Species descriptions and digital environments: alternatives for accessibility of morphological data

• Main Author: Thiago Sanches Ranzani da Silva
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Entomologia 2017-10-01
• Series: Revista Brasileira de Entomologia
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0085562617300328

Taxonomists’ efforts throughout history provide significant amount of data that give support for establishing the specific identity of several groups of biological systems. In addition to identifying species, taxonomic research offers a wide range of biological information that can be used in other disciplines, e.g. evolution, ecology, integrated pest management. However, most of this information remains unappreciated due to certain aspects: (1) the advent of analytical tools have led to a shift in interest and investment in researches, focusing mainly in molecular studies; (2) the erroneous concept that the extensive data offered by taxonomic studies can be replaced by other datasets, separating it from its hypothesis-driven and investigative nature; (3) the final products found in taxonomic works are commonly restricted to a small group of researchers, due to its low accessibility and specific language. Considering this last aspect, web-based tools can be valuable to simplify the dissemination of the taxonomic product. Semantic annotation provide a condition in which species descriptions can be readily available and be far more extensive, enabling rapid exchange of countless data related to biological systems. Keywords: Data accessibility, Interoperability, Annotations, Web-based taxonomy