Uses for biodiversity data:

The Atlas of Living Australia user needs analysis

John Tann

Lynda Kelly

Paul Flemons

Donald Hobern

Method

• 242 email survey responses

• Workshops

• 20 in-depth interviews

• Natural Resource Assessment longitudinal study

Email survey responses

Research Policy andManagement

Technical andApplication

Users of biodiversity data

BiologistBotanistCuratorDNA curatorEntomologist Biosecurity officerEthnobotanist Catchment officerIchthyologist Community supportInvasives Researcher Conservation officerMycologist EcologistOrnithologist Environmental consultantPopulation modeller Field naturalistSpatial modeller Fire consultantStatistician HorticulturalistTaxonomic editor Collection manager Information curatorTaxonomist Genetic Resource Manager MediaToxicologist Land use planner MilitaryWeeds researcher Manager Regeneration officerZoologist Reserve manager Restoration ecologist

What biodiversity data do you use?

72

66

47

31

21

14

11

6

6

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

maps, distributions

expert or secondary source, journals, gov't agency, museums, community

animal and plant descriptions, keys

species lists

own data

threatened / endangered species

weeds, ferals, pests, diseases, pathogens

gene

images, videos

% of respondents

Data sources

flickr.com/photos/ajhaverkamp

Major tasks

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Distribution analysisIdentification

Site assessmentHabitat management planning

Managing referenceCommunity engagement

Fact-findingSite / region checklist

Invasive species analysisPopulation monitoring

Site selectionPre-impact checklistTaxonomic revision

Vegetation modellingSynecology / food-web analysis

% of respondents

ALA focus

Workshops

Interviews

Longitudinal study

Workshops

Interviews

Longitudinal study

flickr.com/photos/ultrahi

www.duikteamgejo.nl/nieuws/opgedoken/Irukandji

Irukandji

ID

halfway through the night

www.quicksilvergroup.com.au

Names are very important•What is the current name?•What is the name of this in Western Australia?•I only know the common name...•Is an RSS feed available for name changes?

•picasaweb.google.com/newellsharon/Aussieland

Wollemia nobilis

© Greg Steenbeeke

Aaron Jacobs

Sensitive dataUsually, data exchange is managed by an agreement between two parties.

•How will this arrangement change when the ALA becomes the middle man?•Should the ALA act as a broker, or as a conduit?

Sydney Fungal Studies Group

Aseroe rubra

Sydney Fungal Studies Group

Hygrocybe miniata

Sydney Fungal Studies Group

Boletellus obscurecoccineus

Sydney Fungal Studies Group

  Lysurus mokusin

Amateur data•variable quality•amateurs often have good local knowledge•lack professional support

Desirable Characteristics of Biodiversity Data•Current

•Eg current accepted name

•Accurate

•Geographically

•Taxonomically

•From a Reliable/authoritative source

•Comprehensive

•Documented

•Metadata

•Validation

Some Take home messages

•To deliver this we need to have effective means of creating, improving, maintaining, managing and delivering this data to users.•We need stable, authorative and recognisable custodial agencies for the various core datasets, particularly of names•We need standards for ensuring that there is consistency in what users get when they ask for a piece of data or a dataset

Some Take home messages

Users don’t care whether we use LSIDs as our GUIDs, whether we go with RDF or OWL and they sure won’t understand ontologies, so lets give them a REST from all the TAPIR talk so they wont all end up with CRAFT!

Some Take home messages