BioGeomancer

BioGeomancer workbench is an online georeferencing tool that returns the geographic coordinates of a location submitted as plain text.

Description

As an input, BioGeomancer can accept plain English descriptions, such as “15 km SW Bathurst”, convert these to computer-readable geographic locations and will display these locations on a Google map.

BioGeomancer 1

BioGeomancer implements the point-radius method. This method returns a single point and a circle of "uncertainty" around that point. Uncertainty depends on the quality of the locality description and the quality of the data used to map it.2

BioGeomancer workbench is available as either a single georeference workbench or a batch workbench.

In the single georeference workbench you can type or paste a locality description. If at least one possible location is found, all possible locations that appear to match the locality description are shown on the map. They are also listed in the legend and can be edited.

You can choose the location that is appropriate (by deleting all others); move it around to improve its position; and you can also edit the extent of uncertainty around that point. Finally you can copy the georeference to the clipboard and paste it into another program.3

The BioGeomancer research consortium is coordinated by the University of California at Berkeley, funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation,4 and includes a worldwide collaboration including Australian Biodiversity Information Services and Australian Museum.5

Function

• Data cleaning and manipulation
  • Georeferencing – applying latitude and longitude
• Visualisation tools
  • Maps
• Non-biological data
• User interface
  • Personal and institutional
  • Raw data and visual presentation

Why use this tool?

Over the past 250 years, biologists have gone into the field to collect specimens and associated environmental information documenting the range of life. The results of these explorations are an irreplaceable archive of Earth's biological diversity that plays a fundamental role in generating new knowledge and guiding conservation decisions. Yet, roughly one billion specimen records, and even more species observation records, remain practically unusable in their current form. 6

Georeferenced biocollection data is in high demand. Mapping species occurrence data is fundamental to describing and analysing biotic distributions. This information is also critical for conservation planning, reserve selection, monitoring, and examining the potential effects of climate change on biodiversity.7

 Who will use this tool?

BioGeomancer expects to "bring the cost to value ratio down to the point where every collection that seeks to make its data public will also seek to georeference those records". 8

• Data creation
• Data capture
  • Curators
• Data providers
  • Institutions
  • Private collections
  • Casual users
• Data users
  • Expert
  • Interest groups
• ALA infrastructure

 How will the tool be used?

• Online tool
• User input is required for the single georeferenced mode - location description in English
• Batch submission – under development

 Where in the data chain could this tool be used?

• Data source
• ALA central
• User’s machine

 When could this tool be used?

• Before data is made available to ALA
• While data is stored with ALA
• At the time of a user request

Availability

• BioGeomancer: http://www.biogeomancer.org/
• BioGeomancer workbench: http://bg.berkeley.edu/latest/
• Help: http://groups.google.com/group/biogeomancer-workbench-support/web/biogeomancer-workbench-help
• BioGeomancer Core: http://code.google.com/p/biogeomancer-core/
• BioGeomancer Workbench development: http://code.google.com/p/biogeomancer-workbench/
• Article in PLoS Biology 4 November 2006: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1637066
• Cost: free
• Copyright: http://www.biogeomancer.org/copyright.html
• Licence: Unknown

Comments

The BioGeomancer project has also developed a Guide to best practices for georeferencing9

A single georeferenced request can take 20 seconds or more. These times may improve if hosted locally.

Under development is a Georeferencing Web Service that "accepts a DwC record and returns that record along with all georeferences for it generated by the BioGeomancer Core API".10