IABIN

The Inter-American Biodiversity

Information Network

Antonio Mauro Saraiva

December 12, 2010

Bragança Paulista, SP – Brazil

2

• Antonio Mauro Saraiva

– Universidade de São Paulo / Escola Politécnica

• Computer Engineering Dept.

• Agricultural Automation Lab

– IABIN – Pollinators Thematic Network

• Co-Principal Investigator

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Outline

• Background and goals

• Brief description of IABIN-GEF Project

• IABIN – Pollinators Thematic Network

• Remarks

4

Background

Created during the Summit of the Americas on Sustainable

Development, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, 1996.

Seek to establish an Inter-American Biodiversity Information

Network, primarily through the Internet, that will promote

compatible means of collection, communication, and

exchange of information relevant to decision-making and

education on biodiversity ... and that builds upon initiatives

such as the Clearing-House Mechanism provided for in the

United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity…

Initiative 31, Santa Cruz (Bolivia) Plan of Action, December 1996

Renewed Support--Declaration, Fifth Summit of the Americas

64 (e) promoting the exchange of scientific knowledge on

biodiversity, such as through the Inter-American Biodiversity

Information Network; and,

Trinidad and Tobago, April 2009

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IABIN - Goals

Build up an infrastructure for biodiversity information exchange.

Strengthen technical capacity to exchange biodiversity information

and expertise across political, linguistic, and institutional

boundaries.

Provide access to biodiversity information useful to decision-

makers to improve biodiversity conservation

Enhance capacity to store, use, and distribute scientifically sound

and update biodiversity information.

Produce or adapt information products for decision makers (tools

for decision-making) so they formulate effective environmental

management policies and promote sustainable development in

the region.

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Governance Structure

• Council of Focal Points from each of 34 Member Nations

– Executive Committee

– 8 countries, two NGOs;

– governs between Council Meetings,

– assists in implementation of decisions

• Secretariat in Panama (City of Knowledge), 2004-2009

• Organization of American States as diplomatic host, GEF grant lead

• GEF Funds (World Bank)

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Role of Focal Points in IABIN

• Focal Points are IABIN-GEF project liaison within each of the

participating countries

• Establish national consultation mechanisms as appropriate to

stimulate national and subnational level involvement in IABIN

activities,

• Encourage the participation of national sources of original data

such as museums, herbaria including the possible formation of

national information networks

• Represent their governments‟ perspectives on technical issues

• Seek project, funding opportunities for the development of

biodiversity information and IABIN,

• Promote collaborations between IABIN and other national and

transnational initiatives, as appropriate,

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IABIN-GEF grant

• Global Environment Facility Grant

– 2004-2010 (extension to 2011)

– US$ 6 million

– Administered by World Bank/OAS

• Co-financing

• Large amount of in-kind time,

• Co-financing from partners;

• US$24 million matching GEF grant

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IABIN-GEF Project Components

• C1: Interoperability and access to data

• C2: Data Content Creation

• C3: Value Added Tools for Decision Making

• C4: Sustainability of IABIN

• C5: Administration

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Thematic Networks

• Based on prioritized issues decided by Focal Points, experts

• Networks– Invasive Species

– Protected Areas

– Species and Specimens

– Ecosystems

– Pollinators

Tools– IABIN Catalog

– Geospatial Network

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• Thematic Networks: Invasive Species (I3N): NBII (US),

Species and Specimens: INBio (Costa Rica)

Protected Areas: Fundação O Boticário (Brazil)

Pollinators: Pollinator Partnership (US)

Ecosystems: Smithsonian Trop. Res. Inst. (Panama)

• Tools IABIN Catalog: NBII (US)

Geospatial Network

Coordinating Institutions

http://www.iabin.net

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Role of CIs in IABIN-GEF Project

• Lead development of TN Consortia

• Coordinate standards development & adoption by

institutions in the Americas

• Provide infrastructure, IT support for regional, thematic

experts, data holders

• Support Data Providers from Component 2: Data

Content Grants

• Lead capacity building, training activities within project

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IABIN Activities

• Develop network IT infrastructure

– Data Digitization Tools and Data portals,

– Data interchange standards

• Data content creation: grants

• Training: tools

• Decision support tools creation

• Develop a network of people !

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IABIN Standards

• TNs created, adopted or adapted standards to make data interchangeable, usable throughout Americas and the world.

• Specimens TN

• Darwin Core (DwC) for occurrence data

• Standard developed by TDWG – Biodiversity

Information Standards

• Widely adopted: GBIF

• Species TN:

• Plinian Core – species data

• Developed by INBio + GBIF Spain

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IABIN Standards

• TNs created, adopted or adapted standards to make data interchangeable, usable throughout Americas and the world.

• Pollinators TN:

• Darwin Core for occurrence data

• DwC Pollinator-Plant Interaction Extension: interactions

• Developed by PTN with FAO (with pollinator experts)

• MRTG – for Multimedia Resources

• Also a TDWG (draft) standard

• Dublin Core – for bibliographic references

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IABIN Standards

• TNs created, adopted or adapted standards to make data interchangeable, usable throughout Americas and the world.

• Invasives TN:

• Darwin Core / Dublin Core with extensions for

environmenal/social impacts, native range, economic

uses

• Protected Areas TN:

• WDPA - World Database on Protected Areas

• Ecosystems TN:

• Three standards: Terrestrial, Marine, Fresh Water,

• developed with experts in field, NOAA, TNC, etc.

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IABIN Architecture

• Mainly distributed

• Data portals (central DB) + data providers

• Data exchange

• Data standards (schemas)

• Data exchange protocols• TAPIR

• DiGIR - Legacy systems

• Developed by TDWG

• Adopted by GBIF

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Data Content Grants

• Data Content “Seed” grants

• Data and metadata digitization and integration

• Based on Standards adopted

• >120 grants distributed

• institutions throughout the Americas

• US$ 5k -15k

• ~six million records available through IABIN

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IABIN Projects

• Classifying and mapping of arid and subarid ecohydrological systems in northern Chile to be uploaded over IABIN

Geospatial web-based tool (Universidad de Chile);

• Mapping fresh water ecosystem of Argentina to be uploaded over IABIN GIS web-based tool (Fundación Oga);

• Standardizing fresh water ecosystems of South America and Mesoamerica with IABIN standards (The Nature

Conservancy);

• Sharing data about biological and physicochemical ecosystems of Golfo Nuevo through IABIN standards

(CENPAT-CONICET, Argentina);

• Standardizing coral reefs and seagrasses of Colombia with IABIN standard (INVEMAR, Colombia);

• Using environmental indicators on marine ecosystems of México (Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit and

Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, México) ;

• Mapping coastal and marine ecosystems of Uruguay to be uploaded over IABIN GIS web-based tool (Programa

ECOPLATA-DINAMA, Uruguay) ;

• Documenting key bibliographic knowledge about ecosystems of Argentina and historical oceanographic

campaigns by naturalists to expand multi temporal content for IABIN (Centro Nacional Patagónico CENPAT-

CONICET, Argentina);

• Digitizing terrestrial ecosystems of Bolivia (RUMBOL, Bolivia) ;

• Digitizing terrestrial ecosystems of Argentina (Universidad Maimónides) ;

• Digitizing terrestrial ecosystems and vegetation gradients of Nicaragua ( MARENA);

• Enabling a GIS with ecosystems layers of Uruguay to be uploaded over IABIN GIS web-based tool (DINAMA) ;

• Digitizing vegetation gradients of Chile (Corporación Taller La Era) ;

• Mapping and digitizing biodiversity research and terrestrial ecosystems of indigenous Zoque, Mexico

(PRONATURA, Mexico);

• Digitizing Terrestrial Ecosystems of Mexico and Mesoamerica (UNAM, Mexico)

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IABIN Projects

• Maintaining an Internet-accessible IABIN-I3N datasets by creating, updating and upgrading databases to

standardize and increase the availability of invasive species knowledge in LAC (Fundación Universidad Nacional

del Sur, Argentina; Instituto Humboldt, Colombia; The Institute of Jamaica; Asociación Guyra, Paraguay; Udelar,

Uruguay; The Horus Institute, Brazil; Universidad Ricardo Palma, Peru; Jatun Sacha, Ecuador;

Fundaeco/UMSA/Instituto de Ecologia, Bolivia; Universidad Catolica de Chile; Minambiente, Republica

Dominicana; CONAP, Guatemala; Universidad Central, Venezuela; Minambiente, El Salvador; )

• Enabling CRISIS, the invasive species information system of Costa Rica with IABIN standards (Acebio, Costa

Rica)

• Creating data content for pollinators in LAC (RAAA, Peru; Universidad Nacional, Colombia; Universidad Católica

de Valparaiso, Chile; Universidad de San Carlos, Guatemala; The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute,

Panama; Asociación Guyra, Paraguay; Universidade Federal do Maranháo, Brazil; Fundación BIOCE, Ecuador;

Corporación Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Chile)

• Enhancing the software development of the tool Webbee for IABIN pollinators (Fundação de apoio à universidade

de São Paulo, Brazil)

• Standardizing, creating content, and mapping LAC protected areas (CONAMA, Chile; DINAMA, Uruguay;

Minambiente, El Salvador;)

• Developing software modules on protected areas for the Environmental Information System of Uruguay (DINAMA)

• Documenting fungi, algae, and lichens from the National Parks of Argentina (National Parks Administration)

• Describing plants and insects of Northeast, Argentina (Fundación Miguel Lillo)

• Digitizing of biological collections of Chile (Universidad de Santiago de Chile)

• Digitizing of promissory plant species (Red Nacional de Jardines Botánicos de Colombia)

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IABIN Projects

• Digitizing over five thousand metadata descriptions for the IABIN Catalog and its institutions by the following

countries and institutions: Argentina: IABIN Invasives Information Network; Brazil: Horus Institute, Universidad de

Sao Paulo; Colombia: International Center for TropicalAgriculture (CIAT), Instituto de Investigaciones de Recursos

Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Corporación Selva Húmeda, Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones

Científicas (SINCHI); Costa Rica: Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBio), Organizacion para Estudios

Tropicales (OET); Panama: Fundación Ciudad del Saber, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI);

Guatemala: Consejo Nacional de Areas Protegidas (CONAP).

• Digitizing of specimens at the Museum of Natural History from Universidad Ricardo Palma in Peru.

• Expanding of databases from aromatic and medicinal plants of Univeridade Estadual de Campinhas in Brazil.

• Digitizing of coprophagous beetles from the Colombian Andes, Instituto Alexander von Humboldt.

• Digitizing of bats diversity at the Museum of Natural History from Universidad Mayor de San Marcos in Peru.

• Digitizing of insects‟ taxonomy at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.

• Digitizting and dissemination of databases on birds, reptiles, amphibians, aquatic invertebrates at the collection of

CORBIDI in Peru.

• Georeferencing the systematized biological collections at the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales from Universidad

Nacional in Colombia.

• Creating and contribution of specimens databases at Fundación Miguel Lillo for people in Argentina.

• Disseminating knowledge on the Colombian Coastal-marine biodiversity at INVEMAR.

• Digitizing of biodiversity collections from Burkart and Cabrera at the Instituto Darwinion in Argentina.

• Digitizing of biodiversity specimens at Universidad Santiago de Chile.

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IABIN Projects

• Establishing a digital subcatalog of Chrysomelidae family specimens at Instituto de Zoologia Agricola from Universidad Central de Venezuela.

• Establishing the regulatory framework of seven thousand mammals specimens with IABIN standard Darwin Core from the National Parks in Argentina.

• Digitizing of specimens collection at the Museum of Natural Sciences Bernardino Rivadavia in Argentina.

• Digitizing of freshwater fishes from Fundación OGA in Argentina.

• Digitizing of freshwater birds at the National Park Laguna Blanca in Argentina.

• Digitizing of vertebrates‟ specimens at the Parques Nacionales Norpatagonicos in Argentina.

• Digitizing of pollinators at entomological collections from Universidade de Pernambuco in Brazil.

• Digitizing of vertebrates and bird specimens from Corporacion Ornitologica del Ecuador.

• Digitizing of specimens associated to the Tropical Montane Cloud Forests at Universidad Catolica in Ecuador.

• Digitizing of Lepidoptera and Coleopteran specimens at Museo Entomologico de Leon in Nicaragua.

• Digitizing vascular plants specimens at Herbarium from Universidad de Panama.

• Digitizing mollusks specimens at Colección Nacional in Panama.

• Georeferencing and digitizing the bryophytes and lichens at the Herbarium from Universidad Nacional in Panama.

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IABIN Projects

• Digitizing the biological specimens at Universidad Agraria La Molina in Peru.

• Digitizing of fish specimens at the Natural History Museum of Universidad Mayor de San Marcos in Peru.

• Digitizing the amphibians and reptiles at Museum of Natural History from Ministry of Education and Culture in

Uruguay.

• Enabling systematization and visualization of cryptogam‟s databases at the National Herbarium from Universidad

Nacional in Colombia.

• Digitizing plant collections at the Herbarium Arequipense in Peru.

• Digitizing bat collections at the Universidad Mayor de San Marcos in Peru.

• Using web-based metadata authoring tool CASSIA at Instituto de Recursos Biologicos Alexander von Humboldt in

Colombia.

• Digitizing the bird collections at Fundación ornitologica de la Sierra Nevada y La Red Nacional de Observadores

de Aves de Colombia.

• Enabling and digitizing the biological collections at the Natural History Museum in Jamaica.

• Digitizing freshwater and shorebirds from the Gulf of Mexico.

• Enabling and enhancing the Geographic Information System from INBio in Costa Rica.

• Advancing joint roles as Coordinating Institutions for the Inter-American Biodiversity Information network (IABIN) –

Ecosystems Thematic Network (ETN).

• Developing a GIS web-based software tool for reporting and ecosystem assessment with The Nature

Conservancy for The Americas.

• Integrating IABIN data holdings through Data Basin in The Americas.

Pollinators Thematic Network

IABIN - PTN

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Goal

• Develop a network of pollinator data in the Americas– Via a set of data standards and exchange protocols

• Digitize, integrate and make available data on pollinators

• Why Pollinators TN? – importance of their role in agriculture and wild areas

– Pollinator decline• International Pollinator Initiative (IPI) at the Convention on

Biological Diversity (CBD)

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Primary Content

• Data on pollinators of the Americas, including:

– specimens in collections

– pollinator-plant interactions

• Key for decision support in agriculture and

conservation/sustainable management

– pollinator contacts (experts)

• Expertise on pollination/pollinators

– names (checklists) of pollinating species

– literature on pollinators

• Accessible via a web portal

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PTN Consortium

• Pollinator Partnership (Coevolution Institute)

– Administrative lead

– Laurie Davies Adams (PI)

• Universidade de Sao Paulo – Agricultural Automation Lab.

– Information Technology lead

– Antonio Mauro Saraiva (Co-PI)

– Pedro L.P. Correa

• Smithsonian Institution - Integrated Taxonomic Information System

(ITIS)

– Scientific Lead

– Michael Ruggiero (Co-PI)

• National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII)-USGS

– Elizabeth Sellers

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PTN Activities

• Activities began in Jul „06

• Communication

– Periodic Conference Calls of Management Team

– PTN Public Website (pollinators.iabin.net) in Jan ‟07

• Joint IABIN/GBIF Workshop, Brazil, in Dec „06

• Technical Workshop

– Ribeirão Preto, Brazil – July „08

• Training Workshop

– Panama City, Panama – Aug ‟09

– Ribeirão Preto, Brazil – July „10

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Joint IABIN/GBIF Workshop

More than 35 Experts on

Pollinators and IT from

the Americas and from

GBIF and FAO

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Architecture

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IABIN PTN architecture

• Distributed architecture– Central data portal: entry-point

– Distributed providers: collections and datasets• Specimen data

• Pollinator-plant interaction data

• Standards– DwC and DwC Interaction extension

• Protocols: TAPIR (DiGIR)

• Local data hosting if necessary

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IABIN PTN architecture

• Data portal

– Customization of GBIF portal tool

• New data: interaction data

• New data standard: DwC Interaction extension

• Data providers

– PTN digitizer and TAPIR provider

– Other DB + TAPIR Provider

– Content

• Specimen data

• Pollinator-plant interaction data

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IABIN PTN Data portal

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Species with Interaction

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Datasets

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PTN Data Providers

• Coleção Entomológica Paulo Nogueira-Neto - IB/USP, Brazil

• Universidade Federal do Maranhão, Brazil

• Species Link Network, CRIA-Brazil

– Laboratório de Ecologia e Biogeografia de Insetos da Caatinga

– Coleção Entomológica Pe. Jesus Santiago Moure (Hymenoptera)

– Coleção Entomológica Paulo Nogueira-Neto - IB/USP

– Coleção Entomológica do Depto. de Sistemática e Ecologia

– Coleção Entomológica Moure e Costa

– Coleção de Entomologia do Laboratório de Biologia Vegetal

– Coleção de Abelhas do Museu de Ciências e Tecnologia da PUCRS

– Coleção de Abelhas do Departamento de Biologia - FFCLRP/USP

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PTN Data Providers

• Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia

• Red de Agricultura Alternativa, RAAA, Peru

• Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Valparaiso, Chile

• Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, Guatemala

• Instituto Smithsonian de Investigaciones Tropicales, Panama

• Asociación Guyra Paraguay, Paraguay

• Universidad Central del Ecuador, Ecuador

• Universidad de las Américas, Mexico

• Universidad Nacional de Misiones, Argentina

• Universidad de Chile, Chile

Total 10 countries, 20 providers

TOTAL ~ 400.000 records

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18 August 2009

281,037 specimens & observations

(Source: IABIN PTN Portal)

Pollinators of the Americas Project

Data Contribution

5 November 2006

~90,000 specimens & Observations

(Source: L. Speers, GBIF)

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Tools

• Pollinator Data Digitizer:

– A digitization tool that

• Is very easy to use: aimed at small datasets/collections

• Contains data fields to identify a specimen / observation

– Is based on Darwin Core: compatibility

• Supports spreadsheets

– for batch data input

– provides a template spreadsheet

• Contains a “Tapir data provider” module

• Freely available

– Download and local installation

– or Hosting at University of São Paulo

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Pollinator Data Digitizer

• Pollinators.iabin.net/digitizer

• Occurrence and interaction data

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PDD users

• Currently USP hosts 4 providers

UNIVERSIDAD DE LAS AMÉRICAS PUEBLA

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Biodiversity Data Digitizer

• New features

• Data quality provisions

– Features to improve data quality

• Geospatial data

• Taxonomic data

– Autocomplete

– Autosuggestions of data hierarchy

• Map: data distribution visualization

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Biodiversity Data Digitizer

• Support to spreadsheets– Upload/download (sync)

• Biodiversity Data Standards based– Data interchange / integration

• Integrated tools– Modular development

• Co-financing: BioAbelha project - FAPESP• Prof. Vera Fonseca - PI

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INTERACTION DwC

SPECIMENS DwC

SPECIES DwC

MEDIA MRTG REFERENCES DbC

MO

NIT

OR

ING

PO

LLIN

DEF

ICIT

DATA QUALITY

ACCESSCONTROL

DATA VALIDATION

DATA IMPORTING

DATAEXPORTING

MAPS

STATISTICS

Biodiversity Data Digitizer: next

• Support also from the GEF/UNEP/FAO Global Pollinator project• Coordinated In Brazil by the Ministry of the Environment

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Specimen occurrence digitization tool

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Interaction data digitization tool

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References data digitization tool

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Multimedia resources digitization tool

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Geospatial data quality tool

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IABIN-PTN’s Contacts Database

• Roster of ~ 200 “experts”

• Currently covering the whole America

• Searchable by

• Taxon

• Discipline

• Name

• Country/region of expertise or residence

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IABIN-PTN’s / FAO Contacts Database

• Expand coverage• World coverage

• Crop pollination “expertise” included

• Searchable by• Taxon

• Discipline

• Name

• Country/region of expertise or residence

• Crop (FAO list)

IABIN Catalog

Slides:

Ben Wheeler

Mike Frame

Multilingual IABIN Catalog

Catalog Major Holdings

• Collections, Tools, Software, Documentation

from IABIN Thematic Networks

• Published Literature

• Species Profiles

• Web Sites, Publications, Legislation related

to IABIN Countries

– Total Holdings: 204,003 records

Sample Search Results

Query: Dominican Republic

Advanced Search

• Ability to search by:

– IABIN TN

– Map based interface

– Resource Type

– Language

• Incorporates taxonomic expansion

• Future:– Thesaurus Expansion

– Place name Expansion

Sample Content

Future Directions

Geospatial SearchingPrimary Goals:

1. Provide Geospatial Querying of content

2. Geospatial (place based) results

3. Integrate Vivisimo with other Geospatial applications

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Overarching Goals

Develop a prototype Data Basin application for the IABIN Data Integration and Analysis Center that will facilitate:

– our ability to integrate, visualize, query, analyze and share the data that is currently being developed through the individual Thematic Networks (GEF I).

– our ability to positively influence conservation and development decisions at the national and regional scales through the structured use of relevant IABIN data (GEF II).

Slides:

Denny Grossman

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• Ability to upload and download data• Ability to securely manage data in Work Groups• Map browser for data search, identify and visualize• Data integration to create and save new maps• Drawing & buffering functions to delineate “areas of interest”• Ability to share data and maps with selected groups.• Ability to run simple queries and generate visual and written reports• Ability to link to detailed analytical tools

• Scientists and the Conservation Community

• Multi-Lateral Development Banks• Federal Planning and Permitting

Agencies• Corporations and Consultants• Civil Society

Species and Specimen TN

Ecosystem TN

Pollinators TN

Invasives TN

• IDB• GeoSur• TNC• CIAT• ESRI• Others

Analyses

• Mitigation, Compensation and Offset

• Cumulative Impact Assessment

• Species Range Modeling

•Alternative Project Scenarios

• Ecosystem Service Values

• Corridor Analysis

• Climate Change Adaptation

Existing Analytical Tools

IABIN Portal: Thematic Networks

Information Portals

InVest

Climate Change Calculators

MARXAN

NatureServe Vista

ESRI ArcInfo

EnvironmentalFlow Analysis

INFORMATION DECISION SUPPORT DATABASE

ANALYTICAL METHODS AND TOOLS

DECISION-MAKERS

Maxent

IABIN DIAC

Data Basin Information Holdings

Protected Areas TN

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Concluding remarks

• IABIN - an important impulse to create a biodiversity data digitizing culture in the Americas– Tools developed – new tools to come

– Standards developed/adopted

– Data digitized

– People trained and networked

• Interoperability– Importance of data standards and protocols

– Global architecture

– TDWG and GBIF: important role• Need to increase participation of other countries

• Digitization– More data: field collecting / digitizing

– Better quality: revisions / tools

– Richer data content: other data elements

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Concluding remarks

• Access to data– Data layers not easily accessible

• Software development: suffer from “N-uplicate” efforts – Funding stimulates it

– Sharing/ collaboration /open platforms/ web services

– GBIF and TDWG: coordinate groups and sharing

• Analysis and Decision support tools– Extremely important: biodiversity management

– Demand data / tools integration

• Support & Funding for those activities are essential– Software R&D funding: man-hour demanding

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IABINInterAmerican Biodiversity Information Network

Obrigado

Gracias

Thank you

http://pollinators.iabin.net

saraiva@usp.br