data sharing: Errors creep in but not out

[Dave Vieglais]

One could argue that if several collections were accessible simultanteously,
then quality control could be enhanced.  For example, as Don mentioned, one
could query on Pungititus pungitius and obtain voucher information from
several different collections.  These could then be manually compared, or
simply plotted on a map.  Outliers could be readily identified by observing
the lay of the points.  Since the records returned from the search would
include institution and catalog numbers, the offending records can be
pin-pointed, and a polite note forwarded to the respective curator(s).

By combining data from many institutions in this manner, the amount of
information available to make such decisions is greatly enhanced.  Hence,
one could argue that collections "magically accessible from the net" have a
better opportunity for maintaining higher quality data.

As for identification, well that is a completely different issue.  Even if
there did exist a complete description for every organism, identification is
still an issue, that requires considerable expertise and specialist
knowledge.  I am not a systematist and so am not completely familiar with
the field and it's changes over time, but one does get the impression that
there is a decline in the number of experts in the field.  Perhaps one way
to reverse this trend is to make the information contained in the various
collections of greater value to scientists in various fields, commercial
operations (such as impact assessments and such), and the general public.
Increasing the quantity and quality of the data that is accessible is one
part of this.  Providing access to species descriptions, citations, and
other detailed information is another.  One could envison a type of
"integrated taxonomic information system" that could contain this type of
information and make it available to experts as well other interested
parties.

Dave V.


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Biological Systematics Discussion List
> [mailto:TAXACOM at cmsa.Berkeley.EDU]On Behalf Of Don McAllister
> Sent: Monday, December 07, 1998 1:18 AM
> To: Multiple recipients of list TAXACOM
> Subject: Re: data sharing: Errors creep in but not out
>
>
> Being stringent with data quality and hence audits is important.
> Once errors
> are published a whole train of records can be generated.  A case
> in point is the
> fish species, the ninespine stickleback, Pungititus pungitius.
>
...
> The long term answer is providing natural history collections
> with sufficient
> resources so that identifications can be periodically reviewed
> and updated.  The
> data is precious, invaluable - when it is reliable. The data
> serves all kinds of
> functions and the voucher specimens and expert care in the
> identification and
> data basing is well worth society's investment.
>
...
>
> don
> Don McAllister
>