Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Informatics: Policy and Implementation, Science versus Citizen Science, to be held in Portland, Oregon, July 16, 2002

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

Biological science is one of the top ten social trends, with the twenty-first century defined as the "Age of Biology". One of the central themes of this age is biodiversity. Biodiversity is the richness of life, including the variety of genes within one species through the complex interconnection of all life within an environment. It is necessary to document and understand the world's natural heritage. The management of the many kinds of information associated with this endeavor is biodiversity informatics. There are many efforts developing worldwide to collect and distribute this information in digital collections. Some of these efforts are complementary; some are in conflict, some are just independent. To enhance the utility of this information, it needs to be integrated. There are a number of different kinds of users of the information, including the public and government agencies. The panelists convened for this public forum will discuss different perspective on the construction of global biodiversity digital libraries from the perspective of different goals and uses.