• DOI:10.3389/fams.2017.00013
• Corpus ID: 38808578

Seven Recommendations to Make Your Invasive Alien Species Data More Useful

@article{Groom2017SevenRT,
  title={Seven Recommendations to Make Your Invasive Alien Species Data More Useful},
  author={Quentin John Groom and Tim Adriaens and Peter Desmet and Annie Simpson and Aaike De Wever and Ioannis Bazos and Ana Cristina Cardoso and L. M. F. Charles and Anastasia Christopoulou and Anna Gazda and H-S. Helmisaari and Donald Hobern and Melanie Josefsson and Frances Lucy and Dragana Marisavljevi{\'c} and Tomasz Oszako and Jan Pergl and Olivera Petrovic-Obradovic and C{\'e}line Pr{\'e}vot and Hans Peter Ravn and Gareth Richards and Alain Roques and Helen E. Roy and M. A. Rozenberg and Riccardo Scalera and Elena Tricarico and Teodora Trichkova and Diemer Vercayie and Argyro Zenetos and Sonia Vanderhoeven},
  journal={Frontiers Appl. Math. Stat.},
  year={2017},
  volume={3},
  pages={13}
}

• Q. Groom, T. Adriaens, +27 authors S. Vanderhoeven
• Published 30 June 2017
• Computer Science, Environmental Science
• Frontiers Appl. Math. Stat.

Science-based strategies to tackle biological invasions depend on recent, accurate, well-documented, standardised and openly accessible information on alien species. Currently and historically, biodiversity data are scattered in numerous disconnected data silos that lack interoperability. The situation is no different for alien species data, and this obstructs efficient retrieval, combination, and use of these kinds of information for research and policy-making. Standardization and interoperability are particularly important as many alien species related research and policy activities require pooling data. We describe seven ways that data on alien species can be made more accessible and useful: 1) Create data management plans; 2) Increase interoperability of information sources; 3) Document data through metadata; 4) Format data using existing standards; 5) Adopt controlled vocabularies; 6) Increase data availability; and 7) Ensure long-term data preservation. We identify four properties specific and integral to alien species data (species status, introduction pathway, degree of establishment, and impact mechanism) that are either missing from existing data standards or lack a recommended controlled vocabulary. Improved access to accurate, real-time and historical data will repay the long-term investment in data management infrastructure, by providing more accurate, timely and realistic analyses. If we improve core biodiversity data standards by developing their relevance to alien species, it will allow the automation of common activities regarding data processing in support of environmental policy. Furthermore, we call for considerable effort to maintain, update, standardise, archive, and aggregate datasets, to ensure proper valorisation of alien species data and information before they become obsolete or lost.