June 2008 - tdwg - lists.tdwg.org

FW: ALA Newsletter 1
by Lee Belbin 14 Jun '08

14 Jun '08

I thought this first ALA Newsletter was well worth posting to the lists. Lee Belbin TDWG Secretariat From: Donald.Hobern(a)csiro.au [mailto:Donald.Hobern@csiro.au] Sent: Friday, 13 June 2008 10:15 AM To: Donald.Hobern(a)csiro.au Subject: ALA Newsletter 1 Atlas of Living Australia Newsletter 1 (10 June 2008) Welcome to the Atlas of Living Australia newsletter The Atlas of Living Australia project is now making progress and we plan to produce a regular informational newsletter to keep stakeholders and friends aware of what is happening. We would appreciate it if you could pass this first newsletter on to interested colleagues. Please send an email to Wolf Wanjura ( <mailto:Wolf.Wanjura@csiro.au> Wolf.Wanjura(a)csiro.au) if you wish to be added to the mailing list for this newsletter, or if you wish to be removed from the list. The project The Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) is a five-year project funded under the Australian Government's National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy ( <http://www.ala.org.au/ncris.htm> NCRIS) and involving a wide range of Australian scientific institutions and organisations (see <http://www.ala.org.au/participants.htm> http://www.ala.org.au/participants.htm) The goal of the project is to develop web-based tools to enable users to discover, access and use the widest possible range of information resources relating to Australia's fauna and flora, including databases from natural history collections and ecological field work, images and other multimedia, text documents, identification tools and molecular data. A presentation giving an overview of some of the planned project activities can be found at <http://www.ala.org.au/documents.htm> http://www.ala.org.au/documents.htm ( <http://www.ala.org.au/docs/ALAChallengesAndOpportunities.ppt> PowerPoint, 11.5MB; <http://www.ala.org.au/docs/ALAChallengesAndOpportunities.pdf> PDF, 2.3MB) ALA web site The ALA has launched its web site ( <http://www.ala.org.au/> http://www.ala.org.au/) At present it mostly comprises information about the project and its participant organisations, but the site will increasingly include information and discussions on the planning and implementation of the project. Ultimately it will become the ALA portal for discovering information on all Australian species. ALA user needs analysis What can you do for the ALA today? We need your contacts in biodiversity - lots of them, and from as many different fields as you can identify. We want to ask them (and you) a few simple questions. We have commissioned a small team to investigate how users access such information today and how they use it in their own studies and decision-making. Over the next few months, this team will be contacting many of you to learn more about your needs. Please give them your support - we want to understand how the ALA can become a useful tool for you in your work. For more information on this process, see <http://www.ala.org.au/userneedsanalysis.htm> http://www.ala.org.au/userneedsanalysis.htm. TDWG 2008 conference to be held in Perth TDWG, the international biodiversity information standards organisation ( <http://www.tdwg.org/> http://www.tdwg.org/) will hold its annual conference at the Western Australian Maritime Museum, Perth, 19-25 October 2008. One day of the conference will be devoted specifically to the Atlas of Living Australia and will include workshops to explore ways for the project to meet the needs of Australian researchers. For more information on the conference, see <http://www.ala.org.au/tdwg2008.htm> http://www.ala.org.au/tdwg2008.htm. ALA review of online and desktop tools Paul Flemons and John Tann from the Australian Museum have carried out an extensive review of software components which could feed into the development of the Atlas or which could be of benefit to data providers or users. The results of this review are online at <http://alatools.pbwiki.com/> http://alatools.pbwiki.com/. Please take a look at this resource and suggest any additional tools which should be included. For more information on this review, see <http://www.ala.org.au/toolsurvey.htm> http://www.ala.org.au/toolsurvey.htm. ALA and GBIF We have started discussions with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF, <http://www.gbif.org/> http://www.gbif.org/) to ensure that the ALA can act as the Australian node within GBIF. The ALA expects to reuse code from the GBIF Data Portal to develop its own cache of Australian biodiversity records. This cache will then serve as an efficient way to integrate Australian data into GBIF's global network. The ALA has also begun discussions with GBIF New Zealand on possible ways to share resources and align activity. Other activity Over the last few months the ALA team has been working on the following tasks: * Establishing the ALA web site * Interviewing candidates for the positions of ALA Architect, Metadata Curator and Java Developer * Developing the ALA's 2008-2009 Business Plan * Working with the <http://www.ala.org.au/ncris.htm> NCRIS Platforms for Collaboration capability's <http://www.ncris.dest.gov.au/capabilities/collaborative_investment_plan_pla tforms.htm#National_eResearch_Architecture_Taskforce_(NeAT)> NeAT programme to plan the development of the ALA's Metadata Repository and Data Annotation Services. * Meetings to explore possible collaborations with related organisations and projects, including contacts with representatives from Birds Australia, CSIRO Publishing, EarthWatch, GBIF New Zealand, the Murray Darling Basin Commission, Rio Tinto, the Subcommittee on Plant Health Diagnostic Standards and many of the ALA <http://www.ala.org.au/participants.htm> participants.

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Fwd: Biodiversity Informatics/Conservation Planning Specialist for Madagascar (with attachment)
by John R. WIECZOREK 11 Jun '08

11 Jun '08

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Claire Kremen <ckremen(a)gmail.com> Date: Jun 10, 2008 3:24 PM Subject: Biodiversity Informatics/Conservation Planning Specialist for Madagascar (with attachment) To: *Dear Colleagues* *Please circulate widely! Best wishes, Claire Kremen * * * *Biodiversity Informatics/Conservation Planning Specialist for Madagascar* *University** of California**, Berkeley* * * The *Reseau de la Biodiversite de Madagascar* (REBIOMA), joint project of University of California and Wildlife Conservation Society, works to support science-based marine and terrestrial conservation planning, through creation of a web-based biodiversity information system, capacity building, and development of conservation plans. We seek a scientist to provide technical support for conservation planning (marine and terrestrial); contribute to development of the REBIOMA web-portal; build capacity of the REBIOMA team; conduct grant management and project coordination. One year position (renewable contingent upon funding) available as soon as Aug 1, 2008, at the Assistant or Associate Specialist level (salary commensurate with experience ($38952 - $48372), reporting to Prof. Claire Kremen. Advanced degree in environmental field; experience in GIS, conservation planning and/or biodiversity informatics. Successful candidate should have experience in project management, good interpersonal skills, knowledge of French, and willingness to spend significant time in Madagascar. * * Submit a CV, brief letter, and names and contacts of 3 references to Jeanne G. Kassis (Position #101, Berkeley Natural History Museums, 3101 Valley Life Science Building, UC Berkeley, CA 94720 or by email attachments to kassj(a)berkeley.edu by July 26, 2008. Further information about the position and project is available at http://nature.berkeley.edu/kremenlab/kremen_research.html and attached.. The University of California, Berkeley, is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to excellence through diversity. -- Claire Kremen Assistant Professor Environmental Sciences Policy and Management 137 Mulford Hall University of California Berkeley, CA 94720-3114 510-643-6339 Fax 510-642-7428 http://nature.berkeley.edu/kremenlab/ http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/04/10_madagascar.shtml http://www.kqed.org/quest/television/view/434 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/12/MNU710263B.DTL

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Moving forward with Species Profile Model
by Eamonn O Tuama 06 Jun '08

06 Jun '08

Dear TDWG Members, Much was achieved for the Species Profile Model over quite a short period in 2007 but we need to ensure that development continues, and, in particular, that the SPM is actually tested in some real world applications so we can learn how to refine and enhance it. I am very happy to report that the first test case will commence soon when Plazi.org starts making species level information available as SPM compatible RDF data from documents processed through the GoldenGate/TaxonX system, and with EOL as the first client for such data. We hope that this will encourage others to also use the SPM for sharing species level information and/or to use such data in novel applications. What next for SPM in the TDWG context? I would highlight the following: 1. consider formally establishing SPM as a task under the Biological Descriptions Interest Group in order to take it forward through the TDWG standards process; 2. identify a champion for SPM who will take it forward; 3. continue to use the TDWG wiki (http://wiki.tdwg.org/SPM/) as a focal point for sharing information, but 4. also use the SPM mailing list (tdwg-spm(a)lists.tdwg.org) hosted by TDWG so that we will have an online archive of discussions; 5. create a core SPM group (open to all) which is credited on the SPM wiki; 6. task the SPM group with the main goal of developing a summary document with review/recommendations on how to move forward on SPM. So, let me know if you are interested in participating in the SPM task group. In addition, as a first essential step, please join the TDWG SPM maining list (tdwg-spm(a)lists.tdwg.org) and keep an eye on the SPM wiki (http://wiki.tdwg.org/SPM/) Best regards, Éamonn ________________________________________________________________ Éamonn Ó Tuama, Ph.D. (eotuama(a)gbif.org) Senior Programme Officer for Inventory, Discovery, Access (IDA), Global Biodiversity Information Facility Secretariat, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, DENMARK Phone: +45 3532 1494; Fax: +45 3532 1480

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TDWG 2008 in Fremantle, Western Australia
by Lee Belbin 03 Jun '08

03 Jun '08

Registration for TDWG 2008 is now open at www.TDWG.org/conference2008/registration. The conference will be held at the Maritime Museum of Western Australia in Fremantle, about 20km southwest of Perth. Details about the conference can be found on the TDWG site at http://www.tdwg.org/conference2008/. Note: The AUS$80 discount for registration will expire September 6. There is a wide range of accommodation available in Fremantle within easy walking distance to the museum. But, as Fremantle is small, there is not a lot of any one type of accommodation available. The 4.5 star Esplanade Hotel has discounted rates for the conference (quote "Biodiversity of Information Standards 2008"). A cost-effective option for Fremantle is to share a house or apartment. Most of these are close to the venue but you will have to book quickly as there are only a limited number available. Please see http://www.tdwg.org/conference2008/accommodation/ for all conference details and use our Wiki http://wiki.tdwg.org/twiki/bin/view/Conferences/SharedAccommodation to help find others who could share accommodation with you. The outline of the conference program can be found at http://www.tdwg.org/conference2008/program. Session Chairs are being identified and are now seeking presenters. If you wish to present an oral presentation, a poster or a computer-based demonstration, please contact the relevant Session Chair as soon as possible as they will be identifying speakers for their sessions. The program this year will centre around a the Atlas of Living Australia (Wednesday October 22). TDWG is keen to understand and to support this significant project. There is also a number of tutorials (session 8 and repeated session 13) that are aimed at presenting key TDWG activities in simple terms. Early registration for these tutorials would be appreciated. Please contact Adrian Rissone (a.rissone(at)nhm.ac.uk) for any other program details and lee(at)tdwg.org <mailto:lee@tdwg.org> for any other information. Lee Belbin TDWG Secretariat

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Biological Taxonomy Vocabulary 0.1
by Andy Mabbett 03 Jun '08

03 Jun '08

A friend writes: Unable to find a vocabulary that was satisfactory for my needs, I've put together a simple vocabulary for biological taxonomy. The idea is to make it powerful enough to cover 80% of use cases, but still simple for most non-expert biologists to use. Namespace and spec is: http://purl.org/NET/biol/0.1/ You can read his full post, and subsequent discussion, at: <http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/semantic-web/2008May/thread.html#msg45> (aka <http://tinyurl.com/575w25>) (Also posted to ttaxacom(a)mailman.nhm.ku.edu) -- Andy Mabbett

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