Ocean Biogeographic Information System

Edward Vanden Bergheevberghe@iobis.org

‘Mission’

• OBIS publishes primary data on marine species locations through www.iobis.org – It facilitates data discovery and exploration by

• Searching by species, higher taxa, time, location, depth, database

• Mapping, overlaying species distributions on ocean environment, modelling of potential environmental range

– Integrates data over marine themes• Microbes to whales• Genetics and morphology• Poles to equator…

– Enables data capture for re-use

Why do this?

• Proper management of natural resources requires properly managed data and information– More data -> more knowledge

• OBIS model makes data and information management more efficient– Share responsibilities, tools, standards…– Share data across different organisations and

countries• OBIS is a way of ensuring data is not lost

– Archaeology and rescue for historic data– Repositories for new data

• Assist in data discovery– Links with EoL, BOLD…

OBIS in context

• IT component of CoML– Capturing and integrating data

– Support the 2010 synthesis

• Marine component of GBIF– Fully inter-operable with GBIF standards

– Extending with marine-specific elements

• Marine component of Species 2000– World register of Marine Species (WoRMS)

– http://marinespecies.org

• Partner with IOC, FAO, (UNEP)– Several OBIS Nodes are NODCs– FAO is large data provider and consumer

OBIS functions

• Caches species distribution data from many databases

• Creates taxonomic and geographic indices

• Seeks out new datasets • Develops standards for data

exchange and management• Develops software tools for online

use • Makes all data freely accessible

online

Distribution of cod, Gadus morhua, shown as ‘c-squares’ map

Predicting distribution of invasive species, Pterois volitans

Standards

• Biogeography: GBIF/TDWG– Darwin Core, Extended to OBIS Schema– ABCD

• Metadata: discovery metadata– Global Change Master Directory – NASA– MEDI – IODE; FGDC – US Gov?

• Taxonomy: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) – Contribution to Species 2000, Catalogue of Life– Collaboration with ITIS

• Geography– Polygon sets

• EEZs, FAO areas, IHO…– Gazetteer

Standards: taxonomy

• Aphia is general species register maintained at VLIZ– Consists of several overlapping subsets

• defined geographical (ERMS, NWARMS…) • defined taxonomic (Porifera,

Platyhelminthes…)• defined thematic (HABs, invasive species)

• Exposed through www.marinespecies.org

• WoRMS = Aphia + external GSDs– Algaebase, Hexacorallia, FishBase…

WoRMS plans

• 100,000 valid species end 2007• 2x0,000 valid species end 2008

– 85-90% of known species• Distribution records for all of these by

2010– Many species only known from holotype!!

• Management classification – Species 2000, ITIS

• Gap analysis– Filling gaps in collaboration with ITIS

Standards: ‘OBIS Schema’• Minimum data

– Taxonomic name– Position: lat/long– Bookkeeping fields: unique ID, date last

modified, collection name

• Highly recommended– Date of observation– Depth– Taxonomic authority

• Others– Date of identification, specimen

accession number…

Standards: metadata

• Global Change Master Directory– Separate portal

• Enriched with information extracted from the database– Taxonomic, geographic scope– First/last observation– Map of distributions

• Needs revision!

OBIS Nuts and Bolts

• Distributed system– Making use of recent developments in

technology (XML, DiGIR)– Web based

• Three-tier system– OBIS provider installed at site of

contributing database• Registry of providers

– OBIS portal, which can be accessed by the end-users

DiGIR

DiGIR• Distributed Generic Information

Retrieval– Semantics decoupled from protocol and

software

• Need to agree on a ‘federation schema’– Defined as an XML schema

• OBIS Schema, Darwin Core Schema (GBIF)

– Specifies which data elements are exchanged, and how they are labeled

• Data exchange and query formulation are XML files

OBIS number of records

• 231 databases

• In cache:– 13.6 million records, 147,000 names

• In index:– 6.9 million records at genus level and below,

80,000 species

• Among the largest provider to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility

Limitations of OBIS and OBIS data• We don’t know the total

biodiversity– New species are discovered

• Selective sampling in geography– Mostly in surface waters– Temperate zones

• Selective sampling in taxonomy – Mostly big things, vertebrates

New species are discovered

Data from http://marinespecies.org

Geographical bias

Bias in depth: deeper than 2500m

Taxonomic bias

Taxon # species # in OBIS %Cetaceans 133 117 88Seals… 45 36 80Fish 24139 21258 88

Echinoderms 6199 1624 26Bryozoans 6000 1096 18Decapods 8227 3796 46

Analysis of OBIS data

• First attempts at diversity pattern on a global scale, with a large number of taxa– Previously either local or on one taxon

(e.g. commercial large fish like tuna, forams…)

– ‘Safety in numbers’• Results not affected by idiosynchrasies of

single taxon or study

• Results very preliminary, and need data cleaning and further checking– E.g. by artificially removing datasets

from analysis

Global pattern of sampling effort

Pattern in number of species

Corrected for bias: ES(50)

Current priorities

• Filling some of the gaps– In collaboration with existing RONs– By creating new RONs

• Philippines, Oman

• Completing the inventory of known marine species: WoRMS– Prioritise on having at least one

distribution record per species, preferably the type locality

• Creating an inventory of existing data– Also data not now available through OBIS– Importance of metadata

Plans for the future

• More data and analysis• Develop thematic portals, on issues

of direct societal relevance– Invasive species, HABs…

• Develop demonstrator projects– Species distributions, hotspots…

• Support CoML scientists– Integration across themes– 2010 Synthesis– Publications: theme section(s)