Project: OBIS
Name: OBIS
Institution: OBIS
InfoURL: https://obis.org/dataset/debc8f44-f70f-4d30-821e-d3a705f62cfb
Source URL: https://obis.org/dataset/debc8f44-f70f-4d30-821e-d3a705f62cfb
OBIS Data - Puget Sound Zooplankton Monitoring Program (Salish Sea, USA), starting in 2014
Unknown
tabular digital data
Seattle, WA, USA
ERDDAP, version 2.25_1, at NANOOS
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.graph
OBIS
The Puget Sound Zooplankton Monitoring Program (PSZMP) is an ongoing collaborative effort involving tribal, county, state, federal, academic, and non-profit organizations working in and around the Salish Sea. The program began in 2014 and is designed to assist efforts in 1) understanding how changes in the local vs oceanic physical environment translate up the food web in Puget Sound, and 2) measuring how the prey field of salmon and other fishes varies spatio-temporally and correlates with fish survival.
Samples are collected at 16 sites across Puget Sound on either a bi-weekly or monthly , depending on the sampling group and season. Vertical tows of a ring net are conducted to capture zooplankton throughout the depth of the water column. Oblique tows of a bongo net are used to sample larger, more motile zooplankton inhabiting the upper 30 m of the water column. After collection, zooplankton are quantitatively subsampled and microscopically counted, with zooplankton densities and biomass computed. All individuals are identified to species or larger taxonomic grouping, and by life stages for some species, within each sample.
Unknown
https://obis.org/dataset/debc8f44-f70f-4d30-821e-d3a705f62cfb
Unknown
Unknown
ground condition
As needed
-180.0
180.0
90.0
-90.0
Uncontrolled
4d30
821e
biogeographic
d3a705f62cfb
data
debc8f44
debc8f44-f70f-4d30-821e-d3a705f62cfb
f70f
information
obis
ocean
server
system
CF Standard Name Table v55
longitude
latitude
altitude
time
None.
The data may be used and redistributed for free but is not intended
for legal use, since it may contain inaccuracies. Neither the data
Contributor, ERD, NOAA, nor the United States Government, nor any
of their employees or contractors, makes any warranty, express or
implied, including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a
particular purpose, or assumes any legal liability for the accuracy,
completeness, or usefulness, of this information.
By using OBIS data, I agree that, in any publication or presentation
of any sort based wholly or in part on such data, I will:
1. Acknowledge the use of specific records from contributing databases
in the form appearing in the GLOBAL 'citation' attribute thereof (if any);
and acknowledge the use of the OBIS facility in one of the following
prescribed forms:
For OBIS website:
Ocean Biogeographic Information System. [date accessed]
https://obis.org/dataset/debc8f44-f70f-4d30-821e-d3a705f62cfb
For data used:
Author, initials. Database title. Retrieved [date accessed] from
https://obis.org/dataset/debc8f44-f70f-4d30-821e-d3a705f62cfb
Example:
Stocks, K. SeamountsOnline: an online information system for seamount
biology. Version 3.1. Retrieved [date accessed] from
https://obis.org/dataset/debc8f44-f70f-4d30-821e-d3a705f62cfb.
2. For information purposes, provide to null
the full citation of any publication I make (printed or electronic)
that cites OBIS or any constituent part.
3. Recognize the limitations of data in OBIS:
OBIS is comparable to a scientific journal that makes data freely
available on the internet. Thus the geographic and taxonomic scope,
and quantity of data provided, depend on the scientists and
organizations that provide data. However, in contrast to data in a
journal, the 'reader' can select and combine data in OBIS from a
variety of sources. OBIS and its users give feedback on data quality
and possible errors to data providers. Because data providers are
willing to correct errors, the quality of the data will increase in
time. How OBIS provides quality assurance, who is primarily
responsible for data published in OBIS (its owners), issues to be
considered in using the data, and known gaps in the data, are
described below.
Quality assurance
Only data from authoritative scientists and science organizations
approved by OBIS are served. All data are subject to quality control
procedures before publication, and at regular intervals, with data
providers informed of any discrepancies and potential errors (e.g.
species names spelt incorrectly, mapping errors). OBIS also benefits
from user peer-review and feedback to identify technical, geographic,
and taxonomic errors in data served. However, although errors will
exist as they do in any publication, OBIS is confident that the data
are the best available in electronic form. That said, the user needs
sufficient knowledge to judge the appropriate use of the data, i.e.
for what purpose it is fit.
Many of the data published through OBIS have voucher specimens in
institutional collections and museums, images of observations, and
the original identifier of the specimens is often credited or will
be contactable from the data custodian.
Data ownership
Data providers retain ownership of the data provided. OBIS does not
own or control or limit the use of any data or products accessible
through its website. Accordingly, it does not take responsibility
for the quality of such data or products, or the use that people may
make of them.
Data use
Appropriate caution is necessary in the interpretation of results
derived from OBIS. Users must recognize that the analysis and
interpretation of data require background knowledge and expertise
about marine biodiversity (including ecosystems and taxonomy).
Users should be aware of possible errors, including in the use of
species names, geo-referencing, data handling, and mapping. They
should cross-check their results for possible errors, and qualify
their interpretation of any results accordingly.
Users should be aware that OBIS is a gateway to a system of databases
distributed around the world. More information on OBIS data is
available from the data sources websites and contact persons. Users
should email any questions concerning OBIS data or tools (e.g. maps)
to the appropriate contact person and copy this request to
null .
Data gaps
Major gaps in data and knowledge about the oceans are reflected in
OBIS' data coverage. Note the following:
Most of the planet is more than 1 km under water: this deep sea is
the least surveyed part of our world.
Coastal areas have been adequately sampled only for the distribution
of most vertebrates (birds, mammals, reptiles, larger fish).
The oceans have been better sampled in the northern than the
southern hemisphere, as reflected in the distribution of data in
OBIS.
Most marine species have not yet been recognized or named. A major
effort is required to describe marine species, especially
invertebrates and deep-sea organisms.
Of the marine species that have been described, some have been
discovered to be several species, and others combined into single
species. Thus, there are changes in the application of species names
over time. A checklist of all current marine species names is not
available but it is estimated that 230,000 have been described.
Only about half of these names have been organized into global
species checklists. OBIS includes distribution data on (a) many of
these validated names and (b) additional names that remain to be
organized into global species checklists. Thus, OBIS has some
distribution data for about one third of the known marine species.
Some species distribution data are not available in any form, as
they have not have been published nor made available for databases.
Only some of the recently collected, and less of the older published,
data have been entered into databases. Thus databases are incomplete.
Of existing databases, many are not connected to OBIS.
You can help address these data gaps by (a) recognizing and
encouraging scientists and organizations to make their data available
online so they are accessible to OBIS, and (b) advocating for and
carrying out field surveys and taxonomic studies designed to fill
geographic and taxonomic gaps in knowledge.
OBIS
OBIS
Unknown
Mailing and Physical Address
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.graph
Web page to make a customized map or graph of the data
HTML
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Point
Point
NANOOS
APL Software
ERDDAP administrator
Mailing and Physical Address
1013 NE 40th St
Seattle
WA
98105
USA
206-543-1300
aplsoftwaresysadmins@uw.edu
ERDDAP, version 2.25_1: get metadata; download data; make graphs and maps.
The data may be used and redistributed for free but is not intended
for legal use, since it may contain inaccuracies. Neither the data
Contributor, ERD, NOAA, nor the United States Government, nor any
of their employees or contractors, makes any warranty, express or
implied, including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a
particular purpose, or assumes any legal liability for the accuracy,
completeness, or usefulness, of this information.
By using OBIS data, I agree that, in any publication or presentation
of any sort based wholly or in part on such data, I will:
1. Acknowledge the use of specific records from contributing databases
in the form appearing in the GLOBAL 'citation' attribute thereof (if any);
and acknowledge the use of the OBIS facility in one of the following
prescribed forms:
For OBIS website:
Ocean Biogeographic Information System. [date accessed]
https://obis.org/dataset/debc8f44-f70f-4d30-821e-d3a705f62cfb
For data used:
Author, initials. Database title. Retrieved [date accessed] from
https://obis.org/dataset/debc8f44-f70f-4d30-821e-d3a705f62cfb
Example:
Stocks, K. SeamountsOnline: an online information system for seamount
biology. Version 3.1. Retrieved [date accessed] from
https://obis.org/dataset/debc8f44-f70f-4d30-821e-d3a705f62cfb.
2. For information purposes, provide to null
the full citation of any publication I make (printed or electronic)
that cites OBIS or any constituent part.
3. Recognize the limitations of data in OBIS:
OBIS is comparable to a scientific journal that makes data freely
available on the internet. Thus the geographic and taxonomic scope,
and quantity of data provided, depend on the scientists and
organizations that provide data. However, in contrast to data in a
journal, the 'reader' can select and combine data in OBIS from a
variety of sources. OBIS and its users give feedback on data quality
and possible errors to data providers. Because data providers are
willing to correct errors, the quality of the data will increase in
time. How OBIS provides quality assurance, who is primarily
responsible for data published in OBIS (its owners), issues to be
considered in using the data, and known gaps in the data, are
described below.
Quality assurance
Only data from authoritative scientists and science organizations
approved by OBIS are served. All data are subject to quality control
procedures before publication, and at regular intervals, with data
providers informed of any discrepancies and potential errors (e.g.
species names spelt incorrectly, mapping errors). OBIS also benefits
from user peer-review and feedback to identify technical, geographic,
and taxonomic errors in data served. However, although errors will
exist as they do in any publication, OBIS is confident that the data
are the best available in electronic form. That said, the user needs
sufficient knowledge to judge the appropriate use of the data, i.e.
for what purpose it is fit.
Many of the data published through OBIS have voucher specimens in
institutional collections and museums, images of observations, and
the original identifier of the specimens is often credited or will
be contactable from the data custodian.
Data ownership
Data providers retain ownership of the data provided. OBIS does not
own or control or limit the use of any data or products accessible
through its website. Accordingly, it does not take responsibility
for the quality of such data or products, or the use that people may
make of them.
Data use
Appropriate caution is necessary in the interpretation of results
derived from OBIS. Users must recognize that the analysis and
interpretation of data require background knowledge and expertise
about marine biodiversity (including ecosystems and taxonomy).
Users should be aware of possible errors, including in the use of
species names, geo-referencing, data handling, and mapping. They
should cross-check their results for possible errors, and qualify
their interpretation of any results accordingly.
Users should be aware that OBIS is a gateway to a system of databases
distributed around the world. More information on OBIS data is
available from the data sources websites and contact persons. Users
should email any questions concerning OBIS data or tools (e.g. maps)
to the appropriate contact person and copy this request to
null .
Data gaps
Major gaps in data and knowledge about the oceans are reflected in
OBIS' data coverage. Note the following:
Most of the planet is more than 1 km under water: this deep sea is
the least surveyed part of our world.
Coastal areas have been adequately sampled only for the distribution
of most vertebrates (birds, mammals, reptiles, larger fish).
The oceans have been better sampled in the northern than the
southern hemisphere, as reflected in the distribution of data in
OBIS.
Most marine species have not yet been recognized or named. A major
effort is required to describe marine species, especially
invertebrates and deep-sea organisms.
Of the marine species that have been described, some have been
discovered to be several species, and others combined into single
species. Thus, there are changes in the application of species names
over time. A checklist of all current marine species names is not
available but it is estimated that 230,000 have been described.
Only about half of these names have been organized into global
species checklists. OBIS includes distribution data on (a) many of
these validated names and (b) additional names that remain to be
organized into global species checklists. Thus, OBIS has some
distribution data for about one third of the known marine species.
Some species distribution data are not available in any form, as
they have not have been published nor made available for databases.
Only some of the recently collected, and less of the older published,
data have been entered into databases. Thus databases are incomplete.
Of existing databases, many are not connected to OBIS.
You can help address these data gaps by (a) recognizing and
encouraging scientists and organizations to make their data available
online so they are accessible to OBIS, and (b) advocating for and
carrying out field surveys and taxonomic studies designed to fill
geographic and taxonomic gaps in knowledge.
.asc
1
View OPeNDAP-style ISO-8859-1 comma-separated text. https://docs.opendap.org/index.php/UserGuideOPeNDAPMessages#ASCII_Service
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.csv
1
Download a ISO-8859-1 comma-separated text table (line 1: names; line 2: units; ISO 8601 times). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comma-separated_values
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.csvp
1
Download a ISO-8859-1 .csv file with line 1: name (units). Times are ISO 8601 strings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comma-separated_values
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.csv0
1
Download a ISO-8859-1 .csv file without column names or units. Times are ISO 8601 strings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comma-separated_values
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.dataTable
1
A JSON file formatted for use with the Google Visualization client library (Google Charts). https://developers.google.com/chart/interactive/docs/reference#dataparam
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.das
1
View the dataset's metadata via an ISO-8859-1 OPeNDAP Dataset Attribute Structure (DAS). https://docs.opendap.org/index.php/UserGuideOPeNDAPMessages#Dataset_Attribute_Structure
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.dds
1
View the dataset's structure via an ISO-8859-1 OPeNDAP Dataset Descriptor Structure (DDS). https://docs.opendap.org/index.php/UserGuideOPeNDAPMessages#Dataset_Descriptor_Structure
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.dods
1
OPeNDAP clients use this to download the data in the DODS binary format. https://docs.opendap.org/index.php/UserGuideOPeNDAPMessages#Data_Transmission
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.esriCsv
1
Download a ISO_8859_1 .csv file for ESRI's ArcGIS 9.x and below (separate date and time columns). https://support.esri.com/technical-article/000012745
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.fgdc
1
View the dataset's UTF-8 FGDC .xml metadata. https://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/FGDC-standards-projects/metadata/base-metadata/index_html
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.geoJson
1
Download longitude,latitude,otherColumns data as a UTF-8 GeoJSON .json file. http://wiki.geojson.org/Main_Page
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.graph
1
View a Make A Graph web page. https://coastwatch.pfeg.noaa.gov/erddap/tabledap/documentation.html#GraphicsCommands
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.help
1
View a web page with a description of tabledap. https://www.opendap.org/pdf/ESE-RFC-004v1.2.pdf
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.html
1
View an OPeNDAP-style HTML Data Access Form. https://docs.opendap.org/index.php/UserGuideOPeNDAPMessages#WWW_Interface_Service
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.htmlTable
1
View a UTF-8 .html web page with the data in a table. Times are ISO 8601 strings. https://www.w3schools.com/html/html_tables.asp
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.iso19115
1
View the dataset's ISO 19115-2/19139 UTF-8 .xml metadata. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geospatial_metadata
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.itx
1
Download an ISO-8859-1 Igor Text File. Each response column becomes a wave. https://www.wavemetrics.net/doc/igorman/II-09%20Data%20Import%20Export.pdf
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.json
1
View a table-like UTF-8 JSON file (missing value = 'null'; times are ISO 8601 strings). https://www.json.org/
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.jsonlCSV1
1
View a UTF-8 JSON Lines CSV file with column names on line 1 (mv = 'null'; times are ISO 8601 strings). https://jsonlines.org/
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.jsonlCSV
1
View a UTF-8 JSON Lines CSV file without column names (mv = 'null'; times are ISO 8601 strings). https://jsonlines.org/
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.jsonlKVP
1
View a UTF-8 JSON Lines file with Key:Value pairs (missing value = 'null'; times are ISO 8601 strings). https://jsonlines.org/
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.mat
1
Download a MATLAB binary file. https://www.mathworks.com/
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.nc
1
Download a flat, table-like, NetCDF-3 binary file with COARDS/CF/ACDD metadata. https://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/netcdf/
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.ncHeader
1
View the UTF-8 header (the metadata) for the NetCDF-3 .nc file. https://linux.die.net/man/1/ncdump
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.ncCF
1
Download a NetCDF-3 CF Discrete Sampling Geometries file (Contiguous Ragged Array). https://cfconventions.org/Data/cf-conventions/cf-conventions-1.8/cf-conventions.html#discrete-sampling-geometries
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.ncCFHeader
1
View the UTF-8 header (the metadata) for the .ncCF file. https://linux.die.net/man/1/ncdump
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.ncCFMA
1
Download a NetCDF-3 CF Discrete Sampling Geometries file (Multidimensional Array). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/netcdf-templates
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.ncCFMAHeader
1
View the UTF-8 header (the metadata) for the .ncCFMA file. https://linux.die.net/man/1/ncdump
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.nccsv
1
Download a NetCDF-3-like 7-bit ASCII NCCSV .csv file with COARDS/CF/ACDD metadata. https://erddap.github.io/NCCSV.html
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.nccsvMetadata
1
View the dataset's metadata as the top half of a 7-bit ASCII NCCSV .csv file. https://erddap.github.io/NCCSV.html
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.ncoJson
1
Download a UTF-8 NCO lvl=2 JSON file with COARDS/CF/ACDD metadata. https://nco.sourceforge.net/nco.html#json
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.odvTxt
1
Download longitude,latitude,time,otherColumns as an ISO-8859-1 ODV Generic Spreadsheet File (.txt). https://odv.awi.de/en/documentation/
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.parquet
1
Download as a parquet file. Metadata contains column names ("column_names") and units ("column_units"). https://parquet.apache.org/
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.parquetWMeta
1
Download as a parquet file with detailed metadata. https://parquet.apache.org/
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.subset
1
View an HTML form which uses faceted search to simplify picking subsets of the data. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faceted_search
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.tsv
1
Download a ISO-8859-1 tab-separated text table (line 1: names; line 2: units; ISO 8601 times). https://jkorpela.fi/TSV.html
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.tsvp
1
Download a ISO-8859-1 .tsv file with line 1: name (units). Times are ISO 8601 strings. https://jkorpela.fi/TSV.html
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.tsv0
1
Download a ISO-8859-1 .tsv file without column names or units. Times are ISO 8601 strings. https://jkorpela.fi/TSV.html
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.wav
1
Download a .wav audio file. All columns must be numeric and of the same type. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAV
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.xhtml
1
View a UTF-8 XHTML (XML) file with the data in a table. Times are ISO 8601 strings. https://www.w3schools.com/html/html_tables.asp
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.html
.kml
1
View a .kml file, suitable for Google Earth. https://developers.google.com/kml/
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.graph
.smallPdf
1
View a small .pdf image file with a graph or map. https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/about-adobe-pdf.html
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.graph
.pdf
1
View a standard, medium-sized .pdf image file with a graph or map. https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/about-adobe-pdf.html
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.graph
.largePdf
1
View a large .pdf image file with a graph or map. https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/about-adobe-pdf.html
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.graph
.smallPng
1
View a small .png image file with a graph or map. http://www.libpng.org/pub/png/
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.graph
.png
1
View a standard, medium-sized .png image file with a graph or map. http://www.libpng.org/pub/png/
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.graph
.largePng
1
View a large .png image file with a graph or map. http://www.libpng.org/pub/png/
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.graph
.transparentPng
1
View a .png image file (just the data, without axes, landmask, or legend). http://www.libpng.org/pub/png/
https://erddap.nanoos.org/erddap/tabledap/obis_pszmp.graph
None
20260409
NANOOS
APL Software
ERDDAP administrator
Mailing and Physical Address
1013 NE 40th St
Seattle
WA
98105
USA
206-543-1300
aplsoftwaresysadmins@uw.edu
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
FGDC-STD-012-2002
universal time
None.
The data may be used and redistributed for free but is not intended
for legal use, since it may contain inaccuracies. Neither the data
Contributor, ERD, NOAA, nor the United States Government, nor any
of their employees or contractors, makes any warranty, express or
implied, including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a
particular purpose, or assumes any legal liability for the accuracy,
completeness, or usefulness, of this information.
By using OBIS data, I agree that, in any publication or presentation
of any sort based wholly or in part on such data, I will:
1. Acknowledge the use of specific records from contributing databases
in the form appearing in the GLOBAL 'citation' attribute thereof (if any);
and acknowledge the use of the OBIS facility in one of the following
prescribed forms:
For OBIS website:
Ocean Biogeographic Information System. [date accessed]
https://obis.org/dataset/debc8f44-f70f-4d30-821e-d3a705f62cfb
For data used:
Author, initials. Database title. Retrieved [date accessed] from
https://obis.org/dataset/debc8f44-f70f-4d30-821e-d3a705f62cfb
Example:
Stocks, K. SeamountsOnline: an online information system for seamount
biology. Version 3.1. Retrieved [date accessed] from
https://obis.org/dataset/debc8f44-f70f-4d30-821e-d3a705f62cfb.
2. For information purposes, provide to null
the full citation of any publication I make (printed or electronic)
that cites OBIS or any constituent part.
3. Recognize the limitations of data in OBIS:
OBIS is comparable to a scientific journal that makes data freely
available on the internet. Thus the geographic and taxonomic scope,
and quantity of data provided, depend on the scientists and
organizations that provide data. However, in contrast to data in a
journal, the 'reader' can select and combine data in OBIS from a
variety of sources. OBIS and its users give feedback on data quality
and possible errors to data providers. Because data providers are
willing to correct errors, the quality of the data will increase in
time. How OBIS provides quality assurance, who is primarily
responsible for data published in OBIS (its owners), issues to be
considered in using the data, and known gaps in the data, are
described below.
Quality assurance
Only data from authoritative scientists and science organizations
approved by OBIS are served. All data are subject to quality control
procedures before publication, and at regular intervals, with data
providers informed of any discrepancies and potential errors (e.g.
species names spelt incorrectly, mapping errors). OBIS also benefits
from user peer-review and feedback to identify technical, geographic,
and taxonomic errors in data served. However, although errors will
exist as they do in any publication, OBIS is confident that the data
are the best available in electronic form. That said, the user needs
sufficient knowledge to judge the appropriate use of the data, i.e.
for what purpose it is fit.
Many of the data published through OBIS have voucher specimens in
institutional collections and museums, images of observations, and
the original identifier of the specimens is often credited or will
be contactable from the data custodian.
Data ownership
Data providers retain ownership of the data provided. OBIS does not
own or control or limit the use of any data or products accessible
through its website. Accordingly, it does not take responsibility
for the quality of such data or products, or the use that people may
make of them.
Data use
Appropriate caution is necessary in the interpretation of results
derived from OBIS. Users must recognize that the analysis and
interpretation of data require background knowledge and expertise
about marine biodiversity (including ecosystems and taxonomy).
Users should be aware of possible errors, including in the use of
species names, geo-referencing, data handling, and mapping. They
should cross-check their results for possible errors, and qualify
their interpretation of any results accordingly.
Users should be aware that OBIS is a gateway to a system of databases
distributed around the world. More information on OBIS data is
available from the data sources websites and contact persons. Users
should email any questions concerning OBIS data or tools (e.g. maps)
to the appropriate contact person and copy this request to
null .
Data gaps
Major gaps in data and knowledge about the oceans are reflected in
OBIS' data coverage. Note the following:
Most of the planet is more than 1 km under water: this deep sea is
the least surveyed part of our world.
Coastal areas have been adequately sampled only for the distribution
of most vertebrates (birds, mammals, reptiles, larger fish).
The oceans have been better sampled in the northern than the
southern hemisphere, as reflected in the distribution of data in
OBIS.
Most marine species have not yet been recognized or named. A major
effort is required to describe marine species, especially
invertebrates and deep-sea organisms.
Of the marine species that have been described, some have been
discovered to be several species, and others combined into single
species. Thus, there are changes in the application of species names
over time. A checklist of all current marine species names is not
available but it is estimated that 230,000 have been described.
Only about half of these names have been organized into global
species checklists. OBIS includes distribution data on (a) many of
these validated names and (b) additional names that remain to be
organized into global species checklists. Thus, OBIS has some
distribution data for about one third of the known marine species.
Some species distribution data are not available in any form, as
they have not have been published nor made available for databases.
Only some of the recently collected, and less of the older published,
data have been entered into databases. Thus databases are incomplete.
Of existing databases, many are not connected to OBIS.
You can help address these data gaps by (a) recognizing and
encouraging scientists and organizations to make their data available
online so they are accessible to OBIS, and (b) advocating for and
carrying out field surveys and taxonomic studies designed to fill
geographic and taxonomic gaps in knowledge.