EDIT WP5 Platform for Cybertaxonomy

The assessment of the needs of taxonomists in terms of Geospatial components and the e-conference previously held (see Component 5.32) indicated that there is a high interest in having access to camera ready maps for different publication means ( Websites, Presentations, scientific papers, large format maps, posters). The local post processing of maps for publication has been identified as being far from straightforward and often rather time consuming for non-specialists in GIS systems. The development of a freely available and easy-to-use tool able to produce maps for those taxonomists not experienced in the use of GIS programs is indeed an essential part of EDIT Work Package 5.4 (Geospatial Component).

The CDM Framework is a library that offers all functionality needed: to persistently store data based on the Common Data Model (CDM), to edit the data and to make it available for other applications.

Several existing tools allow the management of descriptive data, the construction of printable keys and the identification with free access keys. Their inventory and analysis were performed in a former step. Although none of the existing tools stands out against the others, several of them have an extensive user interface, are already adopted by biologists and were validated by numerous applications and taxonomic keys. These tools have hence proven their interest and their accessibility for taxonomists even if they have little or no previous computer experience. The European project KeytoNature, with which a collaboration is in progress, will also contribute to promote the interest in such systems and to distribute applications for multiple audiences.

As described in the C5.65 and C5.66 component reports, an online GIS webapplication (the EDIT MapViewer Tool) for taxonomic visualisation of point occurrences and regional distribution has been developed by CSIC, in collaboration with RMCA and BGBM. Applications developed include:

The services provided by ViTaL have been discussed in detail in previously published project documents. The diagram below has been extracted from document D5.15 ViTaL draft system design. It provides a useful overview of the system architecture. This report documents the pilot launch of the literature metasearch component of ViTaL, hosted at the Natural History Museum (London). The pilot went live on 26 September 2008.
Functionality

ViTaL, the Virtual Taxonomic Library is a component of the EDIT infrastructure, being created as part of WP5.3, which is concerned with the provision of Bibliographic tools for the taxonomic community.

The services provided by ViTaL have been discussed in detail in previously published project documents. The diagram below has been extracted from document D5.15 ViTaL draft system design. It provides a useful overview of the system architecture.

Is the Cyberplatform for me?

The goal of the Cyberplatform is to optimize and accelerate the taxonomic workflow, starting with field work, collection and observation, and ending with publication. It is largely geared towards taxonomists working as part of a community wishing to work on shared datasets.

ViTaL, the Virtual Taxonomic Library is a component of the EDIT infrastructure, being created as part of WP5.3, which is

The 3rd ISTC meeting was held on October 1-2, 2008 at the Department of Biodiversity Informatics and Laboratories at Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum in Berlin. The 3rd ISTC report and the presentations given at the meeting are available on the WP5 webpage http://cybertaxonomy.eu/blog/2007/04/04/istc.