Progress report for
Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON)
Achievement at a glance
Darwin Core and OBIS - Standardizing Marine Biological and Biodiversity Data:Best practices for observation of marine biodiversity and environmental factors, and for the curation, archival, and publication and distribution of the observations, are fundamental to detect and monitor life in the sea. They are critical to evaluate progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals, post-2020 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) targets, for assessments of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) , and for conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. They are also needed to advance scientific research.
Darwin Core is the global standard for biological data used by major national and international programs like OBIS, GBIF, and the Atlas of Living Australia. Standardized data have increased FAIR-ness, allowing for searches and extraction of subsets specific to user needs. Proper metadata ensures the original data observer is acknowledged and encourages collaboration in subsequent uses of the data.
MBON has been working with GOOS, including the US Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), and the US and international OBIS offices, to contribute integrated and interoperable products and visualization tools. The goal is to augment the OBIS database, and help broader use of environmental DNA, satellite observations, animal tracking, underwater sound measurements, and integrating these with environmental parameters.
MBON is promoting adoption and implementation of Darwin Core for recording of biological information, and the open redistribution of these data (via ERRDAP for example). MBON promotes open data and FAIR Guiding Principles.
A proposed data flow model is that data collectors work with regional GOOS experts and OBIS nodes to help transform the data into Darwin Core, and to serve the data online for harvest and distribution via OBIS.
Challenges faced in implementation
Many challenges remain:-capacity building to enable recovery of old biodiversity and biological data
-capacity to convert the data to Darwin Core
-recognizing the value of open data sharing as a mechanism for expanded collaboration by academics and analyses of broader geographic scale and impacts
-cost of recovering data and transcribing existing biodiversity data recorded in a variety of different formats
-community adoption of best practices and of the Darwin Core data schema
-modernizing the OBIS computing infrastructure and enabling searches for biodiversity and other OBIS data in complex geographic geometries
-empowering and funding regional GOOS programs and regional OBIS nodes to serve the local and regional communities
-engaging NGOs, government, and researchers in using the MBON data flow process outlined here, to help publish biodiversity data
Beneficiaries
UN Sustainable Development Goals, parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), conservation groups, academic and scientific researchers, resource managers everywhere.
Actions
MBON signed a collaboration agreement with the IOC's Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) BioEco panel and the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) to build a community of practice that constitutes a sustained, coordinated, global ocean system of marine biology and ecosystem observations.MBON continues to work with OBIS, GOOS and other stakeholders to build capacity around the Darwin Core data standards and helping people understand the value of existing biological databases; these should be used and enhanced.