Biodiversity beyond boundaries: building capacity for pluralistic biodiversity data science
Presentation Abstract
Cumulative environmental stressors associated with human activity are transforming the coastal landscapes of the Salish Sea. Conservation efforts in this ecologically fragmented region must increasingly consider both shifting baselines and uncertainties associated with climate change. Decisions must be made responsive to local conditions and priorities, yet must also transcend barriers imposed by borders and private property to address issues on the landscape scale. How can a networked approach to community-based biodiversity research inform local and regional conservation strategies? This presentation explores the potential for community science to broaden the reach of ecological research and conservation using novel information technologies designed to place backyard biodiversity into perspective in relation to the broader regional species pool. Biodiversity projects, even where they share a common level of expertise, may have widely different standards and workflows for data collection and curation, as well as variant preferred taxonomies and other locally important standards and conventions. When one brings into the picture community science projects as well as those of professional research scientists, the discrepancies can become wider still. These discrepancies have implications not only for statistical models, but also for the social and cultural pragmatics of conservation in the Salish Sea. Biodiversity data are not only diverse in their origins; they must also be communicated to a great variety of audiences—conservation agencies, academics, local naturalists, Indigenous peoples, and the global biodiversity research community. We will talk about the challenges of making these diverse data accessible to a pluralistic community of practice with greatly differing cultural values, interests, technologies, and presentational requirements.
Session Title
Bivalves, Biodiversity, & Wastewater
Conference Track
SSE3: The Circle of Life
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2022 : Online)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE-traditionals-193
Start Date
28-4-2022 10:15 AM
End Date
28-4-2022 11:45 AM
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Coastal ecology--Research--Northwest, Pacific; Biodiversity conservation--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Geographic Coverage
Northwest, Pacific; Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)--Environmental conditions
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Biodiversity beyond boundaries: building capacity for pluralistic biodiversity data science
Cumulative environmental stressors associated with human activity are transforming the coastal landscapes of the Salish Sea. Conservation efforts in this ecologically fragmented region must increasingly consider both shifting baselines and uncertainties associated with climate change. Decisions must be made responsive to local conditions and priorities, yet must also transcend barriers imposed by borders and private property to address issues on the landscape scale. How can a networked approach to community-based biodiversity research inform local and regional conservation strategies? This presentation explores the potential for community science to broaden the reach of ecological research and conservation using novel information technologies designed to place backyard biodiversity into perspective in relation to the broader regional species pool. Biodiversity projects, even where they share a common level of expertise, may have widely different standards and workflows for data collection and curation, as well as variant preferred taxonomies and other locally important standards and conventions. When one brings into the picture community science projects as well as those of professional research scientists, the discrepancies can become wider still. These discrepancies have implications not only for statistical models, but also for the social and cultural pragmatics of conservation in the Salish Sea. Biodiversity data are not only diverse in their origins; they must also be communicated to a great variety of audiences—conservation agencies, academics, local naturalists, Indigenous peoples, and the global biodiversity research community. We will talk about the challenges of making these diverse data accessible to a pluralistic community of practice with greatly differing cultural values, interests, technologies, and presentational requirements.
