NDLI: More Than Just Records: Analysing Natural History Collections for Biodiversity Planning

Content Provider	PubMed Central
Author	Ward, Darren F.
Editor	Smith, M. Alex
Copyright Year	2012
Abstract	Natural History Collections (NHCs) play a central role as sources of data for biodiversity and conservation. Yet, few NHCs have examined whether the data they contain is adequately representative of local biodiversity. I examined over 15,000 databased records of Hymenoptera from 1435 locations across New Zealand collected over the past 90 years. These records are assessed in terms of their geographical, temporal, and environmental coverage across New Zealand. Results showed that the spatial coverage of records was significantly biased, with the top four areas contributing over 51% of all records. Temporal biases were also evident, with a large proportion (40%) of records collected within a short time period. The lack of repeat visits to specific locations indicated that the current set of NHC records would be of limited use for long-term ecological research. Consequently, analyses and interpretation of historical data, for example, shifts in community composition, would be limited. However, in general, NHC records provided good coverage of the diversity of New Zealand habitats and climatic environments, although fewer NHC records were represented at cooler temperatures (<5°C) and the highest rainfalls (>5000 mm/yr). Analyses of NHCs can be greatly enhanced by using simple techniques that examine collection records in terms of environmental and geographical space. NHCs that initiate a systematic sampling strategy will provide higher quality data for biodiversity research than ad hoc or point samples, as is currently the norm. Although NHCs provide a rich source of information they could be far better utilised in a range of large-scale ecological and conservation studies.
Related Links	http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0050346
Starting Page	50346
File Format	PDF
ISSN	19326203
e-ISSN	19326203
Journal	PLoS ONE
Issue Number	11
Volume Number	7
Language	English
Publisher	Public Library of Science
Publisher Date	2012-11-01
Access Restriction	Open
Rights Holder	Public Library of Science
Subject Keyword	Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all) Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all) Medicine(all) Research in Higher Education
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Multidisciplinary

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Inselect: Automating the Digitization of Natural History Collections

Infectious disease and group size: more than just a numbers game

More than Just Two Sexes: The Neural Correlates of Voice Gender Perception in Gender Dysphoria

Assessing DNA Barcodes for Species Identification in North American Reptiles and Amphibians in Natural History Collections

The Value of Learning about Natural History in Biodiversity Markets

A New Technique for Analysing Interacting Factors Affecting Biodiversity Patterns: Crossed-DPCoA

De novo lipogenesis in the liver in health and disease: more than just a shunting yard for glucose

Survivability Is More Fundamental Than Evolvability

Incorporating evolutionary history into conservation planning in biodiversity hotspots

More Than Just Records: Analysing Natural History Collections for Biodiversity Planning

Similar Documents

Inselect: Automating the Digitization of Natural History Collections

Infectious disease and group size: more than just a numbers game

More than Just Two Sexes: The Neural Correlates of Voice Gender Perception in Gender Dysphoria

Assessing DNA Barcodes for Species Identification in North American Reptiles and Amphibians in Natural History Collections

The Value of Learning about Natural History in Biodiversity Markets

A New Technique for Analysing Interacting Factors Affecting Biodiversity Patterns: Crossed-DPCoA

De novo lipogenesis in the liver in health and disease: more than just a shunting yard for glucose

Survivability Is More Fundamental Than Evolvability

Incorporating evolutionary history into conservation planning in biodiversity hotspots

More Than Just Records: Analysing Natural History Collections for Biodiversity Planning