Abstract
In this study, we analyse the relevance of harvestmen distribution data derived from opportunistic, unplanned, and non-standardised collection events in an area in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Using specimens deposited in the BOS Arthropod Collection at the University of Oviedo, we compared these data with data from planned, standardised, and periodic collections with pitfall traps in several locations in the same area. The Arthropod Collection, begun in 1977, includes specimens derived from both sampling types, and its recent digitisation allows for this type of comparative analysis. Therefore, this is the first data-paper employing a hybrid approach, wherein subset metadata are described alongside a comparative analysis. The full dataset can be accessed through Spanish GBIF IPT at http://www.gbif.es:8080/ipt/archive.do?r=Bos-Opi, and the metadata of the unplanned collection events at http://www.gbif.es:8080/ipt/resource.do?r=bos-opi_unplanned_collection_events. We have mapped the data on the 18 harvestmen species included in the unplanned collections and provided records for some species in six provinces for the first time. We have also provided the locations of Phalangium opilio in eight provinces without published records. These results highlight the importance of digitising data from unplanned biodiversity collections, as well as those derived from planned collections, especially in scarcely studied groups and areas.
Highlights
Biodiversity data on specimens from the BOS Arthropod Collection (hosted at the Department of Organisms and Systems Biology, (Spanish acronym BOS), University of Oviedo) are being digitised and the data released through the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data-portal (Department information as data published and available datasets: http://www.gbif.org/ publisher/95cb537c-74c5-4c1e-ae24-32e7ea08f380; general digitisation and data release workflow of the BOS Arthropod Collection: Torralba-Burrial and Ocharan 2013)
We evaluate whether the effort of reviewing and digitising specimens from unplanned collection events can provide useful data on their biodiversity and distribution, or whether it is better to limit digitisation to only those specimens associated with standardised samplings, which provide quantitative data in each location and allow for comparisons between locations over time
The BOS Arthropod Collection includes harvestmen from the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula that, since 1977, have been obtained through systematic repeated sampling in several locations, as well as through non-harvestmen-specific sampling and
Summary
Global or specific studies on biodiversity are enabled by the review, digitisation, and data release of specimens housed in biodiversity collections at research centers, universities, museums, and in the possession of individuals These practices facilitate the identification of gaps in our knowledge of taxa distribution across space and time. We decided to study and compare the data derived from unplanned collections events (untargeted sampling) with these data derived from planned, standardised, and periodic sampling We have combined these analyses with the published results of similar studies using pitfall traps in western Asturias (Rosa García et al 2009a,b, 2010a,b). The aims of this paper are, to 1) test whether the effort of reviewing and digitising (harvestmen) specimens from unplanned collection events can provide useful data about their distribution and bio logy, and 2) assess possible biases arising from the use of this type of data
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