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Biodiversity hub > Science, ecology & general information >
Contents below:
· Directories & listings
· General biodiversity databases & initiatives
· Animal biodiversity databases
· Insect biodiversity databases
· Aquatic & marine biodiversity databases
· Data management, tools & mapping
Also see:
Directories & listings
Biodiversity observation platforms/social networks @ Carrie Seltzer's Journal
IUCN SSC Species Monitoring Specialist Group
Global Database of Species Population Monitoring Schemes
Database of Biodiversity Data Sources for Conservation Monitoring
General biodiversity databases & initatives
Biodiversity Heritage Library 🦇
· “...improves research methodology by collaboratively making biodiversity literature openly available
to the world as part of a global biodiversity community.”
· "...a collaboration bringing together the effort and contributions of taxonomists and informaticians
from around the world. COL aims to address the needs of researchers, policy-makers, environmental
managers and the wider public for a consistent and up-to-date listing of all the world’s known species.
COL also supports those who need to manage their own taxonomic information and species lists.”
· "Darwin Core is a vocabulary standard for transmitting information about biodiversity.”
· Darwin Core Maintenance Group
· "We provide tools to study nature's wonders, identify species, build maps, process images, and report
your findings.”
· “The Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), a moonshot for biology, aims to sequence, catalog and
characterize the genomes of all of Earth’s eukaryotic biodiversity over a period of ten years.”
· Built on the Catalogue of Life (see above), EoL contains a wider array of information (including photos)
on many taxa. However, for non-biologists, EoL's taxonomic rankings can be confusing to follow as they
are unlabelled (order? suborder? family? ...it can be hard to tell).
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) 🦇
· "...an international network and data infrastructure funded by the world's governments and aimed at
providing anyone, anywhere, open access to data about all types of life on Earth.”
· "...Resolve lists of scientific names against known sources. This service parses incoming names,
executes exact or fuzzy matching as required, and displays a confidence score for each match along
with its identifier.”
Global Taxonomy Initiative (GTI)
· "...a set of activities and objectives agreed to by governments. These activities highlight issues,
facilitate exchange of information and promote technical cooperation. GTI provides guidance to
governments, taxonomists, non-government and international organizations, responsible for
implementing the GTI. The participating governments provide feedback to the Convention on
Biological Diversity in order for the GTI to be adaptive to their needs and better target priority
areas.... In 1998, The Conference of the Parties (COP) established the GTI...”
· "...an online social network of people sharing biodiversity information to help each other learn
about nature”
Information for Planning and Consultation (IPAC)
· “...IPaC is a project planning tool that streamlines the USFWS environmental review process”
Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT)
· “...a web-based map and reporting tool that provides fast, easy and integrated access to three of
the world’s most authoritative global biodiversity datasets”
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) ⩛
· "Here you will find authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes
of North America and the world.”
International Barcode of Life (iBOL)
· "...working to establish an Earth observation system that will discover species, reveal their
interactions, and establish biodiversity baselines.”
· "...the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global extinction risk status of
animal, fungus and plant species.”
· Movement Patterns Classification Scheme ⇄
- "...the central database used by IUCN to store and manage species accounts and assessments
for publication on The IUCN Red List. Access to SIS is restricted to users who are involved in
global or regional IUCN Red List assessment projects....”
· “Built on a scalable web platform geared for large biodiversity and environmental data, Map of Life
endeavors to provide ‘best-possible’ species range information and species lists for any geographic
area.”
NatureServe 🦇
· Definitions of NatureServe Conservation Status Ranks
· Covers US and Canada. “For nearly 50 years, NatureServe has been the authoritative source for
biodiversity data throughout North America. We work with 60+ network organizations and
1,000+ conservation scientists to collect, analyze, and deliver biodiversity knowledge that
informs conversation action.”
· "...Bringing you authoritative information on taxonomy, legislation, distribution and trade in MEA-
listed species.”
· Last copyright date is 2005.
· “a NSF-funded collaborative project that makes biodiversity data free and available on the web.
VertNet is a tool designed to help people discover, capture, and publish biodiversity data.”
World Biodiversity Information Network
· Last update 2008
Animal biodiversity databases
· “...an online database of animal natural history, distribution, classification, and conservation
biology at the University of Michigan”
Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) ⇄ 🦇
· Global Initiative on Ungulate Migration (GIUM) @ CMS
· While the term “ungulates” generally means “hooved mammal," it is not easy to pin down
a widely accepted formal or informal definition, and it seems to be a designation that has
been dropped from modern taxonomic systems. It includes, but is not limited to, artiodactyla
and perrisodactyla (see below).
Global Registry of Migratory Species (GROMS) ⇄
Migratory Species List @ Australia EPBCA ⇄
Motus Wildlife tracking system ⇄ 🦇
· "...an international collaborative research network that uses coordinated automated radio telemetry
to facilitate research and education on the ecology and conservation of migratory animals. Motus is a
program of Birds Canada in partnership with collaborating researchers and organizations.”
MoveBank for animal tracking data ⇄
· "...a free, online database of animal tracking data hosted by the Max Planck Institute of Animal
Behaviour. We help animal tracking researchers to manage, share, protect, analyze and archive
their data."
· Movebank Attribute Dictionary
Insect biodiversity databases
· “A real-time, online checklist and photo storage program, eButterfly is providing a new way for
the butterfly community to report, organize and access information about butterflies worldwide.
eButterfly provides rich data sources for basic information on butterfly abundance, distribution,
and phenology at a variety of spatial and temporal scales around the globe.”
Migratory insects of North America @ Texas Entomology ⇄
Bird biodiversity databases
Christmas Bird Count @ Audubon
· An early version of ebird was BirdSource
· “eBird transforms the global birding community’s passion for birds into a powerful resource for
research, conservation, and education.”
North American Breeding Bird Survey
List of migratory birds @ US Code of Federal Regulations ⇄
Aquatic & marine biodiversity databases
Highly migratory fish species @ USNOAA ⇄
MegaMove: Marine Megafauna Movement ⇄
· Formerly the Marine Megafauna Movement Analytical Program (MMMAP)
Migratory Connectivity in the Ocean (MiCo) ⇄
· "...a consortium developing an extensive open-access system with the end goal of connecting
global processes with actionable knowledge on migratory connectivity to inform worldwide
conservation and sustainable use efforts.”
North American Freshwater Migratory Fish Database (NAFMFD) ⇄
Data management, tools & mapping
ESRI Conservation Program (ECP)
· "This is the ECP Archive & Mapping site, It serves 2 roles. First, as an online historical archive
for the first 30 years of the Esri Conservation Program, 1989 - 2019."
"A new map of world terrestrial ecosystems"
Biodiversity collections
Biodiversity Collections Network
BioCase: Biological Collection Access Service
Scientific Collections International
Biodiversity databases & data management initiatives
Notes & color key:
⩛ Key taxonomic
database
⇄ Focus on animal
movement &
migratory species
🦇 For comparative
purposes, a link to
the focal page for
the hoary bat
(Lasiurus cinereus)
is listed wherever
available.
Most links on this page lead to a range of taxonomic, systematic & biogeographic information