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" European Institute of Distributed Taxonomy"
(EDIT):
A new initiative to overcome the
taxonomic impediment
C. Häuser & K. Riede
[email protected] [email protected]
Gtoe meeting Bonn 2007
The challenge: biodiversity loss
• Mammals:
[IUCN „red lists“]
– (1990): threatened + endangered: 647 spp.
– (2003): threatened (CR, EN, VU): 1130 spp.
(= 23% of all mammal species known)!
• Reptiles:
– (1990): threatened + endangered: 207 spp.
– (2003): threatened (CR, EN, VU): 293 spp.
• changes from:
– plants:
– vertebrates:
– invertebrates:
2000 - 2003
5,611 : 6,774 spp.
3,507 : 3,524 spp.
1,928 : 1,959 spp.
n.b.: insects (= 900,000 spp.): only 0.02% of all species
could yet be evaluated!!
Gtoe meeting Bonn 2007
The challenge for taxonomy
• shortage of (taxonomic) information on
biodiversity: biodiversity crisis =
information crisis?!!
• the „taxonomic impediment“: CBD: GTI
• a gap between conservation and
(taxonomic) research, e.g.,
– no complete biodiversity inventory available
yet for any protected area in the World !!?
Gtoe meeting Bonn 2007
IUCN / WCMC - World Database of
Protected Areas
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The Challenge
No inventory data available yet for most protected areas …
Species
details:
„No details are currently available for any species. If you know of a species
which exists in this protected area please complete the comment form.“
Gtoe meeting Bonn 2007
EDIT:
Towards
The European Distributed
Institute of Taxonomy
WP7
• a «Network of Excellence» (NoE) supported by the European
Commission (FP6)
• funded for 5 years (2007 – 2011)
• coordinated by the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris
(Prof Simon Tillier)
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Who is EDIT (1)?
18 EU institutions:
Muséum national d’Histoire
naturelle, Paris
Natural History Museum of Denmark
Consejo Superior de
Investigaciones Científicas,
Madrid
University of Amsterdam
National Herbarium Netherlands
Natural History Museum
Naturalis,,Leiden
Centraalbureau
Schimmelcultures, Utrecht
Free University Berlin – Botanical
Garden and Botanical
Museum
Natural History Museum, London
Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew
Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde,
Stuttgart
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural
Sciences, Bruxelles
Royal Museum for Central Africa,
Tervuren
National Botanic Garden of Belgium
Museum and Institute of Zoology and
Institute of Botany, Polish Academy
of Sciences, Warszaw
Hungarian Museum of Natural
History, Budapest
Comenius University, Bratislava
Institute of Botany, Slovakian
Academy of Sciences, Bratislava
Institut National de la Recherche
Agronomique, Montpellier
Gtoe meeting Bonn 2007
Who is EDIT (2)?
• 2 network organizations devoted to taxonomic information:
- Species 2000
- Society for the Management of European
Biodiversity Data (SMEBD)
• 2 North American institutions:
- US National Museum of Natural History,
Smithsonian Institution
- Missouri Botanical Gardens
•2 Russian institutions:
- Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of
Sciences
- Komarov Botanical Institute, Russian
Academy of Sciences
Gtoe meeting Bonn 2007
EDIT organisation
Coordination
and integration
WP5
Internet platform
for cybertaxonomy
WP6
Web-based
taxonomy
WP7
Taxonomy for
conservation
WP8
Training and
capacity building
The expert basis
WP1
WP3 The infrastructure basis
WP4 Coordinating research
Gtoe meeting Bonn 2007
USERS NEEDS
WP2
Making EDIT
Products
Resources
WP7 objectives
Strengthening the input of taxonomic expertise in Europe for
biodiversity conservation programmes and policies, especially for inventories,
assessments, and monitoring of biodiversity;
Integrating user needs for taxonomic expertise from the conservation
management side with research agendas for biosystematics and biogeography
from leading European centres of excellence;
Further development and promotion of standards, techniques and
methodologies for state of the art and cost efficient biodiversity assessments
including a new approach for an
"All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory & Monitoring" (ATBI+M) programme;
Establish a European expert task force for undertaking and supporting
biodiversity inventories, assessments, and monitoring activities;
Gtoe meeting Bonn 2007
The Background
ATBIs - All Taxa Biodiversity Inventories
• ...attempting to record and document the entire
biodiversity occurring at a specific site or area.
• Where ATBIs have been undertaken at some depth, they have
considerably increased the knowledge of the biodiversity of
the area, frequently including the discovery of
• dozens of new species or
• hundreds of species previously unknown to
the region
Example: ATBI in
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
http://www.dlia.org/atbi/index.shtml
Gtoe meeting Bonn 2007
WP7 (ATBI+M) approach
•
Establish EDIT ATBI+M pilot sites for areas of conservation concern
in and outside Europe in need/want of inventory data
•
Support teams of taxonomic experts for field work to update/complete
inventories and undertake monitoring on a demand/request basis from sites
•
Test and develop new standards, protocols, and tools for efficient field
recording techniques (geo-referencing tools, field-based ID techniques, GUID
protocols for records & specimens, etc.)
•
Request inventory data in form of individual primary occurrence
records in digital form (compatible with BioCASE/DiGIR standards)
•
Promote and support hosting of primary inventory data in openly
accessible web-based information systems (GBIF)
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European Pilot sites
Call for proposals for ATBI+M pilot site from EDIT partners:
(22) 16 proposals for Europe (and appr. 25 for Overseas sites)
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Establishing Pilot Sites: Workshop
Proposed sites and criteria were discussed during a workshop in Stuttgart.
Our pilot trip plans
• 40 participants from 14 countries.
• Results were published on CD, distributed among all EDIT Team Leaders
• Feedback by questionnaires (Ranking: 6-1)
• Database established for ranking, comments and taxonomic expertise
Gtoe meeting Bonn 2007
Selection of Pilot Sites: Criteria
Relevance for conservation
Our pilot trip plans
Available information on fauna & flora, GIS data
state of the art of inventories, on-going monitoring
Ecosystem
representative of a region, heterogeneous,
threatened habitats and species, pristine
Logistics and Feasibility
Accessibility
Infrastructure (field station, accommodation, transport)
Support through counterparts and local hosts, including staff
Site administration interested to host ATBI (for long term)
Interest to seek additional funding for ATBI
Potential for Outreach / PR
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European Pilot Sites: Current status
Based on criteria and feedback
from
EDIT partners, we
Our pilot trip
plans
selected
2 European sites
for the first phase (M1-18).
Further sites can be added in the future (open, dynamic
priority list).
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Mercantour National Park
Our pilot trip plans
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Overseas Pilot Activities:
The SANTOOur
Expedition
and EDIT
pilot trip plans
We supported EDIT scientists to participate in the SANTO Expedition
All data will be integrated within
the geo-referenced
EDIT ATBI database
and connected to GBIF
Gtoe meeting Bonn 2007
Overseas Pilot Sites
We now plan to add 1 or 2 Overseas sites in biodiversity-rich countries
Our pilot trip plans
A workshop on Overseas sites selection will be held in Stuttgart (Germany)
March 14-16th 2007 at State Museum of Natural History (SMNS)
http://wp7.e-taxonomy.eu/
Some sites are already running complementary activities, and EDIT might
bestow a label, without investing much resources. Other sites will not have
any ATBI activity unless EDIT will take charge.
Several sites have considerable potential for PR and outreach activities.
Gtoe meeting Bonn 2007
EDIT WP7: next steps
• Finalize selection process and develop/sign agreements (MoU)
with first proposed European ATBI+M pilot sites
• Terms of Reference (best practise) for individual participation in
ATBI+M teams published
• Call for proposal and selection process for extra-European pilot
sites (early 2007)
• Overseas site selection and Methods (data capture/recording)
workshop (March 2007)
• First field visits by ATBI+M teams to selected pilot sites
(from April 2007 onwards)
•review WP7 approaches, protocols & tools applied (end 2007)
Gtoe meeting Bonn 2007
EDIT (WP7): the challenge
• integrate taxonomic communities & institutions across
Europe
• demonstrate value/usefulness of (new) taxonomy to
outside users, particularly the conservation community
• improve taxonomic workflow, change attitudes & work
practices
• render digital (taxonomic) data truly sustainable
– GBIF (www.gbif.net) !
• transform taxonomy into an integrated information science
Gtoe meeting Bonn 2007
http://www.e-taxonomy.eu
Thank you !
Gtoe meeting Bonn 2007