Introduction
Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) observation data is focused on organisms from microbes to whales, including measures of biodiversity (e.g. presence, abundance), productivity, genomics, phenology, and other relevant ecological process measurements or indices. Also featured are habitat characterization and habitat diversity measures, including satellite data and added-value data derived from satellite observations, and neural network model results, such as biogeographical seascape classifications.
The data have been generated within the MBON regions of the Arctic, Central California, Southern California, the Gulf of Maine, the Pacific Northwest, and South Florida. Data have been collected by associated scientists or provided by multiple other independent programs, such as the IOOS Regional Associations, Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) programs, universities, and other fisheries or marine wildlife institutions.
This website describes the recommendations for formatting and sharing data and metadata for the MBON community. The materials presented here were developed through the MBON Data Management and Cyberinfrastructure Working Group (MBON DMAC WG). The working group charter can be found here. If you would like to contribute to this documentation, see CONTRIBUTING.md.
Categories of MBON observations
- Taxonomic data
- See the MBON data flow for sharing and standardizing data to Darwin Core.
- Organisms abundance
- See the MBON data flow for sharing and standardizing data to Darwin Core.
- Genetic make-up (‘omics, including informatics requirements)
- For eDNA, please see the NOAA Omics Data Management Guide as the authoritative source for proper data management for MBON projects and the IOOS community.
- Acoustics (active and passive)
- For passive acoustic monitoring, please see NCEI’s Passive Acoustic Data Best Practices as the authoritative source for proper data management for MBON projects and the IOOS community.
- Imaging
- Optics
- Animal tracking
- For satellite telemetry data, please see the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Animal Telemetry Network Data Assembly Center (ATN DAC) as the authoritative source for proper data management for MBON projects and the IOOS community.
Website contents
- MBON Data Flow - This is a summary of the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) data flow.
- Data and File Formatting - This is Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) data recommendations.
- Metadata and Documentation - This is Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) metadata recommendations.
- How to guide for MBON Metadata - This is a how-to guide for collecting MBON metadata.
- MBON use case - This is a collection of IOOS Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) data flow use cases.
- MBON Data Portal Demo - This page demonstrates the MBON Data Portal and some of the tools in the portal.
For help with the MBON Data Portal, please see the MBON portal help documentation.