Cybertaxonomy

Vincent S. Smith

“The use of computers and networks in a program of taxonomic research”

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e-Taxonomy

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e-Taxonomy

Encyclopedia of Life (EOL)- an online reference for the 1.8 million

named species

But… Who will write it?

http://www.eol.org/

• Vision of EO Wilson

• $50m funding (5 years)- MacArthur and Sloan Foundations

• Science & outreach

• First release 2008- Complete 2018?

Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL)- a digital version of the worlds largest natural

history libraries

http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/

• 10 N.H. libraries

• NHM is a key player

Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL)- a digital version of the worlds largest natural

history libraries

http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/

• 10 N.H. libraries

• NHM is a key player

• Content managed by

- 323 titles- 3,316 volumes- 1,302,530 pages (& counting)

“The Internet Archive”

But… Not your papers?

• Copyright issues

Universal Biological Indexer (uBio)- an index and thesaurus of biological taxonomic

names

http://www.ubio.org/

• Namebank (10.1m records)

• Classification bank (1,000’s)

• Provides “taxonomicallyintelligent” services for the management & discovery of biological data

But… Not on “your” data

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$,£,€

Ingredients of e-Taxonomy…

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A-B-C-D-…

…-X-Y-Z

But… something is missing?

Ingredients of e-Taxonomy…

$,£,€ A-B-C-D-…

…-X-Y-Z

But… something is missing?

You!

Ingredients of e-Taxonomy…

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You & your data(manage, share & integrate)

Scratchpads

Intuitively create, manage and share information on the webfor you and your community

You & your data(manage, share & integrate)

What is a Scratchpad?Content Management

Systembehind which sits

a database

What is a Scratchpad?Content Management

Systembehind which sits

a databasethat is easy to use &

infinitely customizable

Added taxonomic tools & services

Scratchpads created by you…

Scratchpads by taxa

… & more

• Birds

• Bees

• Cockroaches

• Corals

• Dung beetles

• Fungus gnats

• Lice

• Milichiid flies

• Mosquitoes

• Nanofossils

• Polychaetes

• Solanaceae

http://www.editwebrevisions.info/scratchpadSiteList

Scratchpad functions

… & more

• Bibliographies

• Checklists

• Classifications

• Custom data sets

• DNA sequences

• File stores

• Fora

• Image galleries

• Keys

• Maps

• Specimen lists

• Phylogenies

http://www.editwebrevisions.info/help

TEMPLATEPhasmids

CockroachesBlack flies LiceFungus Gnats

MilichiidaeNanofossils Costa RicaBees

MalvaceaeDung beetles PolychaetesFossil Insects

BirdsSolanaceae CoralsMosquitoes

Creating a new Scratchpad

TEMPLATE MASTER

Scratchpad Taskguide

http://yourSCRATCHPADaddress.info/taskguide

Scratchpad Help

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http://www.editwebrevisions.info/help

How to get a Scratchpad

• Biological Focus

• External Collaborator

Signup Requirements

• Name

• Scope

• Mission statement

• (Sub)domain name

• 3rd party API keys

Signup Form

http://www.editwebrevisions.info/application

Scratchpad Testdrive

Username: test

Password: password

Sandbox

Automatically resets every hour

http://sandbox.editwebrevisions.info/

Scratchpad Caveats- nothing could possibly go wrong

• All site changes arearchived (citable)

• Central backup every- Day (last 7)- Week (last 8)- Month (last 12)

- Year (last ?)

• Functionality warningsgiven in the screencast videos

• Tasks are graded1. No experience required2. Basic experience needed3. For an experienced user

Where is this leading…

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You

Where is this leading…

Where is this leading…- the way we publish is changing

The Scratchpads, EOL, & their successors will part of this change

Ultimately, these will become the publication

These capture the Scientific process as well as the product

Acknowledgements

• Simon Rycroft (Zoology)• Dave Roberts (Zoology)• Malcolm Scoble & Chris Lyal• Rod Page (Univ. of Glasgow)

Questions?