Michael W. Denslow

The notes from nature tool for unlocking biodiversity records from museum records through citizen science

Abstract Legacy data from natural history collections contain invaluable and irreplaceable information about biodiversity in the recent past, providing a baseline for detecting change and forecasting the future of biodiversity on a human-dominated planet. However, these data are often not available in formats that facilitate use and synthesis. New approaches are needed to enhance the rates of digitization and data quality improvement. Notes from Nature provides one such novel approach by asking citizen scientists to help with transcription tasks. The initial web-based prototype of Notes from Nature is soon widely available and was developed collaboratively by biodiversity scientists, natural history collections staff, and experts in citizen science project development, programming and visualization. This project brings together digital images representing different types of biodiversity records including ledgers , herbarium sheets and pinned insects from multiple projects and natural history collections. Experts in developing web-based citizen science applications then designed and built a platform for transcribing textual data and metadata from these images. The end product is a fully open source web transcription tool built using the latest web technologies. The platform keeps volunteers engaged by initially explaining the scientific importance of the work via a short orientation, and then providing transcription “missions” of well defined scope, along with dynamic feedback, interactivity and rewards. Transcribed records, along with record-level and process metadata, are provided back to the institutions. While the tool is being developed with new users in mind, it can serve a broad range of needs from novice to trained museum specialist. Notes from Nature has the potential to speed the rate of biodiversity data being made available to a broad community of users.

Digitization Workflows for Flat Sheets and Packets of Plants, Algae, and Fungi

Effective workflows are essential components in the digitization of biodiversity specimen collections. To date, no comprehensive, community-vetted workflows have been published for digitizing flat sheets and packets of plants, algae, and fungi, even though latest estimates suggest that only 33% of herbarium specimens have been digitally transcribed, 54% of herbaria use a specimen database, and 24% are imaging specimens. In 2012, iDigBio, the U.S. National Science Foundations (NSF) coordinating center and national resource for the digitization of public, nonfederal U.S. collections, launched several working groups to address this deficiency. Here, we report the development of 14 workflow modules with 7–36 tasks each. These workflows represent the combined work of approximately 35 curators, directors, and collections managers representing more than 30 herbaria, including 15 NSF-supported plant-related Thematic Collections Networks and collaboratives. The workflows are provided for download as Portable Document Format (PDF) and Microsoft Word files. Customization of these workflows for specific institutional implementation is encouraged.

Patterns of native and exotic vascular plant richness along an elevational gradient from sea level to the summit of the Appalachian Mountains, U.S.A.

Abstract We used floristic studies from the state of North Carolina to compare the patterns of total, native and exotic plant species richness from sea level (Atlantic coast) to the summit of the Appalachian Mountains. Few studies have investigated how patterns of native and exotic species richness differ along environmental gradients, and these studies have yielded contrasting results. We compare our results with those few published studies, and demonstrate that there is a need for future studies examining exotic richness along gradients. We modeled the effects of size of study area, year of study, and elevation on species richness using a dataset of sixty-eight floristic studies. Native and exotic species richness showed a positive relationship with area and year. Exotic species showed a steeper slope than native species for the species-area relationship. Richness of both groups was positively but weakly related to year of study. After accounting for area and year, native species displayed a hump-shaped pattern along the elevational gradient. Exotic species richness was weakly related to elevation, which was not a significant variable in the model. This contrasts with the few previous studies that have examined exotic richness patterns along elevational gradients that have found either a strong linear decline, or a strong hump-shaped pattern. Both native and exotic species showed high variation in richness at elevations below 400 m. We conclude that different processes may govern native and exotic plant richness patterns and that exotic richness patterns along gradients may in fact be idiosyncratic due to factors such as disturbance history.

Worldwide Engagement for Digitizing Biocollections (WeDigBio): The Biocollections Community's Citizen-Science Space on the Calendar

Abstract The digitization of biocollections is a critical task with direct implications for the global community who use the data for research and education. Recent innovations to involve citizen scientists in digitization increase awareness of the value of biodiversity specimens; advance science, technology, engineering, and math literacy; and build sustainability for digitization. In support of these activities, we launched the first global citizen-science event focused on the digitization of biodiversity specimens: Worldwide Engagement for Digitizing Biocollections (WeDigBio). During the inaugural 2015 event, 21 sites hosted events where citizen scientists transcribed specimen labels via online platforms (DigiVol, Les Herbonautes, Notes from Nature, the Smithsonian Institutions Transcription Center, and Symbiota). Many citizen scientists also contributed off-site. In total, thousands of citizen scientists around the world completed over 50,000 transcription tasks. Here, we present the process of organizing an international citizen-science event, an analysis of the events effectiveness, and future directions—content now foundational to the growing WeDigBio event.

Digitization protocol for scoring reproductive phenology from herbarium specimens of seed plants

Premise of the Study Herbarium specimens provide a robust record of historical plant phenology (the timing of seasonal events such as flowering or fruiting). However, the difficulty of aggregating phenological data from specimens arises from a lack of standardized scoring methods and definitions for phenological states across the collections community. Methods and Results To address this problem, we report on a consensus reached by an iDigBio working group of curators, researchers, and data standards experts regarding an efficient scoring protocol and a data‐sharing protocol for reproductive traits available from herbarium specimens of seed plants. The phenological data sets generated can be shared via Darwin Core Archives using the Extended MeasurementOrFact extension. Conclusions Our hope is that curators and others interested in collecting phenological trait data from specimens will use the recommendations presented here in current and future scoring efforts. New tools for scoring specimens are reviewed.

A Bibliography of North Carolina Local Floras

Abstract Vascular plant checklists (floras) supply key information for biodiversity studies by providing a comprehensive picture of the floristic composition of a specific study area. A bibliography of floras conducted within the state of North Carolina was compiled. Eighty-six floras were completed within North Carolina between the years 1834 and 2009. Floras conducted in North Carolina cover areas of varying size, from small islands and state parks to entire counties. These studies include journal articles, government publications, technical reports and Masters theses. More than half of the flora citations were not published in scientific journals and were often difficult to discover or obtain.

Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining and Emergent Cases of Psychological Disorder in Kentucky

Although mountaintop removal (MTR) coal extraction techniques have been employed in Appalachia for decades, relatively little research has examined its potential psychological impact on people living in close proximity to MTR activity. The current study taps the State Emergency Department Database (Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, Kentucky State Emergency Department Database, 2008) to examine the relative risk for diagnoses of depressive, substance use, and anxiety disorders originating in areas with and without MTR activity. Logistical regression analyses, controlling for ethnicity, rurality, mean income, and gender, indicated that MTR independently predicts greater risk for depressive (OR 1.37) and substance use disorders (OR 1.41), but not anxiety disorders. Overall, these findings have public health policy implications, build on other evidence of increased risk of negative mental health outcomes related to MTR, and lend some support to the validity of solastalgia related to environmental change.