Biological Data Standards Cluster

Biological sciences intersect with the Earth sciences in understanding processes that cross domains and provide a robust picture of our dynamic and changing planet. Biological data are heterogeneous and uniquely organized on a per project basis. As noted by an attendee of the IOOS-ESIP Biological Data Standards Workshop “The diversity of biological data, and (seeming) lack of overarching community standards makes working with biological data challenging.” Several standards do exist for biological data, however these different data, metadata, and taxonomic standards are confusing for data managers and data users to navigate. The biological data community in the US could benefit from guidance, best practice documentation, training, and community building. Ultimately, the goal is to maximize data relevance and utility for understanding changes in biodiversity over time. The Biological Data Standards Cluster will coordinate and, where possible, use outputs from existing clusters such as the Marine Data Cluster and the Schema.org Cluster. The Biological Data Standards Cluster will also engage with the Biodiversity Information Standards (aka TDWG) community to ensure approaches adopted by the US community align with those of the global community and to foster increased interaction between the two communities.

Community-generated Themes:

• Increase awareness & interest in standards
• Create unity/shared vision around biological data standards implementation & provide guidance related to biological standards
• Provide opportunities for knowledge sharing & coordination
• Provide connectivity across ESIP

News Currently the cluster is working on promoting the primer on biological data standards and developing companion materials to assist with using the primer for data managers. Archive

Activities See Slack Channel (if you need to sign up to the ESIP Slack universe use this link instead: LINK)

Get Involved Email List: LINK Telecons: 1st Thursday of the Month at 2 pm ET/11 am PT Zoom meeting: LINK Meeting ID: 873 9272 9191 Passcode: 708422                     Co-chair: Laura Brenskelle (NOAA Affiliate) Co-chair: Stephen Formel (USGS) Co-chair: Tim van der Stap (Hakai Institute) Community Fellow: Kyla Richards (USGS) Past Co-Chairs Chair: Abby Benson (USGS) Co-chair: Robert McGuinn (NOAA Affiliate) Co-Chair: Erin Satterthwaite (UCSD, CA Sea Grant) Co-Chair: Diana LaScala-Gruenewald (MBARI, CeNCOOS)

Agendas: ESIP January Meeting - Working Session (Jan 25, 2024) December 6, 2023 November 2, 2023 October 2023: canceled September 7, 2023 August 3, 2023 June 1, 2023 May 4, 2023 April 6, 2023 February 2, 2023 December 1, 2022; November 3, 2022; August 1, 2022 July 7, 2022; May 5, 2022; April 14, 2022; February 3, 2022; November 4, 2021; October 7, 2021 September 2, 2021; August 5, 2021; June 24, 2021; May 20, 2021; April 1, 2021; March 4, 2021; February 4, 2021; December 3, 2020; November 5, 2020; September 23, 2020