TDWG/GBIF GUID-1 Workshop Report

[Ginzbarg, Steve]

Having worked with USDA PLANTS and ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic
Information System) taxonomic authority files which receive most of
their plant names from the BONAP database, I am keenly aware of the need
for globally unique identifiers for published taxonomic names. John
Kartesz sends annual updates to PLANTS but his database lacks stable
identifiers for taxonomic names. Without these identifiers, PLANTS must
rely on the text of the name itself to match the updates to the names
they have previously received from John. This is not easy since the text
of the name may have spelling corrections or changes in authors. Because
John's database is a synonymy stored as a flat file the same name may be
listed more than once as a synonym of different names. John includes the
nature of the synonymy, e.g. "p.p.", "auct. non", or "sensu" as part of
the authors. This results in two names which are actually the same
published name being listed more than once. Some specimens
determinations of a taxon in our collection databases will end up being
recorded as one of the duplicate names and some as the other.

I hope the GUID workshops will improve the situation. As Anita's message
demostrates, TDWG needs to do a better job of communicating to
biological community as a whole the relevance of what they are doing.   

Alec McClay's message of 1/26/2006 asks some very good questions about
the appropriate use of taxon identifiers:

In listings produced from the Flora of North America online each taxon
is given a taxon ID number (e.g., 250060722 Polygonum austiniae, see
http://www.efloras.org/browse.aspx?flora_id=1&start_taxon_id=126398).
I can't find any discussion on the site about the purpose or appropriate
use of these numbers. It's tempting to use them as a shorthand code for
that taxon in other reports, databases, etc., but is that an appropriate
use? Is anyone using them in that way or are they purely an internal
reference number in the www.efloras.org database? What exactly is the
taxon ID number tied to in the event of revisions, nomenclatural
changes, etc.?
Any advice would be gratefully received.

Alec McClay, Ph.D.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Taxacom Discussion List 
> [mailto:TAXACOM at LISTSERV.NHM.KU.EDU] On Behalf Of Anita F. Cholewa
> Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2006 7:59 AM
> To: TAXACOM at LISTSERV.NHM.KU.EDU
> Subject: Re: TDWG/GBIF GUID-1 Workshop Report
> 
> What are TCS, RDF, SEEK, ABCD, etc?
> More importantly how does this workshop help thosse of us at 
> university collections who are trying to database the 
> information from our specimens with few assistants and almost 
> no money to do so?
> 
> AFC
> _________
> 
> Anita F. Cholewa, Ph.D.
> 
> Curator of plants and Herbarium manager
> 
> Bell Museum of Natural History
> 
> University of Minnesota
> 
> 1445 Gortner Ave
> 
> St Paul MN 55108
> 
> 612-625-0215
>