Font Size:
The BioDiscovery Smartphone App
Last modified: 2011-09-09
Abstract
The BioDiscovery app is a mobile application for capturing species records which is aimed at facilitating the exchange of biodiversity data.
The project has been developed within Ireland’s Marine BioDiscovery Programme, part of the broader Marine Biotechnology Programme, which was set up under the Beaufort Award Scheme. It is developed in collaboration with the Irish National Biodiversity Data Centre- the GBIF national node in Ireland.
The availability nowadays of relatively cheap smartphones with integrated GPS units and cameras has provided the means for capturing accurately geo-referenced species observations on a large scale by researchers and citizen environmental monitoring programmes.
However, conformity to biodiversity information standards and validation of taxonomic names is crucial in order to ensure the interoperability of the data captured and its intergration in global biodiversity data networks such as GBIF.
Compliance with biodiversity information standards also facilitates the merging of species records with other kinds of data: climatological, genetic or chemical information, for instance, which can then be used to produce models describing the impact of climate change on species distribution, phenology, etc.
The Biodiscovery app exports observation records to the Darwin Core XML schema. The data can then be automatically uploaded to the Irish National Biodiversity Centre. Observations can also be shared directly between smartphone users.
For the validation of taxonomic names, the BioDiscovery app uses the Species 2000 global checklist. Predictive typing lists for different species groups facilitate the entry of taxonomic names in the app's interface.
The Biodiscovery App currently runs on an iPhone 4 platform and is being tested at the National Biodiversity Data Centre and the National University of Ireland, Galway.
The project has been developed within Ireland’s Marine BioDiscovery Programme, part of the broader Marine Biotechnology Programme, which was set up under the Beaufort Award Scheme. It is developed in collaboration with the Irish National Biodiversity Data Centre- the GBIF national node in Ireland.
The availability nowadays of relatively cheap smartphones with integrated GPS units and cameras has provided the means for capturing accurately geo-referenced species observations on a large scale by researchers and citizen environmental monitoring programmes.
However, conformity to biodiversity information standards and validation of taxonomic names is crucial in order to ensure the interoperability of the data captured and its intergration in global biodiversity data networks such as GBIF.
Compliance with biodiversity information standards also facilitates the merging of species records with other kinds of data: climatological, genetic or chemical information, for instance, which can then be used to produce models describing the impact of climate change on species distribution, phenology, etc.
The Biodiscovery app exports observation records to the Darwin Core XML schema. The data can then be automatically uploaded to the Irish National Biodiversity Centre. Observations can also be shared directly between smartphone users.
For the validation of taxonomic names, the BioDiscovery app uses the Species 2000 global checklist. Predictive typing lists for different species groups facilitate the entry of taxonomic names in the app's interface.
The Biodiscovery App currently runs on an iPhone 4 platform and is being tested at the National Biodiversity Data Centre and the National University of Ireland, Galway.