Hi all - Hopefully a quick question / clarification. I was wondering if the definition below " ... the element in which observational data can be (and is) incorporated in existing Natural History collections data ... " also includes ecological / natural communities in addition to organisms? There is quite a wealth of information being collected at this broader more "habitat" level. If these type of data are implicitly covered, is there a need for clarity to explicitly state that observations include ecological communities in addition to organisms? Thanks - Lynn Lynn Kutner NatureServe Email: lynn_kutner@natureserve.org Phone: (303) 541-0360 www.natureserve.org -----Original Message----- From: Tdwg-obs-bounces@lists.tdwg.org [mailto:Tdwg-obs-bounces@lists.tdwg.org] On Behalf Of Steve Kelling Sent: Friday, November 11, 2005 1:36 PM To: Tdwg-obs@lists.tdwg.org Subject: [Tdwg-obs] Survey and Monitoring Greetings, I apologize for the delay in posting to the listserve. As I am sure it is true for you, it has been quite hectic for me. My feeling is that we have a good definition for the integrative element of observational data. That is, the element in which observational data can be (and is) incorporated in existing Natural History collections data. To reiterate; An observation is a collection event that describes a phenomenon, and is bound to the spatiotemporal location where it was made. Furthermore, an observation describes an occurrence and can be linked to descriptions of other occurrences.