" European Institute of Distributed Taxonomy" (EDIT):

Gtoe meeting Bonn 2007

" European Institute of Distributed Taxonomy" (EDIT):

A new initiative to overcome the taxonomic impediment

C. Häuser & K. [email protected] [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]











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: 2000 - 2003– plants: 5,611 : 6,774 spp.– vertebrates: 3,507 : 3,524 spp.– invertebrates: 1,928 : 1,959 spp.

n.b.: insects (= 900,000 spp.): only 0.02% of all species could yet be evaluated!!


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 !!?


IUCN / WCMC - World Database of Protected Areas


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.“


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)

EDIT: Towards The European DistributedInstitute of Taxonomy


Who is EDIT (1)?18 EU institutions:

Muséum national d’Histoire

naturelle, ParisNatural History Museum of DenmarkConsejo Superior de

Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid

University of AmsterdamNational Herbarium NetherlandsNatural History Museum

Naturalis,,LeidenCentraalbureau

Schimmelcultures, Utrecht Free University Berlin – Botanical

Garden and Botanical Museum

Natural History Museum, LondonRoyal 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 BelgiumMuseum and Institute of Zoology and

Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszaw

Hungarian Museum of Natural History, Budapest

Comenius University, BratislavaInstitute of Botany, Slovakian

Academy of Sciences, BratislavaInstitut National de la Recherche

Agronomique, Montpellier


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


EDIT organisation

The expert basis

The infrastructure basis

Coordinating research

Internet platform for cybertaxonomy

Web-basedtaxonomy

Taxonomy forconservation

Training and capacity building

ProductsResourcesCoordinationand integration

WP1WP2

WP3

WP4

WP5

WP6

WP7

WP8

Making EDIT

US

ER

S

NE

ED

S


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;


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








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)


Call for proposals for ATBI+M pilot site from EDIT partners:

(22) 16 proposals for Europe (and appr. 25 for Overseas sites)

European Pilot sites


Our pilot trip plans

Establishing Pilot Sites: Workshop

Proposed sites and criteria were discussed during a workshop in Stuttgart.

• 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



Selection of Pilot Sites: Criteria

Relevance for conservation

Available information on fauna & flora, GIS data state of the art of inventories, on-going monitoring

Ecosystemrepresentative 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 staffSite administration interested to host ATBI (for long term)

Interest to seek additional funding for ATBI

Potential for Outreach / PR



European Pilot Sites: Current status

Based on criteria and feedback from EDIT partners, we selected

2 European sites for the first phase (M1-18).

Further sites can be added in the future (open, dynamic priority list).



Mercantour National Park



Overseas Pilot Activities:

We supported EDIT scientists to participate in the SANTO Expedition

The SANTO Expedition and EDIT

All data will be integrated withinthe geo-referenced EDIT ATBI database and connected to GBIF

http://wp7.e-taxonomy.eu/

http://www.gbif.org/



Overseas Pilot Sites

We now plan to add 1 or 2 Overseas sites in biodiversity-rich countries

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.








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)


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

http://www.gbif.net/


http://www.e-taxonomy.eu

Thank you !

" European Institute of Distributed Taxonomy" (EDIT):

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