This page contains the working group charter for the MBON Data Management and Cyberinfrastructure Working Group (MBON DMAC WG).
Edit me

Document History

Description Date
Initial creation in Google Doc. 2021-05-11
Migrated content to website. 2023-02-28

Working Group Purpose

The MBON Data Management and Cyberinfrastructure Working Group (MBON DMAC WG) seeks to identify strategies for interoperability and effective use of biodiversity observations. The purpose of this working group is to implement interoperability, data archival, and publication standards for marine and coastal biodiversity observations. Quantifying biodiversity requires observations of the types, abundance, age structure, productivity, and phenology of communities of organisms, including migration patterns and interactions between these organisms. Types of organisms and the make-up of the biological community may be quantified by traditional taxonomy, genetics, by quantifying traits (color, size, sound emissions, behavior), chemical proxies (pigment composition, nutritional value), and other physical characteristics (sound and light scattering and absorption, association with different substrates).

Today, such different observations are collected through various methods and technologies and the data are largely incompatible and difficult to find. Data from different projects and groups are formatted differently, and archived in different and disconnected archives. Finding and using these data, and reusing them to conduct assessments over time and to conduct synthesis of different types of biodiversity data is at present hindered by this diversity in approaches and disconnected data flows.

This project will work to implement recommended standards and best practices to facilitate the application of marine biodiversity observations. This includes:

  • Data formatting through the value chain (collection through application: forecasting and synthesis)
  • Data interoperability
  • Data archive
  • Interconnectedness of databases

The focus will be these types of observations:

  • Taxonomic data
  • Organisms abundance
  • Genetic make-up (‘omics, including informatics requirements)
  • Acoustics (active and passive)
  • Imaging
  • Optics
  • Animal tracking

Working Group Goals:

  • Identify initial observation types (categories) for coordination.
  • Identify/inventory categories of MBON data.
  • Identify formatting strategies that exist and recommend convergence and interoperability.
  • Identify data sources, data flow, databases and trace paths for database integration.
  • Document preferred process for data management pipelines for MBON observations.

Monthly Meeting Information

MBON DMAC working group
Monthly on the second Tuesday 1:00 – 2:00pm ET
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/imf-qrhy-jgx

Tags: