Weisbecker Vera, Fusco Diana, Ingleby Sandy, Lambrides Ariana B J, Manne Tiina, Maguire Keith, O'Connor Sue, Peachey Thomas J, Samper Carro Sofia C, Stemmer David, Ristevski Jorgo, van Zoelen Jacob D, Viacava Pietro, Yates Adam M, Mein Erin
College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH), Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University and CABAH, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Bioscience. 2025 Jun 10;75(9):747-756. doi: 10.1093/biosci/biaf064. eCollection 2025 Sep.
Billions of specimens are in biodiversity collections worldwide, and this infrastructure is crucial for research on Earth's natural history. Three-dimensional (3D) imagery of specimens is an increasingly important part of the digital extended specimen network of metadata. Open-access, high-fidelity 3D imagery of biodiversity specimens improves researcher efficiency and equity and increases public engagement with collections. We introduce Ozboneviz, an open-access collection of FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) 3D imagery aiming to enhance research capacity in Australasian vertebrate skeletal morphology. Ozboneviz is an Australian test case demonstrating the feasibility of creating multi-institutional, FAIR 3D biodiversity imagery collections. We outline its project design, challenges, and use by the international research community. We then discuss the urgent need for investment in infrastructure and curatorial support to progress the digitization of Australian biodiversity collections in a way that maximizes stakeholder benefit and facilitates 3D data discoverability and retrieval.
全球生物多样性收藏中存有数十亿份标本，这一基础设施对于地球自然历史研究至关重要。标本的三维（3D）图像是元数据数字扩展标本网络中日益重要的一部分。生物多样性标本的开放获取、高保真3D图像提高了研究人员的效率和公平性，并增加了公众对收藏的参与度。我们推出了Ozboneviz，这是一个开放获取的、符合FAIR原则（可查找、可访问、可互操作、可重用）的3D图像集合，旨在提高澳大利亚脊椎动物骨骼形态学的研究能力。Ozboneviz是一个澳大利亚的案例，展示了创建多机构、符合FAIR原则的3D生物多样性图像集合的可行性。我们概述了其项目设计、挑战以及国际研究界的使用情况。然后，我们讨论了迫切需要投资基础设施和策展支持，以推动澳大利亚生物多样性收藏的数字化，从而最大限度地提高利益相关者的利益，并促进3D数据的发现和检索。
