I've submitted the following abstract to Biodiversity Next and would like to know if any of you would like to give a talk? I've requested a 90-minute slot. If you are interested, please email me with your name, affiliation, title, and 300 word (or less) abstract, and we will see where this goes.

How can specialized databases integrate information and work better together?  
Is following Darwin Core enough?

Invasive species databases and other specialized biodiversity information systems are being called more and more to share their information with one another (Zeller et al. 2005; Holdren 2013). Because of differences in data content and database purpose, much information from smaller datasets can be lost during the integration process into larger databases such as BISON, iDigBio, GBIF, and others (Costello et al. 2013).

The effort required for cross-walking data fields and for modifying database structure to accommodate new information is significant (Diepenbroek et al. 2014). Darwin Core extensions have been, and continue to be, created to facilitate the sharing of specialized datasets (Byrd 2018). However, following the guidelines set out in these extensions can be insufficient when their structure leans toward the flexible vs. requiring the use of controlled terms.

Participants in this symposium will be encouraged to share examples -- both challenges and successes -- they have encountered during their efforts to combine specialized datasets.

- Byrd C (2018) Adaptation of Darwin Core Standards and Development of New Standards for Geologic Specimens. Biodiversity Information Science and Standards 2: e25929. https://doi.org/10.3897/biss.2.25929

- Costello MJ, Michener MK, Gahegan M, Zhang ZQ, Bourne PE (2013) Biodiversity data should be published, cited, and peer reviewed. Trends in Ecology & Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2013.05.002

- Diepenbroek M, Glöckner FO, Grobe P, Güntsch A, Huber R, König-Ries B, Kostadinov I, Nieschulze J, Seeger B, Tolksdorf R, Triebel D, (2014) Towards an integrated biodiversity and ecological research data management and archiving platform: the German federation for the curation of biological data (GFBio). In: Plödereder E, Grunske L, Schneider E, Ull, D (Eds.), Informatik 2014. Bonn: Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. p1711-1721. https://dl.gi.de/handle/20.500.12116/2782

- Holdren JP (2013) Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research. Office of Science and Technology Policy Memorandum, United States Government, Washington, DC. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/ostp_public_access_memo_2013.pdf

- Zeller D, Froese R, and Paulya D (2005) On losing and recovering fisheries and marine science data. Marine Policy 29(1):69-73. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X04000193