1. The ABCD Schema of the TDWG as an example
Why and how to score taxonomic data in an internationally recognized format ?
The ABCD Schema of the TDWG as an example
I’m going to present you why and how to score taxonomic data in a internationally recognized format

2. Topics What are taxonomic data ?
What is the minimum quantity and the minimum quality of taxonomic data that must be captured?
in the field / in the lab / in the permanent voucher collection / in a local database
Why and how to score taxonomic data in an internationally format : the ABCD Schema
Practical implementations of the ABCD Schema
Conclusions

3. Topics What are taxonomic data ?
What is the minimum quantity and the minimum quality of taxonomic data that must be captured?
in the field / in the lab / in the permanent voucher collection / in a local database
Why and how to score taxonomic data in an internationally format : the ABCD Schema
Practical implementations of the ABCD Schema
Conclusions
The first question we need to answer is what are taxonomic data ?

4. taxonomic data Entire history of a collected specimen :
Collecting data
Identification data
Extra information (details)
The history starts at the moment the specimen is collected until it’ll be stored somewhere in a museum or a university

5. Collecting data Who : collector’s name
Where : locality description (field number, station number, …) When recording data in the field, whether from a map or when using a GPS, it is important to record locality information as well as the geo-references, so that later validation can take place if necessary
When : collecting data / period (start date, end date)
How : collecting method
Who = the collector’s name ; Where = the place you found it ; When = it’s the date ; How : if it’s an handcollecting, handpicking, …

6. Identification data Who ; Where ; When ; How + What :
(Scientific) name (taxonomy data)
Authority => name and date of descriptor(s)
The identification data is obviously the same as the collecting data, but you’ve to add the name of the specimen.

7. But what will happen if those scientists would be kidnapped
Some scientists assume that they are the only people able fully to understand the data that they have collected !
But what will happen if those
scientists would be kidnapped
by aliens ?
We’ve no doubts about that but it’s a fact that scientists are unfortunately not immortal. So the question is : what will happen if a scientist would be kidnapped by aliens before storing and labelling his own collection…
So you always have to keep in mind that your samples are correctly labelled and the data easily accessible and comprehensible.

8. Topics What are taxonomic data ?
What is the minimum quantity and the minimum quality of taxonomic data that must be captured?
in the field / in the lab / in the permanent voucher collection / in a local database
Why and how to score taxonomic data in an internationally format : the ABCD Schema
Practical implementations of the ABCD Schema
Conclusions
Second question is
This is a quick recap of the important things to do to obtain a good quality and quantity of taxonomic data.

9. In the field : field notes / logbook
Field notes contains scientific observations : locations, date and time, physical characteristics, various observations (weather, water temperature, …) sketches, ethology, …
It’s a draft of the future labels
Minimum quantity : who, where, when, how
Field notes is a back up of your observations
Minimum quality :
Legible, durable
Never underestimate it
Paper might seem oldfashionned but there is a latin proverb saying : verba volant, scripta manent (spoken words fly away, written words remain)…. And don’t forget that nowadays, computers also crash !

10. Example : field book
This is the field book we’ve used during this expedition. Actually it’s more than the minimum expected but don’t we say “the more, the merrier” ?

11. In the lab Transposition of the data to labels
It depends on your field book
Minimum quantity = who, where, when, how
Minimum quality = Primary labels : some specimens could stay hundred years before being identified
Durable labels
Good quality of paper, good ink (pencil), correct information
Capital letters
After collecting samples in the field, you ‘re coming back to sort your material and you need to transpose your data on a label. Here too, if your fieldbook has been properly completed, this task will be easy.

12. In the permanent voucher collection
Transposition of the data on a durable label :
It depends on the primary label
Minimum quantity : the same as above
Minimum quality : durable means good quality of paper, ink…
Sometimes it’s like a police investigation
Especially when the scientist who had
participated on the expedition is not there
anymore
When your specimen has been identified, or when you decide to preserve it permanently into a collection, this is what you have to do. If the primary label is full of details, you just have to add the name of the specimen.

13. Minimum quantity / quality ?
This is an example of a label found in our collection (in Brussels). Do you think it’s a minimum quality quantity data ?

14. Labeling in practice
So let’s have a look at our mystery label : this is a starfish subject to identification. we’ve the specimen + a label with a minimum of information.

15. Labeling in practice
On 8 July 2014, Yves Samyn identified this specimen as Iconaster longimanus. The only thing to do is to find the data linked to this specimen.

16. Labeling in practice
Fortunately, the scientist who participated to that mission gave us the fieldbook linked to this label : IND94 is the code used for an expedition based in Indonesia in is the number of the station.
Without this fieldbook, we wouldn’t be able to recover the data. This example show you the importance of the fieldbook.

17. Labeling in practice
Now, this specimen is ready to go into our collection.

18. Labeling in practice
At RBInS, we’re using a thermal printer able to provide alcohol resistant labels. (durable). On this label, you’ve all the information you need to know about a specimen : who, when where how and what.

19. In a local database
Each database are home-made and different : a simple excel-sheet -> sophisticated database Transposition of data from the labels to computers : Minimum quantity : who, where, when, how + what, where (location inside the collection) Minimum quality : usable in time
When your specimen is properly labelled, you need to encode it. A local database can be simple or extremely sophisticated.

20. Darwin : database of RBINS/RMCA
This is an example of our home made database. You’ve here all the important fields needed to obtain a properly database. Location with a map, identification, taxonomy, name of the expedition…

21. Importance of the minimum quality/quantity data ?
Most expeditions are extremely expensive
Sometimes specimens can no longer be found anymore (loss of habitat, extinction of the species…)
Each voucher specimen optimally becomes a permanent occurrence record
Why it’s so important to have a minimum of quality and quantity data ?

22. Topics What are taxonomic data ?
What is the minimum quantity and the minimum quality of taxonomic data that must be captured?
in the field / in the lab / in the permanent voucher collection / in a local database
Why and how to score taxonomic data in an internationally format : the ABCD Schema
Practical implementations of the ABCD Schema
Conclusions
The big question is

23. Why ?
The scientific impact of the inventory clearly depends on the cooperation between participants and the sharing of the data collected
Every day probably more than 100,000 scientific biological records (observations, collected specimens) are recorded (cf Abc Taxa vol 8)
Today, there is no single global inventory or directory of just all known species available (even in protected areas)
Making available a vast amount of crossed information

24. How ?
One standard to allow inter-compatibility and ease of data consultation:
ABCD (& ABCD-DNA & ABCDEFG) Schema
Access to biological collection data (with the ABCD DNA schema and the access to biological collection data extended for geosciences schema

25. ABCD Access to Biological Collection Data
accessibility of existing biological collection data banks at the international level by developing and maintaining a comprehensive and commented schema for biological collection records (ABCD Schema).
ABCD Schema is a standard for the access to and exchange of data.
In the process, it promotes standardization of the terminology used to model biological collection information and provides a general format for data exchange and retrieval for biological collections.
ABCD schema is a comprehensive set of data type definitions to support the sharing and the integration of data.
Practically, it’s a excel sheet you’ve to fill in with your data.

26. ABCD is a common data specification for biological collection units, including living and preserved specimens
The design goal of the data specification is to be both comprehensive and general
ABCD has been developed by TDWG and is supported by GBIF

27. TDWG Taxonomic Databases Working Group (1995)
=> Biodiversity Information Standards
a non profit scientific and educational association.
The organization was formed to establish an international collaboration to promote the wider and more effective dissemination of information about the world's heritage of biological organisms
It aims to provide an international forum for biological data projects
It should facilitate data exchange
Just to understand who is who : the Taxonomic Databases Working Group is basically a working group who has developed the ABCD schema. It’s official name is now Biodiversity Information Standards.

28. GBIF
Global Biological Information Facility is a mega-science project with the aim to make the world’s primary data on biodiversity freely and universally available via the Internet = network Free and Open Access to Biodiversity Data It should sharing biodiversity data It might provide evidence for research and decisions
The ABCD schema is supported by GBIF (for Global Biological information facility). An international organisation working to make all biodiversity data accessible globally. The important think to know is that GBIF is not a taxonomic project, but it’s a biodiversity project with georeferenced data.

29. ABCD Schema in practice
comprehensive and highly structured, supporting data from a wide variety of databases.
compatible with several existing data standards.
in use with the GBIF
XML data
In practice, ABCD schema is an XML format (XML for extensible markup language) like an excel sheet. It’s a method to exchange information.

30. ABCD Schema
ABCD Biological collection ABCD DNA ABCDEFG Extended For Geosciences 700 elements for the Biological collection 76 elements for the DNA section 504 elements for the EFG section —— 1280 elements RBINS/RMCA use a simplified ABCD with 160 elements
There are three different ABCD schema : the first one is the classic one for biological collections with 700 elements encodable.
TDWG has just developed two more specific schema : one is for the DNA data with 76 elements, and an other one for the geosciences with 504 elements.

31. Topics What are taxonomic data ?
What is the minimum quantity and the minimum quality of taxonomic data that must be captured?
in the field / in the lab / in the permanent voucher collection / in a local database
Why and how to score taxonomic data in an internationally format : the ABCD Schema
Practical implementations of the ABCD Schema
Conclusions

32. « our » ABCD Schema
At RBINS/RMCA we use a simplified ABCD schema in order to share our data via GBIF. Our IT staff has decided to use only 160 elements (instead of the 700 elements from the ABCD schema). This is what it looks like.

33. « our » ABCD Schema
At RBINS/RMCA we use a simplified ABCD schema in order to share our data via GBIF. In order to do that, our IT staff has decided to use only 160 elements (instead of the 700 elements from the ABCD schema). This is what it look like.

34. « our » ABCD Schema
It’s a huge excel sheet. You just have to fill in what you have to record.

35. « our » ABCD Schema

36. « our » ABCD Schema

37. « our » ABCD Schema

38. « our » ABCD Schema
When we’ve encoded all the field needed, we can inject this data into our homemade database (Darwin).
Several times per year, GBIF recognises the schema (because it’s standardized and compatible) and registers our taxonomic data in order to share these with the world wild web.

39. Topics What are taxonomic data ?
What is the minimum quantity and the minimum quality of taxonomic data that must be captured?
in the field / in the lab / in the permanent voucher collection / in a local database
Why and how to score taxonomic data in an internationally format : the ABCD Schema
Practical implementations of the ABCD Schema
Conclusions

40. Conclusions
Having data in a spreadsheet is fine but can quickly become useless (new format, crash disk, …)
Having data in a local database is better
Having data in a share-database exposed to the world by international standards validates the taxonomic data optimally and frames science in a data-richer environment.
Multiple taxa in a joint and standardized database brings additional value in terms of conservation and for understanding biodiversity

41. Conclusions
The structure of a database with taxonomic content is very important to ensure compatibility with other database systems.
For the exchange of taxonomic information it is necessary to have standards and protocols to permit the presentation, e.g. on a web system like GBIF, of species data from different database sources.
What is it important with a database is its structure to ensure compatibility with other systems
In order to exchange taxonomic information, you need protocols and standards to regroup data from different database sources

42. Thank you for your attention…