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Avibase - a database system for managing and organizing taxonomic concepts
Denis Lepage1, Gaurav Vaidya2, Robert Guralnick2
1Bird Studies Canada, P.O. Box 160, 115 Front St., Port Rowan, ON Canada N0E 1M0.
Zookeys
|July 26, 2014
Summary
Scientific names are imprecise for biological concepts. The Avibase database organizes taxonomic concepts, improving clarity and addressing issues with scientific name dissemination for birds.
Area of Science:
- Biodiversity Informatics
- Taxonomy
- Zoology
Background:
- Scientific names often fail to accurately represent biological concepts, leading to ambiguity.
- Issues like emendations, homonymy, and synonymy further complicate the use of scientific names.
- Existing efforts to organize taxonomic concepts are largely in early stages.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present Avibase as a practical solution for organizing taxonomic concepts.
- To demonstrate how organizing taxonomic concepts can improve scientific name dissemination.
- To address the inherent limitations of scientific names in representing biological entities.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the on-line database Avibase for cataloguing and organizing taxonomic concepts.
- Compiled data across major bird taxonomic checklists spanning 125 years.
- Focused on organizing species-level and subspecies-level taxonomic concepts.
Main Results:
- Successfully described and organized 844,000 species-level taxonomic concepts.
- Successfully described and organized 705,000 subspecies-level taxonomic concepts.
- Demonstrated Avibase's capability to manage extensive taxonomic data.
Conclusions:
- The use of taxonomic concepts, supported by Avibase, offers a robust alternative to traditional scientific names.
- Implementing taxonomic concepts and resolution services addresses key deficiencies in scientific name usage.
- Avibase provides a scalable model for organizing taxonomic concepts in ornithology and potentially other fields.
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