ICER and Conservation at ADBC Summit VII: Difference between revisions

::'''Abstract:''' This presentation provides a brief overview and history of the NSF-funded NEON Project and our vision for and status of the NEON Biorepository.  NEON has a long history dating to the late 1990's. Since then, it has progressed through the phases of design, construction and initial operations.  Construction is nearly complete; full operations will begin in late 2019 and continue for 30 years.  A key feature of NEON is establishment a curated collection of diverse aquatic and terrestrial samples and specimens gathered annually at 81 NEON sites across the US.  The overarching goal of the biorepository is to make reference material and replicate samples available for future research and retrospective studies.  To help achieve this goal, we are designing the biorepository to ensure efficiency, utility, discoverability, and timely sample processing – i.e., to be responsive to the needs of the scientific community.  We plan to engage the community and foster broad use of the NEON samples via a biorepository technical working group and several related technical working groups, and by working with the ICER and similar initiatives.

* Jennifer McGuire (Georgia Tech)

** '''Research and management applications of online collection data: a case study of prairie fen biodiversity'''

::Abstract: Prairie fen wetlands are globally vulnerable wetlands, provide habitat for over 35 state and federally listed species, and function at the headwaters for several major watersheds in the Great Lakes. Since 2012, the Prairie Fen Biodiversity Project (PFBP) has collected biodiversity data and associated metadata in prairie fen communities to inform researchers, conservation biologists and managers about potential drivers of biodiversity in these diverse systems. One priority for PFBP has been to manage our biodiversity data digitally in support of research and management pipelines. We will show how we have integrated our research, data usage, and digitization workflows and how we assessed this as the project grows and incorporates insect biodiversity data. Annotated species checklists are now available through the Central Michigan University Collection on the Consortium of Midwest Herbaria portal (http://midwestherbaria.org). The PFBP data and checklists have multiple potential uses and we anticipate that our PFBP can use the portal to add, update, or pool data in new ways as the collaboration grows and new tools become available. Online digitized data gives us unprecedented access to biodiversity data and facilitates data accessibility, current data updates, and a broader use of the specimen and research data both within our research team and with associated conservation and management partners.