USES OF PRIMARY SPECIES- OCCURRENCE DATA Arthur D. Chapman1 Abstract: This paper examines uses for primary species- occurrence data in research, education and in other areas of human endeavour, and provides examples from the literature of many of these uses. The paper examines not only data from labels, or from observational notes, but the data inherent in museum and herbarium collections themselves, which are long-term storage receptacles of information and data that are still largely untouched. Projects include the study of the species and their distributions through both time and space, their use for education, both formal and public, for conservation and scientific research, use in medicine and forensic studies, in natural resource management and climate change, in art, history and recreation, and for social and political use. Uses are many and varied and may well form the basis of much of what we do as people every day. 1 Australian Biodiversity Information Services PO Box 7491, Toowoomba South, Qld, Australia email: [email protected] © 2005, Global Biodiversity Information Facility Material in this publication is free to use, with proper attribution. Recommended citation format: Chapman, A. D. 2005. Uses of Primary Species-Occurrence Data, version 1.0. Report for the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Copenhagen. This paper was commissioned from Arthur Chapman in 2004 by the GBIF DIGIT programme to highlight the importance of data quality as it relates to primary species occurrence data. Our understanding of these issues and the tools available for facilitating error checking and cleaning is rapidly evolving. As a result we see this paper as an interim discussion of the topics as they stood in 2004. Therefore, we expect there will be future versions of this document and would appreciate the data provider and user communities’ input. Comments and suggestions can be submitted to: Larry Speers Senior Programme Officer Digitization of Natural History Collections Global Biodiversity Information Facility Universitetsparken 15 2100 Copenhagen Ø Denmark E-mail: [email protected] and Arthur Chapman Australian Biodiversity Information Services PO Box 7491, Toowoomba South Queensland 4352 Australia E-mail: [email protected] July 2005 Cover image © Else Østergaard Andersen 2005 Dactylorhiza maculata (L.) Soo ssp. fuchsii (Druce) Hyl. Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 Data interchange and distributed data ...................................................................... 3 Multiple uses ............................................................................................................ 4 GBIF Demonstration Project 2003........................................................................... 4 Benefits of making species-occurrence data available............................................. 4 Taxonomy..................................................................................................................... 7 Taxonomic Research ................................................................................................ 7 Name and Taxonomic Indices .................................................................................. 7 Floras and Faunas..................................................................................................... 8 Taxonomy and Ecological Biogeography ................................................................ 9 Field Guides............................................................................................................ 10 Integrated electronic resources ............................................................................... 11 Check lists and inventories..................................................................................... 12 Image Databases..................................................................................................... 12 Phylogenies............................................................................................................. 12 Parataxonomy ......................................................................................................... 13 Automated Identification Tools.............................................................................. 13 Biogeographic Studies............................................................................................... 14 Distribution Atlases................................................................................................ 14 Species Distribution Modelling.............................................................................. 16 Predicting new species distributions ...................................................................... 18 Studying species decline......................................................................................... 18 Species Diversity and Populations ........................................................................... 19 Species Diversity, Richness and Density ............................................................... 19 Population Modelling — Population Viability Analysis........................................ 21 Species Inter-relations ............................................................................................ 22 Protecting Communities ......................................................................................... 22 Life Histories and Phenologies................................................................................. 23 Life History Studies................................................................................................ 23 Phenology............................................................................................................... 23 Endangered, Migratory and Invasive Species ........................................................ 24 Endangered Species................................................................................................ 24 Invasive species and translocation studies ............................................................. 25 Migratory Species................................................................................................... 28 Impact of Climate Change........................................................................................ 31 On Native Species .................................................................................................. 31 On Primary Production........................................................................................... 31 Desertification ........................................................................................................ 32 Ecology, Evolution and Genetics.............................................................................. 33 Vegetation Classification........................................................................................ 33 Mapping Vegetation ............................................................................................... 33 Habitat loss ............................................................................................................. 34 Paper by Athur Chapman Page i Release date: commissioned by GBIF July 2005 Ecosystem function ................................................................................................ 34 Survey Design - Finding the Gaps.......................................................................... 35 Evolution, Extinction and Genetics........................................................................ 36 Microbial diversity and speciation ......................................................................... 37 Archaeological studies............................................................................................ 38 Environmental Regionalisation................................................................................ 39 National Planning studies ....................................................................................... 39 Regional Planning Studies...................................................................................... 39 Marine Regionalisations......................................................................................... 40 Aquatic Regionalisations........................................................................................ 40 Conservation Planning.............................................................................................. 41 Rapid Biodiversity Assessment.............................................................................. 41 Identifying Biodiversity Priority Areas.................................................................. 41 Reserve Selection ................................................................................................... 42 Complementarity .................................................................................................... 42 Ex-situ Conservation .............................................................................................. 43 Sustainable Use ...................................................................................................... 44 Seed Banks and Germplasm Banks........................................................................ 44 Natural Resource Management ............................................................................... 45 Land Resources .....................................................................................................