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Interoperability of Biodiversity Databases: Biodiversity Information on Every Desktop
James L. Edwards,1*Meredith A. Lane,2Ebbe S. Nielsen3
Data about biodiversity are either scattered in many
databases or reside on paper or other media not amenable to interactivesearching. The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)is a
framework for facilitating the digitization of biodiversitydata and
for making interoperable an as-yet-unknown number ofbiodiversity
databases that are distributed around the globe.In concert with other
existing efforts, GBIF will catalyze thecompletion of a Catalog
of the Names of Known Organisms and willdevelop search engines to mine
the vast quantities of biodiversitydata. It will be an outstanding
tool for scientists, natural resourcemanagers, and policy-makers.
1 Directorate for Biological Sciences, National
Science Foundation, Arlington, VA 22230, USA.
2 Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA
19103, USA.
3 Australian National Insect Collection,
CSIRO Entomology, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
jledward{at}nsf.gov
The editors suggest the following Related Resources on Science sites:
In Science Magazine
LETTERS
Andrew T. Smith, Luigi Boitani, Colin Bibby, David Brackett, Fabio Corsi, Gustavo A. B. da Fonseca, Claude Gascon, Mariano Gimenez Dixon, Craig Hilton-Taylor, Georgine Mace, Russell A. Mittermeier, Jorge Rabinovich, Barry J. Richardson, Anthony Rylands, Bruce Stein, Simon Stuart, Jorgen Thomsen, Crispen Wilson;, James L. Edwards, Meredith A. Lane, Ebbe S. Nielsen;, and Frank A. Bisby (15 December 2000) Science290 (5499), 2073b.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.290.5499.2073b] |Full Text »
EDITORIAL
Edward O. Wilson (29 September 2000) Science289 (5488), 2279.
|Summary »
INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL ISSUE
Andrew Sugden and Elizabeth Pennisi (29 September 2000) Science289 (5488), 2305.
|Summary »
NEWS
Elizabeth Pennisi (29 September 2000) Science289 (5488), 2306.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.289.5488.2306] |Summary »|Full Text »
NEWS
Jocelyn Kaiser (29 September 2000) Science289 (5488), 2307.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.289.5488.2307] |Summary »|Full Text »
VIEWPOINT
Frank A. Bisby (29 September 2000) Science289 (5488), 2309.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.289.5488.2309] |Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Biodiversity informatics: organizing and linking information across the spectrum of life.
