent of the spill observed fromsatellite records. Maps are created to assess which
species were potentially in the region of the spill andto what extent their range was exposed to pollution,
so that species can be targeted for monitoring thelong-term impact of the spill.
Author countries: USA18

Biodiversity and human health
The links between biodiversity and human health are increasingly recognized, and this isreflected in the body of research making use of GBIF-mediated data in 2012. Among the
major emerging areas is the use of ecological niche models to project the likely spread of
disease-carrying organisms, and thus help to target areas for monitoring and prevention of
the associated illnesses.
Some examples
to spread much further to the north or south, it islikely to invade high-altitude regions above 2,000
metres, putting many more people at risk of malaria in
Mesoamerica and the Caribbean Basin by 2080.

ANOPHELES ALBIMANUS, A CARRIER OF MALARIA © JAMES GATHANYMODELLING DISTRIBUTIONS OF DISEASECARRYING ORGANISMS

The second study introduced SandflyMap, a newservice arising from the GBIF-funded Mosquito Map
project. It aims to map distributions of sand flies,
associated with the spread of leishmaniasis disease.
The purpose is to provide information for medical
entomologists, disease control workers, public healthofficials and health planners. The authors encourage
researchers to submit data on the occurrence of sandflies, which will also be published through GBIF.
Author countries: USA, Colombia

Fuller, D.O. et al., 2012. Near-present and future distributionof Anopheles albimanus in Mesoamerica and the Caribbean
Basin modeled with climate and topographic data.
International Journal of Health Geographics, 11, p.13.
Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1476-072X-11-13

ADAPTING TRADITIONAL REMEDIES TO AN
ALIEN ECOSYSTEM

Foley, D.H. et al., 2012. SandflyMap: leveraging spatial dataon sand fly vector distribution for disease risk assessments.
Geospatial Health, 6(3), pp.S25–30. Available at: http://www.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23032280

van Andel, T. et al., 2012. In search of the perfect aphrodisiac:
Parallel use of bitter tonics in West Africa and the Caribbean.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, pp.1–11. Available at: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0378874112005338

The first of these studies by a team from the UnitedStates and Colombia looked at the projected spreadof a major malaria-carrying mosquito in Mesoamerica
and the Caribbean Basin. It used more than 300
records showing locations where the mosquito waspresent, obtained through GBIF itself and a GBIFfunded project, Mosquito Map (www.mosquitomap.
org), as well as published data from mosquito surveys
in Colombia. These points were combined withclimate and topographical data to generate a modelshowing probability of the presence of the mosquito,
under ‘near present’ (1950-2000) and future climate
conditions, across the whole region. The major
conclusion was that while the mosquito was unlikely

This study looked at how African slave communities
went about adapting their traditional knowledge of
herbal medicine after they were transplanted into
entirely new environments in the Caribbean region.
Earlier work suggested that enslaved Africans would
have sought out plants familiar to them or broughtfrom their homelands, so that Caribbean remedies
would mainly consist of plant taxa that occur on bothsides of the Atlantic, would be rich in weeds andintroduced plants, and poor in native forest species.
To test this hypothesis, the researchers analysed‘bitter tonic’ mixtures used in the Caribbean andWest Africa today as aphrodisiacs and/or to treat

19

impotence, to see whether they were composed of thesame or related plant species. The study identified
324 species used as ingredients in 35 African and
117 Caribbean aphrodisiac mixtures. The plants
were compared using a number of factors, including
information on their distribution based on records
available through GBIF.

appearance and pharmacological properties similar
to those used in Africa. The research suggests thatenslaved Africans applied their Old World knowledge
with great creativity and flexibility, reinventing their
herbal medicine by finding native plant substitutes
through trial and error, and by learning from
Amerindians and Europeans.

The results showed that, in fact, recipes from the
Caribbean mostly contained new and unrelated plants,
including many New World forest species, with taste,

Author Countries: Belgium, Colombia, Jamaica,
the Netherlands, USA

Other research relating to biodiversity and human health, citing use of GBIF-mediated data
Title
JournalAuthors				Authorcountries

URL		

Bauhinia forficata Link authenticity using
Food
Ferreres, F.
Portugal,
flavonoids profile: relation with their
Chemistry
et al.
Spain
biological properties.				

http://linkinghub.elsevier.
com/retrieve/pii/S0308814
612004165

Genetic characterization of three Cuban
Trichomonas vaginalis virus. Phylogeny ofTotiviridae family.

Fraga, J.
Cuba
et al.		

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22075038

Species typing of Cuban Trichomonas vaginalis
Archives of
Fraga, J.
Cuba
virus by RT-PCR, and association of TVV-2 withvirology
et al.		
high parasite adhesion levels and highpathogenicity in patients.				

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22653538

Constructing ecological networks: a tool toinfer risk of transmission and dispersal of
Leishmaniasis.

Zoonosesand Public
Healthhttp://doi.wiley.com/
10.1111/j.1863-2378.
2012.01479.x

Pharmacological investigation of Asystasia
calyciana for its antibacterial and antifungal
properties.
				International
Hamid, A.A. &Nigeria
http://www.iscientific.org/
Journal of
Aiyelaagbe, O.O.		
Volume_1_2012/17%20
Chemical and			IJCBS-12-1-23.pdf		
Biochemical
Sciences			Complex patterns of host switching in New
World arenaviruses.

Molecular
Ecology

Infection,
Genetics
and Evolution

GonzálezMexico
Salazar, C. &		
Stephens, C.R.		

Irwin, N.R.
et al.

Czech Republic, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
UK
pubmed/22693963

Zanthoxylum genus as potential source
Bioactive
Patiño, L.O.J.,
Colombiaof bioactive compounds.
Compounds in
Prieto, R.J.A. &				Phytomedicine.
Cuca, S.L.E.		
		
InTech.			
					

http://www.intechopen.com/source/pdfs/25790/InTechZanthoxylum_genus_as_
potential_source_of_bioactive_compounds.pdf

20

Food, farming and biofuels
Researchers have used data accessed through GBIF in a number of ways to inform scienceon food security and agriculture. Models using occurrence data have projected areas likely
to be suitable for growing particular crops in future – and indeed the pests and diseases that
may affect them. GBIF has also been used to help prioritize conservation of the wild relativesof domesticated plants used for crops, in order to maintain genetic diversity that will be vitalto develop the crops of the future.
Some examples

ADAPTING AGRICULTURE TO FUTURE
CLIMATE CONDITIONS: THE DATE PALM
Shabani, F., Kumar, L. & Taylor, S., 2012. Climate Change
Impacts on the Future Distribution of Date Palms: A Modeling
Exercise Using CLIMEX V. Magar, ed. PLoS ONE, 7(10),p.e48021. Available at: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.
pone.0048021

This research by a team from Australia used data
accessed through GBIF to model changes in the areas
likely to be suitable for cultivating date palms (Phoenix
dactylifera), according to various future scenariosof climate change. After filtering from a total of 583
records for the species, 163 occurrence locations
downloaded via GBIF were supplemented with 49
records from literature review to model the potential
distribution of the date palm, based on current andprojected future conditions of temperature andmoisture. The results suggested that many parts ofNorth Africa currently suited to date palm cultivation
would become unsuitable by 2100. By 2070, Saudi
Arabia, Iraq and western Iran are projected to becomeless suitable. On the other hand, some areas such as
southeastern Bolivia and northern Venezuela will be
more suitable for growing date palms. The authors
suggest such projections can inform strategic planningby identifying new areas in which to cultivate thiseconomically important crop in future, and areasthat will need attention due to reduced suitability
compared with current agricultural practices.
Author country: Australia

GUINEA PEPPER (PIPER GUINEENSE) © ROGER PEETCONSERVING GENETIC DIVERSITY OF FOOD
CROPS IN WEST AFRICA
Idohou, R. et al., 2012. National inventory and prioritization ofcrop wild relatives: case study for Benin. Genetic Resources
and Crop Evolution. Available at: http://www.springerlink.
com/index/10.1007/s10722-012-9923-6

This study aimed to draw up a list of priority plants toconserve in Benin, based on their importance as wild
relatives of the crops used by local people for food,livestock fodder, medicines and other purposes. An
inventory of crop wild relatives (CWR) was compiledusing a variety of sources, including records frommajor herbaria and gene banks worldwide, accessed
online through GBIF. Using a series of criteria to rank
their importance, the study identified 20 priority crop
wild relatives for active conservation.
Author countries: Benin, China, UK

21

VAMPIRE BAT (DESMODUS ROTUNDUS) © TRISHA SHEARSFORECASTING RISK OF CATTLE RABIESSPREAD BY VAMPIRE BATS
Lee, D.N., Papes, M. & Van Den Bussche, R. a., 2012. Present
and Potential Future Distribution of Common Vampire Bats in
the Americas and the Associated Risk to Cattle R. M. Brigham,ed. PLoS ONE, 7(8), p.e42466. Available at: http://dx.plos.
org/10.1371/journal.pone.0042466

This study modelled the current and potential future
distribution of the common vampire bat (Desmodus
rotundus) to help predict the risk of cattle rabies inNorth, Central and South America, thus indicatingareas that should be a focus for rabies prevention
efforts. The common vampire bat, as a carrier of therabies virus, has a significant effect on the cattle
industry in Latin America.
To produce an ecological niche model for the bat,the research used 984 spatially-unique data points
showing locations where the species occurs, basedon museum records discovered and downloaded via
the GBIF data portal.

The results showed that most of Mexico and Central
America, as well as portions of Venezuela, Guyana,
the Brazilian highlands, western Ecuador, northern
Argentina, and areas east of the Andes in Peru, Bolivia,
and Paraguay are currently highly suitable for thevampire bat. Climate projections predicted suitability
in these areas and in French Guyana, Suriname,
Venezuela and Colombia. The paper noted that areas
with large numbers of cattle at risk include Mexico,Central America, Paraguay and Brazil.
Contradicting previous studies, the researchsuggests that the vampire bat was unlikely to spreadsignificantly into the United States under futureclimate scenarios, with only southern Florida showing
suitable conditions for the species.
Author country: USA

22

Other research related to food, farming and biofuels, citing use of GBIF-mediated data
Title
JournalAuthors				Authorcountries

URL		

Genetically modified crops and aquatic
Transgenic
Carstens, K.
ecosystems: considerations for environmental
research
et al.
risk assessment and non-target organism testing.			
				
				
				

Belgium,
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
Germany,
pubmed/22120952
the Netherlands,
New Zealand,
Switzerland,
UK, USAAn assessment of biomass for bioelectricity
GCB
Farine, D.R.
Australia
and biofuel, and for greenhouse gas emission
Bioenergy
et al.		
reduction in Australia.				

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1757-1707.2011.01115.x

Diversity and distribution of genus Jatropha
in Mexico.
				

Genetic
Resources
and Crop
Evolution

http://www.springerlink.com/
index/10.1007/s10722-0129906-7

Environmental suitability of the Red Spider
Mite Tetranchus cinnabarinus(Acari: Tetranychidae) among cassava in China.

Advanced
Lu, H.
China
Materials
et al.		
Research			FresnedoUSA
Ramírez, J. &		
Orozco-		
Ramírez, Q.		

Temperate forage and pulse legume genetic
Bocconea
gap analysis.		

Maxted, N.
et al.

Advances on molecular studies of theinteraction soybean – Asian rust.
		Morales,Brazil,A.M.A.P.
USA
et al.		

Crop Breeding
and Applied
Biotechnology

Syria,
UK

http://www.scientific.net/
AMR.518-523.5446

http://www.herbmedit.org/
bocconea/24-115.pdf
http://www.sbmp.org.br/cbab/
siscbab/uploads/c8eb979286b6-2ef2.pdf

A common view of the opportunities,
BioEnergy
Murphy, H.T.
Australia
challenges, and research actions for Pongamia
Research
et al.		
in Australia.				

http://www.springerlink.com/
content/506205400h170m31/

Spatial distribution and ecological variation
FungalStobbe, U.
Germany,of re-discovered German truffle habitats.
Ecologyet al.
Switzerland					

http://www.sciencedirect.com/
science/article/pii/S175450
4812000268

Biomass properties in association with plant
species and assortments. II: A synthesis basedon literature data for ash elements.
		

http://linkinghub.elsevier.
com/retrieve/pii/S136403
211200024X

Renewable
Tao, G.
China,
andet al.
SwedenSustainable 			Energy Reviews			

Present spatial diversity patterns of Theobroma
PLoS ONEThomas, E.
cacao L. in the neotropics reflect genetic 		
et al.
differentiation in pleistocene refugia followed 			by human-influenced dispersal.			
				Belgium,
Colombia(Bioversity),
Italy(Bioversity)

http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/
journal.pone.0047676

23

Advancing biodiversity science
The research making use of GBIF-mediated data in 2012 covers a wide range of biodiversityrelated scientific disciplines, some less directly connected with policy applications than
the studies outlined in previous sections of this review. Nevertheless, the research enabled
by GBIF contributes significantly to the Target 19 of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, that ‘by2020, knowledge, the science base and technologies relating to biodiversity, its values,
functioning, status and trends, and the consequences of its loss, are improved, widely
shared and transferred, and applied.’
The papers in this section cover areas of research such as biogeography, taxonomy, species
distribution modelling, evolutionary history and phylogeny.

Research advancing biodiversity science during 2012, citing use of GBIF-mediated data
Title
JournalAuthors				Authorcountries		First records of the genus Lepidion(Gadiformes: Moridae) from Alaska.

Northwestern
Naturalist

The effect of species geographical distribution
estimation methods on richness and phylogenetic
diversity estimates.
				International
Amboni, M.P.M.
Australia
Journal of& Laffan, S.W.		
Geographical 			
Information
Science			

http://www.tandfonline.com/
doi/abs/10.1080/13658816.
2012.717627

Beta-diversity gradients of butterflies alongproductivity axes.
		

GlobalEcology and
Biogeography

Andrew, M.E.
Canadaet al.		

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1466-8238.2011.00676.x

Quantitative visualization of biological data
in Google Earth using R2G2, an R CRAN package.
		Molecular
Ecology
Resources

Arrigo, N.
USA
et al.		

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
1755-0998.12012		

Revision of the North American species ofGrindelia (Asteraceae).
		Annals of theBartoli, A. &Argentina,
Missouri
Tortosa, R.D.
USA
Botanical Garden			

http://www.bioone.org/doi/
abs/10.3417/2008125

Post-glacial dispersal, rather than in situ glacial
Journal of
Beatty, G.E. &UK
survival, best explains the disjunct distribution
Biogeography
Provan, J.		
of the Lusitanian plant species Daboecia
cantabrica (Ericaceae).
				Species richness, taxonomy and peculiarities
Biodiversity
Berndt, R.
Switzerlandof the neotropical rust fungi: are they moreand			
diverse in the Neotropics?
Conservation							Continuous and long-term monoxenic culture
FungalBidondo, L. F.
Argentinaof the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Gigaspora
Biologyet al.		
decipiens in root organ culture.				
			
Leaf evolution in Southern Hemisphere conifers
Proceedings
Biffin, E.
Australia,
tracks the angiosperm ecological radiation.
of the Royalet al.
UK		
Society B:		Biological		
Sciences

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1365-2699.2012.02789.x

		Alcorn, D. &USA
Stone, R.		

URL

http://www.bioone.org/doi/
abs/10.1898/12-05.1

http://www.springerlink.com/
index/10.1007/s10531-0110220-z
http://linkinghub.elsevier.
com/retrieve/pii/S18786
14612000724
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/pubmed/21653584

24

Title
JournalAuthors				
New records of four reef-associated fishes
from east coast of India.
		Acta
Ichthyologica
Et Piscatoria

Authorcountries

Biswas, S.
India
et al.		

Leaf level emissions of volatile organic
Biogeosciences
Bracho-Nunez, A.
compounds (VOC) from some Amazonian
Discussions
et al.
and Mediterranean plants.			

URL

		

http://www.aiep.pl/volumes/
2010/3_3/pdf/10_1230_F1.pdf

Brazil,France,Germany

http://www.biogeosciencesdiscuss.net/9/15279/2012/

Three new species allied to the ‘Mirbelia
Nuytsia
Butcher, R.
Australia
viminalis group’ (Fabaceae: Mirbelieae), 				from Western Australia.				

http://florabase.dec.wa.gov.
au/science/nuytsia/636.pdf

Sampling bias in geographic and environmental
Systematics
Bystriakova, N.
space and its effect on the predictive power ofand Biodiversity
et al.
species distribution models.			

China,
Netherlands,
UK, Ukraine

http://www.tandfonline.com/
doi/abs/10.1080/14772000.2012.705357

Latitude, elevational climatic zonation andspeciation in New World vertebrates.
				Australia,
Colombia,
Denmark,USA

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/21632626

Proceedings.
Cadena, C.D.
Biologicalet al.
sciences / 		The Royal Society		Synopsis of Acalypha (Euphorbiaceae) of
PhytoKeys
continental Ecuador.		

Cardiel, J.M. &Spain
Muñoz, P.		

http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/
phytokeys.17.3190

Distribution and richness of aquatic plants
Journal of
Chappuis, E.,
Spainacross Europe and Mediterranean countries:
Vegetation
Ballesteros, E.		
patterns, environmental driving factors andScience& Gacia, E.
comparison with total plant richness.				

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1654-1103.2012.01417.x

Phylogeography of Quercus variabilis based
PLoS ONEChen, D.
multiple glacial refugia and mainland-migrated 		
et al.
island populations.			
				

http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/
journal.pone.0047268

Diversification, biogeographic pattern, and
PLoS ONEdemographic history of Taiwanese Scutellaria 		
species inferred from nuclear and chloroplast DNA.		

Australia,
China,
Japan,
SwedenChiang, Y.-C.,
Chinese Taipei
Huang, B.-H. &(Taiwan)Liao, P.-C.		

http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/
journal.pone.0050844

Avian diversity in and around Bamanwada Lakeof Rajura, District- Chandrapur (Maharashtra).
		

Annals of
Chilke, A.M.
India
Biological			Research			

http://scholarsresearchlibrary.
com/ABR-vol3-iss4/
ABR-2012-3-4-2014-2018.pdf

Unravelling the evolutionary history of thepolyploid complex Ranunculus parnassiifolius(Ranunculaceae).

BiologicalCires, E.
Belgium,
Journal of the
et al.
Spain
Linnean Society			

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1095-8312.2012.01968.x

The Iberian endemic species Ranunculus
cabrerensis Rothm.: an intricate history in the
Ranunculus parnassiifolius L. polyploid complex.

Plant
Cires, E. &Spain
Systematics
Prieto, J.A.F.		
and Evolution			

http://www.springerlink.com/
index/10.1007/s00606011-0529-9

Drawbacks to palaeodistribution modelling:
the case of South American seasonally dry forests.

Journal of
Biogeography

Collevatti, R.G.
Brazilet al.		

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
doi/10.1111/jbi.12005/abstract

A coupled phylogeographical and species
MolecularCollevatti, R.G.
Brazildistribution modelling approach recovers the
Ecologyet al.		
demographical history of a Neotropicalseasonally dry forest tree species.				

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/23094833

Inferring species richness and turnover by
PLoS ONEConvertino, M.
USAstatistical multiresolution texture analysis of 		et al.		
satellite imagery.				

http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/
journal.pone.0046616

Biogeographical patterns of variation in
Journal of
Cooper, E.M.
UK
Western European populations of the great
Insectet al.		
green bush-cricket (Tettigonia viridissima;
Conservation			
Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae).				

http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/s10841012-9525-9

25

Title
JournalAuthors				Authorcountries

URL		

The endemic plants of Micronesia:
Micronesia
Costion, C.M. &Australia,
a geographical checklist and commentary.		
Lorence, D.H.
USA
					
					
					

http://www.uog.edu/up/
micronesica/dynamicdata/
assetmanager/images/vol43/
costion.lorence%20micronesica%2043%281%29.pdf

Effects of late-Cenozoic glaciation on habitat
PLos ONE
Dambach, J.
availability in Antarctic Benthic Shrimps 		
et al.
(Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea).			

Germany,
New Zealand,
UK

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/23029463

Checklist of vascular plants of the
PhytoKeys
Department of Ñeembucú, Paraguay.		

Paraguay,UK

http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/
phytokeys.9.2279

De Egea, J.
et al.

Predicting the environmental niche of theAustralDebandi, G.
Argentina
genus Phymaturus: Are palluma andEcologyet al.		
patagonicus groups ecologically differentiated?				

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1442-9993.2011.02295.x

Atlas of pollen, spores and further non-pollen
Quaternary
Demske, D.,
Germany,
palynomorphs recorded in the glacial-interglacial
International
Tarasov, P.E. &UK
late Quaternary sediments of Lake Suigetsu, 		Nakagawa, T.		
central Japan.
				Inverted patterns of genetic diversity in
Journal of
Désamoré, A.
Belgium,
continental and island populations of the
Biogeography
et al.
Spain,
heather Erica scoparia s.l.			
UK

http://linkinghub.elsevier.
com/retrieve/pii/S10406
18212000675

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1365-2699.2011.02622.x

Review of Namibimydas Hesse, 1972 andAfrican
Dikow, T.
USA
Nothomydas Hesse, 1969 (Diptera : Mydidae:
Invertebrates			Syllegomydinae: Halterorchini) with the 				description of new species.			

http://africaninvertebrates.
org/ojs/index.php/AI/article/
view/25

A simple temperature-based model predicts
Coral Reefs
Dimond, J.L.
USA
the upper latitudinal limit of the temperate 		et al.		
coral Astrangia poculata.				

http://www.springerlink.com/
index/10.1007/s00338-0120983-z

Pyganodon (Bivalvia: Unionoida: Unionidae)
phylogenetics: A male- and female-transmitted
mitochondrial DNA perspective.

Molecular
Phylogenetics
and Evolution

DoucetBeaupré, H.
et al.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/pubmed/22326838

Biome specificity of distinct genetic lineages
within the four-striped mouse Rhabdomys
pumilio (Rodentia: Muridae) from southern
Africa with implications for taxonomy.

Molecular
Phylogenetics
and Evolution

Du Toit, N.
South Africa
et al.		

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22728170

Angiosperm responses to a low-CO2 world:
CAM and C4 photosynthesis as parallel
evolutionary trajectories.

International
Journal of
Plant Sciences

Edwards, E.J. &USA
Ogburn, R.M.		

http://www.jstor.org/stable/
10.1086/666098

Selection and inertia in the evolution ofNew
Escudero, M.
holocentric chromosomes in sedges
Phytologist
et al.
(Carex, Cyperaceae).			

Canada,USA

Norway,Spain,
USA

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22489934

Spatial patterns and diversity of bryozoan
Systematics
Figuerola, B.
Spain
communities from the Southern Ocean:andet al.		
South Shetland Islands, Bouvet Island
Biodiversity			and Eastern Weddell Sea.				

http://www.tandfonline.com/
doi/abs/10.1080/14772000.
2012.668972

Molecular phylogenetics and historical
Molecular
Garcia-Porta, J.
biogeography of the west-palearctic
Phylogenetics
et al.
common toads (Bufo bufo species complex).
and Evolution		
				
				

France,Greece,Italy,
Russia,Spain

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22214922

Molecular markers provide insight into
Journal of
Graham, B.A.
Canadacontemporary and historic gene flow
Avian Biology& Burg, T.M.		
for a non-migratory species.				

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1600-048X.2012.05604.x

26

Title
JournalAuthors				
Lacewings (Neuroptera) and Alderflies(Megaloptera) from Finnmark, northern Norway.
		

Authorcountries

NorwegianGreve, L. &NorwayJournal ofAndersen, T.		
Entomology			Continental-scale variability in browser diversity
Journal of
Greve, M.
is a major driver of diversity patterns in acacias
Ecologyet al.
across Africa.			
				
				
				

		

http://www.entomologi.no/journals/nje/2012-2/abs/absnje-vol59-no2-122-132-greve.pdf

Belgium,
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
Brazil,doi/10.1111/j.1365-2745.
Denmark,
2012.01994.x/abstract
Germany,
the Netherlands,
UK

You’re so vein: bundle sheath physiology,
Plant,
Griffiths, H.
UKphylogeny and evolution in C3 and C4 plants.
Cell &
et al.		
		
Environment		
A forest butterfly in Sahara desert oases:
The Journal
Habel, J.C.
Belgium,
isolation does not matter.
of Heredity
et al.
Germany,				Italy,
				
Luxembourg,				USA
Scaligeria alziarii (Apiaceae), a new sibling
species of S. napiformis from Cyprus.
		
		
		
		
		

URL

Willdenowia –Hand, R.,
Cyprus,Annals ofHadjikyriakou, G.
Germany
the Botanic& Zetzsche, H.
Garden and
Botanical
MuseumBerlin-Dahlem			

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1365-3040.2012.02585.x

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/23132908

http://dx.doi.org/10.3372/
wi.42.42205

Phylogeography of Dasia Gray, 1830
Zootaxa
Harikrishnan, S.
India(Reptilia: Scincidae), with the description 		
et al.		
of a new species from southern India.				

http://www.mapress.com/
zootaxa/2012/f/z03233p0
51f.pdf

Karyotype of the Gansu Mole (Scapanulus
oweni): further evidence for karyotypicstability in Talpid.

http://www.bioone.org/doi/
abs/10.3106/041.037.0408

MammalStudy

He, K.
China
et al.		

Clonality despite sex: the evolution of hostPLoS
Henk, D.A.
associated sexual neighborhoods in the
Pathogenset al.
pathogenic fungus Penicillium marneffei.			
				
				
				
				
				

Australia,
China,
Hong Kong,
India,
Taiwan,Thailand,
UK, USA,
Vietnam

http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/
journal.ppat.1002851

Spatial and temporal patterns of genetic
Molecular
variation in the widespread antitropical
Ecology
deep-sea coral Paragorgia arborea.		

Herrera, S.,
Colombia,
Shank, T.M.
USA
& Sánchez, J.		

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/23094936

The usefulness of elevation as a predictor
Ecologicalvariable in species distribution modelling.
Modelling			

Hof, A.R.,
SwedenJansson, R. 		
& Nilsson, C.		

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/
retrieve/pii/		
S0304380012003778

Modelling commercial fish distributions:
Ecological
Jones, M.C.
Canada,Prediction and assessment using different
Modelling
et al.
UK
approaches.				

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/
retrieve/pii/
S0304380011005217

Cameronia (lichenized Ascomycetes),
The
Kantvilas, G.
Australia
a remarkable new alpine genus from Tasmania.
Lichenologist								

http://www.journals.
cambridge.org/abstract_
S0024282911000569

A new geographical record of Polycera
Marinehedgpethi Er. Marcus, 1964 (Nudibranchia:
Biology
Polyceridae) and evidence of its established
Researchpresence in the Mediterranean Sea, with areview of its geographical distribution.		

http://www.tandfonline.com/
doi/abs/10.1080/17451000.
2012.706306

Keppel, E.,
Italy
Sigovini, M. &		
Tagliapietra, D.		
		

27

Title
JournalAuthors				Authorcountries

URL		

Range size and climatic niche correlate with
Journal of
Köster, N.
Germany
the vulnerability of epiphytes to human land
Biogeography
et al.		
use in the tropics.				

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
jbi.12050

A review of the Ephemeroptera of Finnmark –NorwegianKjærstad, G.,
Canada,DNA barcodes identify Holarctic relations.
Journal ofWebb, J.M.
Norway		
Entomology& Ekrem, T.		
							First record of the warty oreo, Allocyttus
Journal of
Kloppmann,
Germany
verrucosus (Gilchrist, 1906), in Greenland
AppliedM.H.F. & 		waters.
Ichthyology
Thiel, R.
				Evidence for a freezing tolerance-growth rate
The New
Koehler, K.,
USA
trade-off in the live oaks (Quercus series Virentes)
Phytologist
Center, A. &		
across the tropical-temperate divide.		
Cavender-Bares, J.		

http://www.entomologi.no/journals/nje/2012-2/abs/abs
nje-vol59-no2-182-195kjaerstad.pdf

Surprising spectra of root-associated fungi
FEMS
Kohout, P.
Czech
in submerged aquatic plants.
microbiology
et al.
Republic		
ecology		Applying cluster analysis and Google Maps
Biodiversity
Lai, K.
Chinese Taipei
in the study of large-scale species
Scienceet al.
(Taiwan)occurrence data.				

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
jai.12024

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22171967

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22224638

http://www.biodiversityscience.net/EN/Y2012/
V20/I1/76		

The post-Pleistocene population genetic
Journal of
Lait, L.A.
Canadastructure of a western North American
Avian Biology
et al.		
passerine: the chestnut-backed chickadee
Poecile rufescens.				

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1600-048X.2012.05761.x

Functional genomics resources for the North
Atlantic copepod, Calanus finmarchicus:
EST database and physiological microarray.

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/
retrieve/pii/S1744117
X11000992

Comparative
Lenz, P.H.
USA
biochemistry
et al.		
and physiology			Pollen morphology of the three subgenera
Palynologyof Alnus.		

Leopold, E.B.
et al.

Panama,USA

Pleistocene speciation in the genus Populus
Systematic
Levsen, N.D.,
USA(Salicaceae).
Biology
Tiffin, P. & 					
Olson, M.S.
		
Comparative analyses reveal potential uses
BMC Plant
Li, C.
China,of Brachypodium distachyon as a model for
Biologyet al.
Norway,cold stress responses in temperate grasses.			
USA
Diversification in North America arid lands:
niche conservatism, divergence and expansionof habitat explain speciation in the genus Ephedra.

Molecular
phylogenetics
and evolution

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/
01916122.2012.657876
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22213709

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22569006

Loera, I.,
Mexico,Sosa, V. &USA
Ickert-Bond, S.M.		

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22776548

Reciprocal gender effects of a keystone alpine
BotanyLortie, C.J.
Canadaplant species on other plants, pollinators, 		& Reid, A.M.		
and arthropods.				

http://www.nrcresearchpress.
com/doi/abs/10.1139/b11-112

Ecological niche structure and rangewide
Biologyabundance patterns of species.
Letters			MartinezMexico,
Meyer, E.
USA
et al.		

http://rsbl.royalsociety
publishing.org/cgi/		
doi/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0637

Biological Flora of the British Isles:
Journal of
Rosa spinosissima L.
Ecology						MaylandGermany
Quellhorst, E., 		
Föller, J. &		
Wissemann, V.		

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com//doi/10.1111/j.1365-2745
2011.01950.x/abstract

Modeling alpine plant distributions at the
Ecologicallandscape scale: Do biotic interactions matter?
Modelling			

Meineri, E.,
NorwaySkarpaas, O. 		
& Vandvik, V.		

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/
retrieve/pii/S0304380012
000506

28

Title
JournalAuthors				Do species distribution models predict species
richness in urban and natural green spaces?
A case study using amphibians.

Authorcountries

URL		

LandscapeMilanovich, J.R.
USA
and Urban
et al.		
Planning			

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/
retrieve/pii/S01692046
12002216

Colonization of vegetation-rich moraines
Conservation
Mimura, M.
Japanand inference of multiple sources ofGenetics
et al.		
colonization in the High Arctic for Salix arctica.				

http://www.springerlink.com/
index/10.1007/s10592-0120413-3

Potential ecological distribution of Cytauxzoon
Veterinary
Mueller, E.K.
USA
felis in domestic cats in Oklahoma, Missouri,
Parasitology
et al.		
and Arkansas.				

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/
retrieve/pii/S0304401712
005559Diversity of bivalve molluscs in the St Lucia
AfricanEstuary, with an annotated and illustrated
Invertebrates
checklist. 		

http://africaninvertebrates.
org/ojs/index.php/AI/article/
view/4

Nel, H.A.,
South Africa
Perissinotto, R. 		
& Taylor, R.H.		

Parmelina yalungana resurrected and reported
The Bryologist
Nelson, P.R.
China,
from Alaska, China and Russia.		
et al.
USA					

http://www.bioone.org/doi/
abs/10.1639/0007-2745115.4.557

DNA barcoding of the leaf-mining moth subgenus
Contributions
Ectoedemia s. str. (Lepidoptera : Nepticulidae)
to Zoology
with COI and EF1-α: two are better than one in 		
recognising cryptic species.

http://dpc.uba.uva.nl/cgi/t/
text/get-pdf?idno=m8101a01;
c=ctz

Nieukerken,
The
E.J. van
Netherlands
et al.		

Morphological and chemical studies on
The
Obermayer, W.
Austria,
Platismatia erosa (Parmeliaceae) from
Bryologist& Randlane, T.
Estonia
Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan.				

http://www.bioone.org/doi/
abs/10.1639/0007-2745115.1.51

Phylogeny and biogeography in Solanaceae,
Verbenaceae and Bignoniaceae: a comparisonof continental and intercontinental
diversification patterns.

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1095-8339.2012.01306.x

Botanical
Olmstead, R.G.
USA
Journal of			the Linnean
Society			

Influence of environmental heterogeneity
Molecular
Ortego, J.
Spain,
on genetic diversity and structure in an
Ecologyet al.
USA
endemic southern Californian oak.				

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1365-294X.2012.05591.x

Nuclear and chloroplast DNA phylogeography
New
Pauwels, M.
Francereveals vicariance among European populations
Phytologist
et al.		
of the model species for the study of metal 				tolerance, Arabidopsis halleri (Brassicaceae).				

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
doi/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2011.
04003.x/abstract

Global patterns of leaf defenses in oak species.
Evolution
Pearse, I.S.
USA			& Hipp, A.L.		
					

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
doi/10.1111/j.1558-5646.
2012.01591.x/abstract

Five new records of bats for Guatemala, with
Chiroptera
comments on the checklist of the country.
Neotropical			

Pérez, S.G.,
GuatemalaLópez, J.E. & 		
McCarthy, T.J.		

http://chiroptera.unb.br/index.php/cn/article/viewFile/65/122

Botanical
Perret, M.
Brazil,Journal of the
et al.
Switzerland
Linnean Society			

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1095-8339.2012.01303.x

Temporal and spatial origin of Gesneriaceae
in the New World inferred from plastid DNA
sequences.

The performance of range maps and species
GlobalPineda. E &Spain
distribution models representing the
Ecology andLobo J.M.		
geographic variation of species richness
Biogeography
at different resolutions.				

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1466-8238.2011.00741.x

The distribution of Elatine hydropiper L.
(Elatinaceae).
		

https://pbsociety.org.pl/journals/index.php/asbp/
article/view/asbp.2012.009

Acta Societatis
Popiela, A.A.
Hungary,
Botanicorum
et al.
PolandPoloniae			

Ecological niche modeling meets phylogeography
Natureza &Premoli, A.C.
Argentina
to unravel hidden past history of key forest genera
Conservação
et al.		
in plant geography: Podocarpus and Nothofagus.
			
					

http://www.abeco.org.br/
wordpress/wp-content/
uploads/nec-vol-10-2/09_nc_
v10n2_021S-2012.pdf

29

Title
JournalAuthors				Authorcountries

URL		

Genetic signals of demographic expansion
PLoS ONE
Pulgarín-R, P.C.
Canadain downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) 		
& Burg, T.M.		
after the last North American glacial maximum.				

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22792306

Predicting the fate of biodiversity using species’
PLoS ONE
distribution models: enhancing model 		comparability and repeatability.		

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22984502

RodríguezSweden,
Castañeda, G.
USA
et al.		

Geographic distribution, colour variation andSalamandra
Rodríguez, A.
Cuba,
molecular diversity of miniature frogs of the 		
et al.
Germany
Eleutherodactylus limbatus group from Cuba.				

http://www.mvences.de/p/p1/Vences_A238.pdf

An update on the myxomycete biota
Check List
Rojas, C.,
Colombia,(Amoebozoa: Myxogastria) of Colombia.		
Herrera, N. &Costa Rica,			Stephenson, S.L.
USA		
Detailed food web networks of three Greater
DatasetRoopnarine, P.D.
USA
Antillean Coral Reef Systems: the Cayman
Papers in& Hertog, R.		
Islands, Cuba, and Jamaica.
Ecology			

http://www.checklist.org.br/
getpdf?SL042-12

Recent phylogeographic structure in a
Journal of
Rymer, P.D.
widespread “weedy” Neotropical tree
Biogeography
et al.
species, Cordia alliodora (Boraginaceae).			
				
Assessing the congruence of thermal niche
PLoS ONEestimations derived from distribution and 		
physiological data. A test using diving beetles.		
A GIS framework for the refinement ofspecies geographic ranges.
		
		
		

Australia,
Italy,
Panama,UK, USA

SánchezSpain,
Fernández, D.
UK
et al.		

International
Sangermano, F.
USA
Journal of& Eastman, J.R.		
Geographical 			
Information
Science			

http://www.datasets.com/
journals/ecology/2013/
857470/
http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1365-2699.2012.02727.x

http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/
journal.pone.0048163

http://www.tandfonline.com/
doi/abs/10.1080/13658816.
2011.567987

Continental shelf as potential retreat areas
Journal of
Schidelko, K.
Germany
for Austral-Asian estrildid finches
Avian Biology
et al.		
(Passeriformes: Estrildidae) during the
Pleistocene.				

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1600-048X.2012.05743.x

Evolution of leaf form correlates with tropicaltemperate transitions in Viburnum (Adoxaceae).
		
		
		

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22810426

Proceedings
Schmerler, S.B.
USA
of the Royalet al.		
Society
Biological
Sciences			

Revisiting the “Ralum Project”: Molluscs
Zoosystematics
Schmitt, E.M. &Germany
collected by Friedrich Dahl in 1896-1897 forand Evolution
Glaubrecht, M.		
the Museum of Natural History Berlin.				

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com//doi/10.1002/zoos.201200009/abstract

First record of the blue sea slug (Glaucus
Taprobanica
atlanticus) from Andhra Pradesh – India.		
			

http://www.sljol.info/index.
php/TAPRO/article/viewFile/
4386/3545

Non-ecological speciation, niche conservatism
and thermal adaptation: how are they
connected?

Srinivasulu, B.,
India
Srinivasulu, C. & 		Kumar, C.		

Organisms
Svensson, E.I.
SwedenDiversity & 			
Evolution			

Photosynthetic pathway and ecological
The New
Taylor, S.H.
adaptation explain stomatal trait diversity
Phytologist
et al.
amongst grasses.			
The taxonomic significance of species that
PLoS ONE
have only been observed once: the genus 		Gymnodinium (Dinoflagellata) as an example.		

Australia,
UK,
USA

Thessen, A.E.,
Australia,
Patterson, D.J.
USA
& Murray, S.		

http://www.springerlink.com/
index/10.1007/s13127-0120082-6
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22040513

http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/
journal.pone.0044015

30

Title
JournalAuthors				Authorcountries

URL		

Molecular phylogenetics and historical
Taxon
Thomas, D.C.
Australia,
biogeography of the Meiogyne-Fitzalania clade 		et al.
China,(Annonaceae): Generic paraphyly and late 			India,
Miocene-Pliocene diversification in Australasia 			Netherlands
and the Pacific.				
					
					

http://www.ingentaconnect.
com/content/iapt/tax/2012/
00000061/00000003/art00006?token=003912832c7b76504c
48663b256a493e6c243f386f
576a333f2576a8d#expand/collapse

Hybridization and systematics of dioecious
Aquatic
Tippery, N.P.
USA
North American Nymphoides (N. aquatica
Botany& Les, D.H.		
and N. cordata; Menyanthaceae).				

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/
retrieve/pii/S0304377
012001325

Mitochondrial phylogeography of the Holarctic
Journal of
Todisco. V.
Parnassius phoebus complex supports a recent
Biogeography
et al.
refugial model for alpine butterflies.			

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
doi/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.
02675.x/abstract

Canada,Finland,
Italy, UK

Can species distribution modelling provide
Diversity andTôrres, N.M.
Brazilestimates of population densities? A case
Distributions
et al.		
study with jaguars in the Neotropics.				

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
doi/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2012.
00892.x/abstract

Relative embryo length as an adaptation
The New
to habitat and life cycle in Apiaceae.
Phytologist					Species distribution modelling as
Ecography
a macroecological tool: a case study 		using New World amphibians.		

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22621412

Vandelook, F.,
Janssens, S.B.
& Probert, R.J.

Belgium,
Germany,
UK

Vasconcelos, T.S., Spain,
Rodríguez, M.Á.
USA
& Hawkins, B.A.		

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1600-0587.2011.07050.x

First record of the deep-water whalefish
Journal of
Vieira, R.P.
Germany,
Cetichthys indagator (Actinopterygii:
Fish Biology
et al.
Portugal
Cetomimidae) in the North Atlantic Ocean.				

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1095-8649.2012.03378.x

Identifying insects with incomplete DNA
PLoS ONE
Virgilio, M.
Belgium
barcode libraries, African fruit flies (Diptera: 		et al.		
tephritidae) as a test case.				

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22359600

Late Pleistocene species distribution modellingof North Atlantic intertidal invertebrates.

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1365-2699.2012.02782.x

Journal of
Biogeography

Waltari, E. &USA
Hickerson, M.J.		

The African wintering distribution and
Bird
Walther, B.A.
ecology of the Corncrake Crex crex.
Conservation
et al.
		International						

China,
France,South Africa,
UK

http://www.journals.
cambridge.org/abstract_S
0959270912000159

Glacial expansion and diversification of
Journal of
Wang, W.
an East Asian montane bird, the greenBiogeography
et al.
backed tit (Parus monticolus).			
				

China,
France,Taiwan,USA

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
jbi.12055

Wellenreuther, M., Sweden
Larson, K.W. &		
Svensson, E. I.		

http://www.esajournals.org/
doi/abs/10.1890/11-1181.1

Climatic niche divergence or conservatism?
Ecology
Environmental niches and range limits in 		
ecologically similar damselflies.		
Late Quaternary environmental and landscapedynamics revealed by a pingo sequence on
the northern Seward Peninsula , Alaska.

Quaternary
Wetterich, S.
Scienceet al.
Reviews		

Germany,
Russia,UK, USA

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.
quascirev.2012.01.027

Reproduction and morphology of the
InTechWhitaker, N.
India
Travancore Tortoise (Indotestudo travancorica).				

http://cdn.intechweb.org/
pdfs/30106.pdf

Glucose inhibits the shoot bud formationin the moss Bryum billarderi.
				

http://www.springerlink.com/
index/10.2478/s11535-0120056-x

CentralZavala, A.M.
MexicoEuropeanet al.		
Journal of 			Biology			31

Data papers published during 2012
The following articles were published as data papers
using the workflow developed by GBIF and Pensoft
Publishers to author manuscripts for peer review,
based on enriched metadata for datasets publishedusing the GBIF Integrated Publishing Tookit (IPT).

Landuyt, W.V., Vanhecke, L. & Brosens, D., 2012. Florabank1:
a grid-based database on vascular plant distribution in thenorthern part of Belgium (Flanders and the Brussels Capitalregion). PhytoKeys, 12, p.59-67. Available at: http://www.
pensoft.net/journals/phytokeys/article/2849/abstract/
Danis, B., Jangoux, M. & Wilmes, J., 2012. Antarctic Starfish(Echinodermata, Asteroidea) from the ANDEEP3 expedition.
ZooKeys, 185, p.73-78. Available at: http://www.pensoft.net/
journals/zookeys/article/3078/abstract/
Pierrat, B., Saucède, T., Festeau. A et al., 2012. Antarctic,
Sub-Antarctic and cold temperate echinoid database.
ZooKeys 204 (2012): 47-52. Available at: http://www.pensoft.
net/journals/zookeys/article/3134/abstract/antarctic-subantarctic-and-cold-temperate-echinoid-database
Shao, K.T., Lin, J., Wu, C.H., Yeh, H.M. & Cheng. T.Y., 2012.
A dataset from bottom trawl survey around Taiwan. ZooKeys,
198, p.103–109. Available at: http://www.pensoft.net/
journals/zookeys/article/3032/a-dataset-from-bottomtrawl-survey-around-taiwan
SEA URCHIN (HELIOCIDARIS SP) © RICHARD LINGANAGALLIS TENELLA © BELGIAN BIODIVERSITY PLATFORM

VERONICA OFFICINALIS © BELGIAN BIODIVERSITY PLATFORM

32

Discussion of GBIF in the scientific literature
In addition to the research citing direct use of GBIF-mediated data, many journal articles in 2012 included
discussion of GBIF in the context of biodiversity information, data publication and access. A selection is
included here.
Title
JournalAuthors				Assessing biodiversity funding during the
BioEssays: news and reviews
Amato, G.,
sixth extinction.
in molecular, cellular and& Desalle, R.
		developmental biology

URL

Primary biodiversity data records in
the Pyrenees.

Ariño, A.H.
et al.

http://omicron.ch.tuiasi.ro/EEMJ/
pdfs/vol11/no6/3_776_Arino_11.pdf

Berendsohn, W.
& Güntsch, A

http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/
zookeys.209.3179

Environmental Engineeringand Management Journal

OpenUp! Creating a cross-domain pipeline for
ZooKeysnatural history data.		

		

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22674583

A new era for specimen databases andBiodiversity Informatics
Coetzer, W.
biodiversity information management 		
et al.
in South Africa.			

https://journals.ku.edu/index.php/
jbi/article/viewFile/4263/4038

Freshwater journals unite to boost primary
BioSciencebiodiversity data publication.		

http://www.jstor.org/stable/
info/10.1525/bio.2012.62.6.2

De Wever, A.
et al.

The Darwin Core extension for genebanks
Biodiversity Informatics
Endresen, D.T.F.
opens up new opportunities for sharing 		& Knüpffer, H.
germplasm data sets.			

https://journals.ku.edu/index.
php/jbi/article/view/4095/4064

Advancing global marine biogeography
Transactions in GIS
Fujioka, E.
research with open-source GIS software		
et al.
and cloud computing.			

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/
j.1467-9671.2012.01310.x

Efficient rescue of threatened biodiversity
data using reBiND workflows.
				

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/
abs/10.1080/11263504.2012.
740086

Plant Biosystems –Güntsch, A.
An International Journal
et al.
Dealing with all Aspects 		
of Plant Biology		

The ABCD of primary biodiversity data access.
Plant Biosystems
Holetschek, J.
			et al.
				

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/
abs/10.1080/11263504.2012.
740085

Willing and unwilling to share primaryConservation Letters
Huang, X.
biodiversity data: results and implications 		
et al.
of an international survey.			

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
doi/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2012.00259.x/abstract

Biodiversity data sharing is not just about
Trends in Ecology
Huang, X.
species names: response to Santos and Branco.
& Evolution& Qiao, G.
				

http://www.cell.com/trends/
ecology-evolution/fulltext//S0169-5347%2811%2900301-6

Integrating biodiversity distribution
Trends in Ecology
knowledge: toward a global map of life.
& Evolution			

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22019413

Data discovery mechanisms for biodiversity
resources in the Asia-Pacific region.
		

Jetz, W.,
McPherson, J.M.
& Guralnick, R.P.

The Biodiversity
Jinbo, U.
Observation Network in& Ito, M.
the Asia-Pacific Region		

http://www.springerlink.com/
index/10.1007/978-4-431-54032-8

Improving access to biodiversity data for,
Impact Assessment andKing, N.
and from, EIAs – a data publishing framework
Project Appraisal
et al.
built to global standards.			

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/
abs/10.1080/14615517.2012.
705068			

Challenges in developing medicinal plant
Journal of
Ningthoujam, S.S.
databases for sharing ethnopharmacologicalEthnopharmacology
et al.
knowledge.			

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22401841

33

Title

Journal

BIDDSAT: visualizing the content of biodiversity
Bioinformatics
data publishers in the GBIF network.		

Authors

URL		

Otegui, J. &Ariño, A.H.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/22730433

Evolutionary informatics: unifying
Trends in Ecology
Parr, C.S.
knowledge about the diversity of life.
& Evolution
et al.
				

http://www.sciencedirect.com/
science/article/pii/S01695347
11003247

VoSeq: a voucher and DNA sequence
PLoS ONEweb application.		

Peña, C.
& Malm, T.

http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/
journal.pone.0039071

From text to structured data: converting
PhytoKeys
Remsen, D.
a word-processed floristic checklist into 		et al.
Darwin Core Archive format.			

http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/
phytokeys.9.2770

The quality of name-based species records
Trends in Ecology
Santos, A.M.
in databases.
& Evolution& Branco, M.
				

http://www.cell.com/trends/
ecology-evolution/fulltext/
S0169-5347%2811%2900298-9

Building a global observing system forbiodiversity.

Scholes, R.J.
et al.

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/
retrieve/pii/S1877343511001394

An appraisal of megascience platforms
MycoKeysfor biodiversity information.		
			

Triebel, D.,
Hagedorn, G.
& Rambold, G.

http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/
mycokeys.5.4302

Darwin Core: an evolving communityPLoS ONE
developed biodiversity data standard.		

Wieczorek, J.
et al.

http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/
journal.pone.0029715

Strategies to observe and assess changesof terrestrial biodiversity in the Asia-Pacificregion.

Current Opinion in
Environmental Sustainability

The Biodiversity
Yahara, T.
http://www.springerlink.com/
Observation Network in
et al.
index/10.1007/978-4-431-54032-8
the Asia-Pacific Region			A high-performance web-based information
Ecological Informatics
Zhang, J.
system for publishing large-scale species 			range maps in support of biodiversity studies.

COVER PHOTOS, LEFT TO RIGHTTOP ROW:ANOPHELES ALBIMANUS, A CARRIER OF MALARIA © JAMES GATHANYANAGALLIS TENELLA © BELGIAN BIODIVERSITY PLATFORM
ORANGE-STRIPED TRIGGERFISH (BALISTAPUS UNDULATUS) © HANS HILLEWAERTCANNONBALL TREE (COUROUPITA GUIANENSIS) © BRIAN GATWICKE
SECOND ROW:
GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL OBSERVED FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION © NASA
GUINEA PEPPER (PIPER GUINEENSE) © ROGER PEETKRISHNA RIVER GORGE, ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIAOXBOW LAKE, YASUNI NATIONAL PARK, ECUADOR © GEOFF GALLICETHIRD ROW:POLYPEDATES LEUCOMYSTAX © JOACHIM S. MÜLLER
LANTANA CAMARA © JOAQUIM ALVES GASPAR
ASTERIAS FORBESI © PAUL MORRISBOG BLUEBERRY (VACCINIUM ULIGINOSUM) © OLE HUSBYBOTTOM ROW:
VAMPIRE BAT (DESMODUS ROTUNDUS) © TRISHA SHEARSARCTIC FOX (VULPES LAGOPUS) © ALGKALVWHITE-TAILED DEER (ODOCOILEUS VIRGINIANUS) © SCOTT BAUER / USDABROWN MARMORATED STINK BUG (HALYOMORPHA HALYS) © USGS BEE INVENTORY AND MONITORING

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/
retrieve/pii/S1574954112000064

Secretariat
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Denmark
Tel: +45 35 32 14 70
Fax: +45 35 32 14 80
Email: info@gbif.org
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