Abstract ID: 422

Geospatial web services applied to Biodiversity Modelling

Biodiversity research handles with huge volume of data from different sources. Methods for data analysis are used to allow researchers make inferences about diversity, abundance and spatial distribution of species over different geographical areas. By combining features of the physical landscape and the biological information of the species under investigation, biodiversity researchers build up predictive models for species occurrence and distribution. Models are used to biodiversity conservation policies. There is a lot of knowledge hidden on the model’s output. Biodiversity knowledge is essentially inserted on the modelling process, as well as, on the species distribution map or other results of a particular model. In order to advance on biodiversity studies, scientists should exchange models and their modelling process besides sharing data and conclusion notes. This work presents the Web Biodiversity Collaborative Modeling Services - WBCMS, a set of geospatial web services that supports sharing of experiments results and their modelling process in a species distribution modelling network. The WBCMS handles information about generation of modelling results, not just results themselves. This approach introduces a key idea, model instance, which includes the complete context of species distribution modelling. Researcher adds relevant data about the experiment to model instance. The scientist examines model instances, compares results, and uses them for his own models. The application supports queries, such as "What species are being modelled?", "Where does the data come from?", and "If I have a question, how can I look for similar results?". The WBCMS uses a model instances catalogue and calls external web services. The architecture proposed is prototyped and put to work on the OpenModeller Project, an international project for collaborative building of biodiversity models.

Session:  Biodiversity - Data/metadata integration and information dissemination: PPBio challenges and solutions.

Presentation Type:  Oral