Papers and Posters

Abstract

Building a Global Network using TDWG Standards
Donald Hobern, Global Biodiversity Information Facility Secretariat, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 København Ø , Denmark

The GBIF Network has been developed using TDWG standards to integrate specimen/observation data (DiGIR, including BioCASe modification; Darwin Core, including various extensions; ABCD Schema). GBIF also plans to integrate data using the Taxonomic Concept Transfer and Structured Descriptive Data Schemas.

The GBIF Data Portal (www.gbif.net) shows a simple prototype overview of the accessible data. The portal will soon be enhanced to offer XML web services for users to access data from throughout the network. These services will use the same data standards being used by the individual data providers.

These development activities have demonstrated the strengths of the existing TDWG standards and have also helped to highlight the value of some of the proposed updates to these standards, (particularly to the DiGIR-BioCASe protocol) and of the common access models included in the UBIF proposal.