Canadensys-UCBerkeley Biodiversity Databases Collaboration
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Databases of biological collections and associated biodiversity informatics research tools are essential components of the worldwide race to inventory life on Earth. They are vital infrastructures for a wide range of research endeavours in academic biological research; climate and environmental modelling; and commercial R&amp;D efforts in the agricultural, forestry and health sectors as well as in other emerging green technologies. They are also needed for a vast array of other activities grouped under the sustainability banner from policy development to assessments of potential and actual impacts of human activities on the environment. Collection and digitization efforts take place within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity of the United Nations and against the backdrop of an unprecedented wave of extinctions caused largely by human activities. Despite recent advances, the information locked with specimens in collections still far outweighs the easily accessible digital kind. Contacts between the Canadensys biodiversity network, the Consortium of California Herbaria (CCH) and other UC Berkeley-based biodiversity initiatives have revealed a strong interest in pooling resources to accelerate the development of novel database tools and provide training in the new and unique skills required in biodiversity informatics. Funding is needed under the CCSIP program to help cover the organization and attendance costs of two research coordination and training workshops (in conjunction with complementary funding from other sources). Researchers, students, collection curators and databasing personnel from eight Canadian universities (members of Canadensys) and the University of California at Berkeley will constitute the primary participants, but researchers from non-CCSIP Canadensys institutions and other relevant organizations will also be invited to participate. The first of these workshops will be held over two days at the Université de Montréal (Fall 2009) and will focus on georeferencing, taking advantage of UC Berkeley’s leadership in this area (best practices, available tools, advances, new initiatives, joint efforts to increase efficiency). The second meeting will be held at the UC Berkeley (Spring 2010). The first day of this second meeting will be dedicated to new informatics tools for better publishing and exploitation of primary biodiversity data. During the second day, discussion sessions will focus on the future of the collaboration and aim to produce a roadmap outlining priorities for both short-term efforts and longer term developments. These workshops will produce a synergistic pooling of resources between two major Canadian and American biodiversity informatics initiatives, leading to more efficient digitization and sharing of primary biodiversity data, and training of highly qualified personnel in this rapidly developing research field.