Abstract Detail

Biodiversity Informatics & Herbarium Digitization

Andreski, Christina [1], Jolles, Diana [2].

Comparing the Quality of Various Open Sourced Datasets Utilizing Known Patterns of Edaphic Endemism and GIS Analyses.

Preserved specimens are valuable natural history collections that have been widely used to understand changes in species morphology and communities over time. While expert specimen collecting is becoming less common, an overwhelming amount of data collected by hobbyists is published publicly on apps like iNaturalist and Pl@ntNet daily. While there are ongoing concerns about the quality of data collected and verified by the general public, the simplicity and effortlessness of these apps make them popular, contributing massive amounts of data that may outweigh the taxonomic and geographic inaccuracies of some records. We wanted to test the quality and usability of these data by seeing if species that are normally considered edaphic endemics are supported as such by a GIS analysis overlaying species occurrences on corresponding substrates in New England. We used occurrence data from the Consortium of Northeastern Herbaria and GBIF as a way to compare datasets of varying accuracy and quality. We then set a standard projection to optimize the match between species occurrences and geographic areas of corresponding substrate. Here we present an assessment of (and commentary on) species substrate preferences and trends using openly available data on soils and species occurrences. This kind of study leverages the power of digitized plant records to change the way we think about substrate endemism.

1 - Plymouth State University, 115 Old North Groton Road, Apartment #1, Rumney, NH, 03266, United States
2 - Plymouth State University, Biological Sciences, 17 High Street, Msc 48, Plymouth, NH, 03264, United States

Keywords:
Edaphic Endemism
Substrate specialist
GIS analyses
herbarium specimen
spatial data
open source.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Number: BI&HD I004
Abstract ID:909
Candidate for Awards:None