Integrating the catalogue of Mexican biota: different approaches for different client perspectives
Diana Hernandez, Susana Ocegueda, Patricia Koleff, Sofia Escoto, Rocio Montiel
Abstract
The long-standing and ambitious aim of creating a unique index of the species of the world has stimulated the creation of local catalogues for biodiversity assessments. One of the main goals of CONABIO has been to gather, manage, analyze and disclose information on Mexican biodiversity, which is mainly based on specimen data acquired from national and international collections. But there is an outstanding problem: how to analyze biodiversity without standardized taxonomic information? Scientific names are the key data to organize and retrieve biological information however most of these names are still sparsely located in independent publications. In 1997, CONABIO started the creation of the Taxonomic Authority Catalogues. These hierarchical databases are organized by taxon and include valid names, as well as their synonyms, species distribution, and relevant additional information. They are always reviewed by expert taxonomists. To date, we have compiled a list of 32,000 valid species, 4,000 infraspecies, and 20,000 synonyms, representing around 18% of the estimated names of Mexican flora and fauna.
The catalogues are organized for separate taxonomic groups into a specialized information system developed by CONABIO called Biotica. Integration of all catalogues into a single index of the whole Mexican biota is our next goal with the aim of implementing generic user functions and facilitating cross-links with external information systems. The information is available in different electronic formats to encourage its diffusion to a broader audience. So far we have received positive responses from our users with respect to the use of multiple download formats and forms. These formats are available through our webpage http://www.conabio.gob.mx/informacion/catalogo_autoridades/doctos/electronicas.html. They are commonly used by scientists, high school and undergraduate students, decision makers, government officials and other relevant specialists. When constructing the index of the world’s biological diversity it is important to consider the widest range of users of this information in order to guarantee its uniqueness, reliability and utility.
The catalogues are organized for separate taxonomic groups into a specialized information system developed by CONABIO called Biotica. Integration of all catalogues into a single index of the whole Mexican biota is our next goal with the aim of implementing generic user functions and facilitating cross-links with external information systems. The information is available in different electronic formats to encourage its diffusion to a broader audience. So far we have received positive responses from our users with respect to the use of multiple download formats and forms. These formats are available through our webpage http://www.conabio.gob.mx/informacion/catalogo_autoridades/doctos/electronicas.html. They are commonly used by scientists, high school and undergraduate students, decision makers, government officials and other relevant specialists. When constructing the index of the world’s biological diversity it is important to consider the widest range of users of this information in order to guarantee its uniqueness, reliability and utility.