Integrating humans into biodiversity science through ethnobiodiversity informatics

Area of Science:

• Biodiversity science
• Ecology
• Informatics

Background:

• Current biodiversity science models often overlook human influence on ecological and evolutionary processes.
• Human activities are major drivers of global biodiversity change, necessitating their inclusion in scientific models.
• Existing biodiversity informatics lacks comprehensive integration of human system data.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce ethnobiodiversity informatics as a crucial expansion of biodiversity informatics.
• To integrate human systems (behavior, trade, governance, culture, infrastructure) into biodiversity analysis.
• To improve the accuracy of biodiversity models and inform decision-making.

Main Methods:

• Defining ethnobiodiversity informatics as the integration of digital biodiversity data with human system information.
• Analyzing examples across food systems, resource provisioning, medicinal plants, corporate accountability, and biodiversity-health linkages.
• Demonstrating the emerging nature of ethnobiodiversity informatics across disciplines.

Main Results:

• Ethnobiodiversity informatics is already emerging in various scholarly fields.
• Integration of human systems enhances the representation of real-world biodiversity processes.
• The approach facilitates stronger inference about human impacts on nature.

Conclusions:

• Ethnobiodiversity informatics offers more accurate biodiversity models.
• It provides stronger insights into human drivers of biodiversity change.
• Explicitly integrating human systems is essential for effective conservation and decision-making in the face of intensifying biodiversity loss.