Through ecosystem-based models and storytelling, Dr. Tate-Jones aims to facilitate authentic human connection that promotes inclusivity and equity within the scientific community. She earned her doctorate in Earth Sciences from the University of Oregon, where she studied vertebrate paleontology with a focus on the evolution of seal sea lions and walruses. During this time, however, she came to realize that much of the way the field functioned seemed to be determined by systems of oppression rather than the science itself.
In 2020, an ad hoc committee of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) released its report Biological Collections: Ensuring Critical Research and Education for the 21st Century. Recommendation 8-1 of the report, included the establishment of a national Action Center for biological collections, which was codified into law by the U.S. Congress as part of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.
iDigBio is pleased to announce the inaugural in-person Biodiversity Digitization Conference. The theme of the conference is workforce development, capacity building, and enhancement for all phases of the Biodiversity Specimen Digitization Value Chain.
The sixth annual iDigTRIO conference took place February 19-24, 2024. The goal of iDigTRIO is to broaden the network of people, resources, and opportunities available to pre-collegiate and college students, with particular outreach to “low-income individuals, first-generation college students, and individuals with disabilities”, per the Federal TRIO program guidelines.
Hole-y Plant Databases! Understanding and Preventing Biases in Botanical Big Data
Using specimens to create a pollinator community assessment of restored tallgrass prairie
-- Contributed by Heather Cray, Department of Environment and Resource Studies, University of Waterloo
Animal species need space – a place to forage, grow, and nest. This is especially true of Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), whose caterpillars generally feed exclusively on one genus or species of host plant (think monarch butterflies and milkweed). For the 4,000 or so species of native bees in North America, required forage plants and nesting sites vary from common suburban offerings (e.g., patches of bare ground, maples, willows, clover), to specialized needs which are ecosystem-specific. Enter tallgrass prairie – a grassland ecosystem with high forb diversity that supports a dizzying array of invertebrate life. As our continent’s most endangered ecosystem, the 1-3% that remains is a mix of remnant and restored habitat, and restoration efforts-- both large and small, are ongoing. Read more here.
-- Contributed by Lauren Gonzalez
I’m currently a graduate student in the Soltis Lab in the Florida Museum of Natural History, working on Polygonella(Polygonaceae), sometimes called the jointweeds....read more here.
From Libby Ellwood (iDigBio Post Doc) and Deb Paul (iDigBio Data Specialist) 
On July 26, 2015, iDigBio hosted an all-day ecological niche modeling (ENM) workshop at Botany 2015, the joint annual conference hosted by the Botanical Society of America, Plant Canada, and their affiliated societies, in Edmonton, Alberta.
iDigBio API Hackathon Report Blog
Georeferencing: The Polygon Method - a guest blog by Michael Yost, Macrofungi Collection Consortium (MaCC) Project Assistant at the Denver Botanic Gardens and active member of the iDigBio GWG.
An overview. from Deb Paul, Dena Smith, and Vlad Blagoderov
Summary.
By François Michonneau, @fmic_ (with editorial suggestions from Judit Ungvari-Martin)
The Florida Museum of Natural History and partners hosted the 30th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) from May 17-23, 2015, at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center in Gainesville, Florida. The theme of the conference was “Making Natural History Collections
Accessible Through New and Innovative Approaches and Partnerships”.
Georeferencing Procedure Outline - a guest blog by Michael Yost, Macrofungi Collection Consortium (MaCC) Project Assistant at the Denver Botanic Gardens
Greetings, fellow georeferencers!
Photo: Minky Faber (ALA)
From Deb Paul, @idbdeb
This 4-day hands-on short course in March investigated current trends in collecting, and focused on best practices and skills development for supporting the collection and sharing of robust, fit-for-research-use data.
-Guest blog enthusiastically provided by course participant Rick Levy, Database Associate, Denver Botanic Gardens
Managing Natural History Collections Data for Global Discoverability is fourth in a series of biodiversity informatics workshops at iDigBio and we are currently accepting applications! Don't wait, space is limited.
Deadline to Apply is May 1st, 2015.
The Paleobiology Database Executive Committee is running a hackathon with the goal of creating exciting tools (web applications, R code, data analysis tools, data visualization tools, integration with other web databases, etc.) that use the Paleobiology Database API for research, education, or outreach.
When and where? March 20th-22nd, 2015, on the campus of UC Santa Cruz.
From Deb Paul, on twitter @idbdeb
