The challenge of organism identity --- The flora of the Southeast as a case study

1. The challenge of organism identity --- The flora of the Southeast as a case study • Robert K. Peet • University of North Carolina Ecological Society of America Vegetation Panel • SEEK development team • SERNEC RTN

2. Biodiversity documentation depends on accurate identification of organisms • Accurate identification and labelling of organisms is a critical part of collecting, recording, and reporting biological data. • Increasingly, research depends on the integration and re-use of multiple datasets. • Traditional Linnaean nomenclature is insufficient

3. One concept ofAbieslasiocarpa USDA Plants & ITIS Abies lasiocarpa var. lasiocarpa var. arizonica

4. A narrower concept of Abies lasiocarpa Flora North America Abies lasiocarpa Abies bifolia Partnership with USDA plants to provide plant concepts for data integration

5. High-elevation fir trees of western North America AZ NM CO WY MT AB eBC wBC WA OR Distribution Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica Abies lasiocarpa var. lasiocarpa USDA - ITIS Abies lasiocarpa Abies bifolia Flora North America A B C Minimal concepts

6. Andropogonvirginicus complex 9 elemental units; 17 base concepts, 27 scientific names

7. Standardized taxon lists failto allow dataset integration • The reasons include: • Taxonomic concepts are not defined (just lists of names), • Multiple party perspectives on taxon concepts and names are not supported • The user cannot reconstruct the database as viewed at an arbitrary time in the past. • The single largest impediment to large-scale synthesis in biodiversity & ecology.

8. A Case Study:Flora of the Southeastern US • Regional floras obsolete and incomplete • Need for an updated atlas of the flora of the Southeast • Datasets with inconsistent taxonomic concepts have defied integration • SERNEC has a goal of integrating collections across the region • 65,000 concept relationships already mapped

9. How have things changed? Concept relationships of Southeastern US plants treated in different floras. Based on > 65,000 concept relationshipshttp://herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm

10. The Opportunity Multiple groups are building IT tools but lack data to populate the tools We have a critical mass of taxon concepts and concept relationships SERNEC organization provides a community approach Potential for SERNEC to establish best practices and set standards

11. 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

12. Add static database records & dynamic access to museum collections NCU RAB USDA CVS Carya carolinae-septentrionalis

13. 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

15. Some nominal occurrences might or might not represent the taxon Carya carolinae-septentrionalis

16. Next steps? Software: • Allow user to select a taxonomic perspective (e.g., Weakley, PLANTS, or FNA) • Allow user to select date-specific version of Databases. • Data integration tools and services Data needs: • Comprehensive map of relationships taxonomic concepts • Identify observation records to concept

17. The way ahead • Publications, datasets, and museums identify taxa to concepts. • Databases and data services document core sets of taxonomic concepts and the relationships of those concepts to each other.

18. Ecological Society of America National Science Foundation Gap Analysis Program National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis National Biological Information Infrastructure Federal Geographic Data Committee We are pleased to acknowledge the support and cooperation of