[tdwg-content] Darwin Core terms sex and lifeStage with mixed content

[Richard Pyle]

> Does the term “sex” need to be constrained to the case of one individual only, and not include individuals?

One thing to keep in mind:  sex is actually best not thought of as a property of an individual, but rather a property of an individual at a particular time (i.e., an Occurrence) (Note to Chuck: I know this isn't what you were suggesting, but your suggestion reminded me of it).  This is because many organisms change sex throughout their lifetimes.  So if pinning "sex" (and "lifestage") down to a particular individual (for which we have the new DwC class "Organism"), it should not be represented as a property of an individual/organism, but rather as a property of an individual/organism at a particular point in time (which we represent as Occurrences).

This seems like a nit-pick, but if this conversation leads to changes in DwC, I think it's important that we not allow it to lead to a step backwards.

Aloha,
Rich