Improving the standardization of wild bee occurrence data: Towards a formal wild bee data standard

Du Clos, Brianne

doi:10.5281/zenodo.17544246

Improving the standardization of wild bee occurrence data: Towards a formal wild bee data standard

Du Clos, Brianne

Publisher: Zenodo
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17544246
Repository: zenodo.org
Language: en

Abstract

Conservation and management of wild bees is hindered by the variety of ways wild bee occurrence data are recorded, managed, and shared. Here, we present solutions to address this issue and introduce The Wild Bee Data Standard, a standardized means of recording and reporting data associated with wild bee occurrences, including physical specimens and photo observations. This standard aligns with contemporary data management practices widely adopted by the broader biodiversity data community. We propose a set of terms for the standard that describe various features of bee occurrences, including collection method and location, taxonomic verification, and final record storage. We emphasize the importance of providing sampling protocol and effort information with wild bee occurrence data and offer guidance to make this a more common practice. We describe how to translate data not currently aligned with the standard to meet its conditions, and how to upload those data to an accessible online repository. We provide case studies, data entry templates, a glossary of terms, and additional resources to guide new users to implementing the standard. We also present a forum, established as a GitHub repository, to support continued development of the standard. Recognizing the significant change this represents for current data practices, we outline the benefits for the bee research and conservation community that will result from improved data standards. We advocate for making all historical, current, and future bee occurrence data openly available to facilitate more rigorous and comprehensive research, conservation, and management of wild bees.

Full text

Improving the standardization of wild bee occurrence data: Towards a formal wild bee data standard Brianne Du Clos US National Native Bee Monitoring Research Coordination Network University of California, Riverside Co-authors •Katja Seltmann, University of California, Santa Barbara •Nash Turley, The Pennsylvania State University •Clare Maffei, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service •Erika Tucker, Biodiversity Outreach Network •Ian Lane, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service •Hannah Levenson, North Carolina State University •Hollis Woodard, University of California, Riverside Manuscript overview •Manuscript •Definitions, examples, use, credit, conduct, implementation and management going forward •Pathways to data sharing •Case studies with standardized protocols •Appendix 1: The Wild Bee Data Standard Term List, v. 1.0.0 •Appendix 2: Glossary of Terms •Appendix 3: Additional Resources Online resources •GitHub repository •Templates for standardizing data •Special issue page for protocols that demonstrate using the standard https://github.com/Big-Bee-Network/wild-bee-data-standard “Wild bee occurrence data are generated when bees are collected or observed in the field, and include the date collected or observed, collector or observer identity, geographic location, and other information.” What is occurrence data? •An organism •In a place •At a time •…and other information! What’s the goal? 1. We need more data 2. Those data need to be standardized How can we get there? To assess species status and trends over time How can we standardize occurrence data? https://dwc.tdwg.org/terms/ How can we standardize wild bee occurrence data? •The Wild Bee Data Standard •Not a new standard –just an adaptation of Darwin Core written specifically for wild bee occurrence data •The terms are the same, but they are presented differently •75 terms in 3 tiers of requirement: •Core (26) –must be provided and collected •Recommended (22) –should be provided if collected •Optional (27) –can be provided if collected