Spaulding Sarah A, Potapova Marina G, Bishop Ian W, Lee Sylvia S, Gasperak Tim S, Jovanoska Elena, Furey Paula C, Edlund Mark B
U.S. Geological Survey/INSTAAR, 4001 Discovery Drive, Boulder, CO 80309.
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103.
Diatom Res. 2022 Jan 11;36(4):291-304. doi: 10.1080/0269249X.2021.2006790.
Consistent identification of diatoms is a prerequisite for studying their ecology, biogeography, and successful application as environmental indicators. However, taxonomic consistency among observers has been difficult to achieve, because taxonomic information is scattered across numerous literature sources, presenting challenges to the diatomist. First, literature is often inaccessible because of cost, or its location in journals that are not widely circulated. Second, taxonomic revisions of diatoms are taking place faster than floras can be updated. Finally, taxonomic information is often contradictory across literature sources. These issues can be addressed by developing a content creation community dedicated to making taxonomic, ecological, and image-based data freely available for diatom researchers. Diatoms.org represents such a content curation community, providing open, online access to a vast amount of recent and historical information on North American diatom taxonomy and ecology. The content curation community aggregates existing taxonomic information, creates new content, and provides feedback in the form of corrections and notice of literature with nomenclatural changes. The website not only addresses the needs of experienced diatom scientists for consistent identification, but is also designed to meet users at their level of expertise, including engaging the lay public in the importance of diatom science. The website now contains over 1000 species pages contributed by over 100 content contributors, from students to established scientists. The project began with the intent to provide accurate information on diatom identification, ecology, and distribution using an approach that incorporates engaging design, user feedback, and advanced data access technology. In retrospect, the project that began as an "extended electronic book" has emerged not only as a means to support taxonomists, but for practitioners to communicate and collaborate, expanding the size of and benefits to the content curation community. In this paper, we outline the development of diatoms.org, document key elements of the project, examine ongoing challenges, and consider the unexpected emergent properties, including the value of diatoms.org as a source of data. Ultimately, if the field of diatom taxonomy, ecology, and biodiversity is to be relevant, a new generation of taxonomists needs to be trained and employed using new tools. We propose that diatoms.org is in a key position to serve as a hub of training and continuity for the study of diatom biodiversity and aquatic conditions.
对硅藻进行一致的鉴定是研究其生态学、生物地理学以及将其成功用作环境指标的前提条件。然而，观测者之间的分类一致性一直难以实现，因为分类信息分散在众多文献来源中，给硅藻研究人员带来了挑战。首先，由于成本问题或文献所在期刊发行量不大，往往难以获取文献。其次，硅藻分类修订的速度比植物志更新的速度快。最后，不同文献来源的分类信息常常相互矛盾。通过建立一个致力于为硅藻研究人员免费提供分类、生态和基于图像的数据的内容创作社区，可以解决这些问题。Diatoms.org就是这样一个内容管理社区，它提供了开放的在线访问渠道，可获取大量关于北美硅藻分类学和生态学的最新及历史信息。该内容管理社区汇总现有的分类信息，创建新内容，并以更正和命名变化文献通知的形式提供反馈。该网站不仅满足了经验丰富的硅藻科学家对一致鉴定的需求，还根据用户的专业水平进行设计，包括让普通公众了解硅藻科学的重要性。该网站目前包含由100多名内容贡献者（从学生到知名科学家）贡献的1000多个物种页面。该项目最初旨在通过结合引人入胜的设计、用户反馈和先进的数据访问技术，提供有关硅藻鉴定、生态学和分布的准确信息。回顾过去，这个最初作为“扩展电子书”启动的项目不仅成为支持分类学家的一种手段，也成为从业者交流与合作的平台，扩大了内容管理社区的规模并带来了更多益处。在本文中，我们概述了Diatoms.org的发展历程，记录了该项目的关键要素，审视了持续存在的挑战，并考虑了意外出现的特性，包括Diatoms.org作为数据来源的价值。最终，如果硅藻分类学、生态学和生物多样性领域要保持相关性，就需要使用新工具培养和聘用新一代分类学家。我们认为Diatoms.org处于关键地位，可作为硅藻生物多样性和水生条件研究的培训和延续中心。
