Transcript Slide 1

A vision for community
involvement and integration
Robert K. Peet
&
Alan S. Weakley
Southeastern floristic data:
A community web portal
• The challenge of integrating data of
diverse provenance.
• Example features
Floristic atlas
Collections
Communities
Traits
Images
Technological foundation
• Concept relationships for data integration
• Cache of DIGIR queries for access to
many collections
• Collection databases with concepts
• Alternative taxonomic perspectives
• Dynamic versioning
Why we need a new Atlas
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
New names
New taxon concepts (lumps & splits)
New discoveries
Taxa new to science
New collections & overlooked collections
New data sources (Plots, Heritage lists)
New determinations
Challenges in creating a modern
Southeastern floristic atlas
1. Regional floras are generally obsolete and
incomplete.
2. Local atlases follow idiosyncratic taxonomies.
3. Few museum collections have been databased.
4. Museum collections are rarely determined to
concept.
5. Floristic lists and ecological datasets with
multiple taxonomic authorities and inconsistent
taxonomic concepts have defied integration.
Concepts matter
Andropogon virginicus complex in the Carolinas
9 elemental units; 17 base concepts, 27 scientific names
The good news:
• Multiple organizations are developing
tools for concept use and integration.
The challenge:
• Few large-scale compilations of
concepts and their relationships are
available.
Concept mapping progress
• ~ 65000 relationships of taxon concepts
to Weakley 2005 concepts
• Based on ~ 800 taxonomic references.
Toward a new Atlas
http://herbarium.unc.edu/seflora/firstviewer.htm
How to
integrate
new sources
of data??
Carya carolinae-septentrionalis, Radford et al. 1968
Add dynamic access to NCU collection
NCU
RAB
Carya carolinae-septentrionalis
Add USDA PLANTS records &
CVS vegetation plot data
NCU
RAB
USDA
CVS
Carya carolinae-septentrionalis
But wait !!
There is a concept issue
• According to Radford 1968, USDA
PLANTS v 4.0, & Weakley 2005
– Carya carolinae-septentrionalis
– Carya ovata
• According to Stone 1997 in FNA
– Carya ovata var australis
– Carya ovata var. ovata
Some nominal occurrences might or
might not represent the taxon
Carya carolinae-septentrionalis
NCU specimen records of Carya ovata must
be interpreted using nominal concepts
Recall Cleistes
• Cleistes bifaria was split off C. divaricata
after Radford et al. was published.
• Radford et al. records must be mapped as
ambiguous.
• Kartesz incorrectly maps all
Cleistes in the Carolinas as
C. divaricata owing to uncritical
import of records from Radford.
Data layers
• Specimens
–
–
–
–
NCU (~80,000 - nominal)
NCSU (10,000 - nominal)
Weymouth Woods (~2000 - Weakley)
UNCC (in process, ~43,000 - Weakley)
• High-quality databases
–
–
–
–
Sorrie’s SE Costal Plain endemics (Weakley)
NC Natural Heritage Program (Weakley)
Harmon et al. 2006 West Virginia Atlas (US)
Selected literature records (idiosyncratic)
Data layers – 2
• Other databases
– Radford et al. (Radford)
– USDA PLANTS (US)
• Site records
– Carolina Vegetation Survey (~300,000)
• Total county records in database
~1,500,000
Specimens matching the name
• ..\..\New Folder\Snap32.jpg
Images
matching
the name
Community types with the concept
Link to Vegetation plots with the taxon
Next steps?
Design:
• Allow user to select date-specific
version of Weakley.
• Allow user to select a Weakley,
PLANTS, or FNA perspective (or
others?).
Data needs:
• Map relationships to PLANTS v 4.0
• Map relationships between PLANTS
and FNA
• Date-stamp changes in Weakley
• More distribution layers
Issues
• Geographic circumscription
• Community building
• Concepts
– Preferred perspectives
– Additional floras
– Monographs
– How empower community
– How encourage community
Issues-2
• Adding county occurrence data
– Adding state data (WV, WEWO, NCSC,
UNCC…)
– How to encourage other collectors of
records to participate
– Adding individual literature and site data
records
– Empowering the user base to contribute
• Governance / Ownership / QC roles.
Who does what?
Issues-3
• Guidelines and best practices for
determinations
• Regional web portal.
– UNC website to transition into regional
website
– Annotation & comment ?
– Relationship to state websites (eg VA, TN,
FL, AL)
– Possible 2-way flow of information.
– Region enriches state websites & vice versa.
– Other functions
Links
ConceptMapper
http://152.2.14.231/conceptmapper/
Weakley flora
http://herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm
NCU Atlas of the SE flora
http://herbarium.unc.edu/seflora/firstviewer.htm
Thanks
NSF (SEEK, VegBank), NC Bot. Garden