Abstract Detail

Celebrating 15 years of SERNEC: Where we've been, where we are, and where we are going

Powell, Caleb [1], Motley, Jacob [2], Qin, Hong [3], Shaw, Joey [1].

“Born digital,” introducing a field-to-database workflow for herbaria. Caleb Powell, Jacob Motley, Hong Qin, and Joey Shaw. University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Botanists are accessioning thousands of records into herbaria each year. The digitization of these records into online portals such as iDigbio and SERNEC is rapidly improving the accessibility and usability of these data. However, many of these digital records are incomplete transcriptions of the physical counterparts. For example, only 52% of Plantae records on iDigbio contain the date of collection,yet, among those with date of collection there is a mean annual accession rate of over 170,000 records (2005 - 2015). The emergence of these portals imposes an additional responsibility for collection managers, the complete and accurate transcription of new accessions. “Born digital” records, those which have had their associated data initially gathered in digital formats do not require transcription. Here we introduce two, newly developed open source programs, collNotes and collBook. Together, they enable a field-to-database workflow for herbaria. A mobile application, collNotes was developed for Android and iOS devices to gather Darwin Core formatted field notes. A desktop application, collBook is available on Linux, OS X, and Windows for refining field notes into portal ready Darwin Core files ready for upload into Symbiota and specimen labels. Field note refinements include: reverse geocoding localities, taxonomic alignments, and creation of customizable labels.

Related Links:
Android and iOS Store link

1 - University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Biology, Geology and Environmental Science, 615 McCallie Ave, Dept 2653, Chattanooga, TN, 37403, US
2 - Georgia Institute of Technology, Computational Science and Engineering, North Avenue, Atlanta, GA, 30332, US
3 - University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Computer Science and Engineering, 615 McCallie Ave, Dept 2452, Chattanooga, TN, 37403, US

Keywords:
digitization
apps
cell phone app
digitized herbarium data
workflow
born digital
botany app
Symbiota
herbarium
herbaria.

Presentation Type: Colloquium Presentations
Session: CO05, Celebrating 15 years of SERNEC:Where we've been, where we are and where we are going
Location: Tucson H/Starr Pass
Date: Tuesday, July 30th, 2019
Time: 9:00 AM
Number: CO05004
Abstract ID:966
Candidate for Awards:None