Interactive Identification Keys Research Articles

A database and interactive identification key for the anatomy of woods of the Ethiopian Afromontane Forest

Summary Identifying wood and wood charcoal from sub-tropical to tropical regions is challenging, due to the high floristic diversity. This is especially true for the Horn of Africa, characterized by a high degree of endemism, for which no wood anatomy atlas is available. Yet, there is a strong need for anatomical descriptions and identification tools, in particular concerning archaeobotanical research. Numerous rock shelters in the Ethiopian highlands provide rich charcoal assemblages. Their study is of utmost interest to decipher past human-vegetation relationships. Many of these sites are located in the Afromontane Forest, the potential natural vegetation of the highlands within the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot, hosting 483 dicot woody species. Here, we present the first wood database for the species of the Ethiopian Afromontane Forest. It is set up on the online open-access platform Xper3 and includes an interactive identification key. The anatomical features follow the IAWA nomenclature and include additional ones, to improve the identification process. The database comprises wood anatomical descriptions of (1) 68 species from the wood reference collections of Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, and Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany; (2) 72 species from InsideWood and (3) 92 genera/species from specialized literature. The database also includes original pictures taken on samples from the reference collections. Our original coded descriptions and pictures are also available in InsideWood.

New method for taxonomic descriptions with coded notation, producing dynamic and interchangeable output.

A proposal for taxonomic species description notation is presented to replace the traditional descriptive texts for a coded matrix, avoiding redundant adjectives and subjective descriptions. This is an attempt to enhance the species description rate and to make the descriptions output available to other scientific disciplines, machine learning, interactive and computer-assisted identification keys, metadata analysis and its applications. The method consists of presenting the description of the overall morphology in a coded matrix, following a character list with detailed observed conditions for each character. The method is dynamic and open to amendments and new data addition as they become available. We test the new method describing five new species of Collembola Symphypleona of the genus Pararrhopalites as a generalized model and made the coded output available. We conclude that a coded taxonomic description is an advance to the traditional taxonomic text, with potential to enhance the global descriptions rate. The generated descriptions are dynamic, expandable and can be easily used in other fields of science, allowing non-experts to access the data for phylogenetic, biogeographic, ecological studies and metadata analysis. Even though an experienced taxonomist will always be necessary to make a detailed taxonomic description, it is a step forward to a general template to semi-automated taxon recognition and to future development of auxiliary tools for species description using machine learning and templates to speed up the time-consuming phase of schematic figures preparation, after the expert interpretations are done.

SmartWoodID-an image collection of large end-grain surfaces to support wood identification systems.

Wood identification is a key step in the enforcement of laws and regulations aimed at combatting illegal timber trade. Robust wood identification tools, capable of distinguishing a large number of timbers, depend on a solid database of reference material. Reference material for wood identification is typically curated in botanical collections dedicated to wood consisting of samples of secondary xylem of lignified plants. Specimens from the Tervuren Wood Collection, one of the large institutional wood collections around the world, are used as a source of tree species data with potential application as timber. Here, we present SmartWoodID, a database of high-resolution optical scans of the end-grain surfaces enriched with expert wood anatomical descriptions of macroscopic features. These can serve as annotated training data to develop interactive identification keys and artificial intelligence for computer vision-based wood identification. The first edition of the database consists of images of 1190 taxa, with a focus on potential timber species from the Democratic Republic of the Congo with at least four different specimens per species included. Database URL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12624/SmartWoodID_first_edition.

A new group of species of the genus Megalothorax (Collembola, Neelidae) with Gondwanan distribution, and introducing an open interactive identification key of Megalothorax species

Megalothorax Willem, 1900 is a genus of Neelidae (Collembola) with worldwide distribution. Three new species are described here: Megalothorax anterolenis sp. nov. (Patagonia, Chile), Megalothorax tasmanterolenis sp. nov. (Tasmania, Australia) and Megalothorax zealanterolenis sp. nov. (the South Island, New Zealand). New descriptive elements are also provided for Megalothorax rubidus. Two of the new species were sequenced (COI, 16S rDNA, 28S rDNA). Within the genus, the three new species form a new group of species characterised by the absence of secondary granulation dorsally on the head and the thorax, a reduced chaetotaxy of the basomedian field of labium, a bifurcate hair on the maxillary outer lobe and an enlarged S-chaeta (Sa2) on Ant. IV. The molecular based phylogeny further supports the sistership of the two sequenced species. The possible Gondwanan origin of the new group is discussed. Elements of discussion are also provided regarding the possible function of the incomplete coverage of secondary granulation. Finally, an open interactive identification key for the Megalothorax species of the world is introduced.

Towards more effective identification keys: A study of people identifying plant species characters

Abstract Accurate species identification is essential for ecological monitoring and biodiversity conservation. Interactive plant identification keys have been considerably improved in recent years, mainly by providing iconic symbols, illustrations, or images for the users, as these keys are also commonly used by people with relatively little plant knowledge. Only a few studies have investigated how well morphological characteristics can be recognized and correctly identified by people, which is ultimately the basis of an identification key's success. This study consists of a systematic evaluation of people's abilities in identifying plant‐specific morphological characters. We conducted an online survey where 484 participants were asked to identify 25 different plant character states on six images showing a plant from different perspectives. We found that survey participants correctly identified 79% of the plant characters, with botanical novices with little or no previous experience in plant identification performing slightly worse than experienced botanists. We also found that flower characters are more often correctly identified than leaf characteristics and that characters with more states resulted in higher identification errors. Additionally, the longer the time a participant needed for answering, the higher the probability of a wrong answer. Understanding what influences users' plant character identification abilities can improve the development of interactive identification keys, for example, by designing keys that adapt to novices as well as experts. Furthermore, our study can act as a blueprint for the empirical evaluation of identifications keys. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

TaxonWorks as a Tool for Managing Large Biodiversity Projects

Large systematic revisionary projects incorporating data for hundreds or thousands of taxa require an integrative approach, with a strong biodiversity-informatics core for efficient data management to facilitate research on the group. Our original biodiversity informatics platform, 3i (Internet-accessible Interactive Identification) combined a customized MS Access database backend with ASP-based web interfaces to support revisionary syntheses of several large genera of leafhopers (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae). More recently, for our National Science Foundation sponsored project, “GoLife: Collaborative Research: Integrative genealogy, ecology and phenomics of deltocephaline leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), and their microbial associates”, we selected the new open-source platform TaxonWorks as the cyberinfrastructure. In the scope of the project, the original “3i World Auchenorrhyncha Database” was imported into TaxonWorks. At the present time, TaxonWorks has many tools to automatically import nomenclature, citations, and specimen based collection data. At the time of the initial migration of the 3i database, many of those tools were still under development, and complexity of the data in the database required a custom migration script, which is still probably the most efficient solution for importing datasets with long development history. At the moment, the World Auchenorrhyncha Database comprehensively covers nomenclature of the group and includes data on 70 valid families, 6,816 valid genera, 47,064 valid species as well as synonymy and subsequent combinations (Fig. 1). In addition, many taxon records include the original citation, bibliography, type information, etymology, etc. The bibliography of the group includes 37,579 sources, about 1/3 of which are associated with PDF files. Species have distribution records, either derived from individual specimens or as country and state level asserted distribution, as well as biological associations indicating host plants, predators, and parasitoids. Observation matrices in TaxonWorks are designed to handle morphological data associated with taxa or specimens. The matrices may be used to automatically generate interactive identification keys and taxon descriptions. They can also be downloaded to be imported, for example, into Lucid builder, or to perform phylogenetic analysis using an external application. At the moment there are 36 matrices associated with the project. The observation matrix from GoLife project covers 798 taxa by 210 descriptors (most of which are qualitative multi-state morphological descriptors) (Fig. 2). Illustrations are provided for 9,886 taxa and organized in the specialized image matrix and could be used as a pictorial key for determination of species and taxa of a higher rank. For the phylogenetic analysis, a dataset was constructed for 730 terminal taxa and >160,000 nucleotide positions obtained using anchored hybrid enrichment of genomic DNA for a sample of leafhoppers from the subfamily Deltocephalinae and outgroups. The probe kit targets leafhopper genes, as well as some bacterial genes (endosymbionts and plant pathogens transmitted by leafhoppers). The maximum likelihood analyses of concatenated nucleotide and amino acid sequences as well as coalescent gene tree analysis yielded well-resolved phylogenetic trees (Cao et al. 2022). Raw sequence data have been uploaded to the Sequence Read Archive on GenBank. Occurrence and morphological data, as well as diagnostic images, for voucher specimens have been incorporated into TaxonWorks. Data in TaxonWorks could be exported in raw format, get accessed via Application Programming Interface (API), or be shared with external data aggregators like Catalogue of Life, GBIF, iDigBio.

Resurrection of Neocardiochiles Szépligeti, 1908 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Cardiochilinae) with descriptions of five new species from the Neotropical region

NeocardiochilesSzépligeti, 1908, is a rare Neotropical genus of the subfamily Cardiochilinae Ashmead, 1900. The genus was previously synonymized withHeteropteronBrullé, 1846 by Dangerfield et al. (1999). In this study, we examined multiple specimens ofHeteropteron-related genera:Heteropteron,Neocardiochiles, andWesmaelellaSpinola, 1851, and resurrectNeocardiochilesas a valid genus based on morphological data. As a result, five new species,N. alexeyiKang,sp. nov.from Ecuador,N. frankiKang,sp. nov.from Costa Rica,N. braetiKang,sp. nov.,N. chriscarltoniKang,sp. nov., andN. victoriaeKang,sp. nov., from French Guiana are included as members ofNeocardiochilesand described based on morphological and molecular data. Additionally, four species previously included inHeteropteronare transferred toNeocardiochiles:Neocardiochiles fasciipennisSzépligeti, 1908,comb. nov.,Neocardiochiles hasegawai(Dabek & Whitfield, 2020)comb. nov.,Neocardiochiles kidonoi(Dabek & Whitfield, 2020),comb. nov., andNeocardiochiles whitfieldi(Mercado, 2003),comb. nov.. Diagnosis of each taxon and both traditional and interactive identification keys toNeocardiochilesspecies are included. Molecular data ofN. alexeyisp. nov.,N. chriscarltonisp. nov.,N. victoriaesp. nov., andN. hasegawaii(Dabek & Whitfield, 2020), are also provided.

Correct Species Identification and Its Implications for Conservation Using Haploniscidae (Crustacea, Isopoda) in Icelandic Waters as a Proxy

Correct identification of species is required to assess and understand the biodiversity of an ecosystem. In the deep sea, however, this is only possible to a limited extent, as a large part of the fauna is undescribed and the identification keys for most taxa are inadequate or missing. With the progressive impact of climate change and anthropogenic activities on deep-sea ecosystems, it is imperative to define reliable methods for robust species identification. In this study, different techniques for the identification of deep-sea species are tested, including a combination of morphological, molecular (DNA barcoding, and proteomic fingerprinting), biogeographical and ecological modeling approaches. These are applied to a family of isopods, the Haploniscidae, from deep waters around Iceland. The construction of interactive identification keys based on the DELTA format (DEscription Language for TAxonomy) were a major pillar of this study, the evaluation of which was underpinned by the application of the supplementary methods. Overall, interactive keys have been very reliable in identifying species within the Haploniscidae. Especially in a deep-sea context, these types of keys could become established because they are easy to adapt and flexible enough to accommodate newly described species. Remarkably, in this study, the interactive key enabled identification of a supposedly new species within the Haploniscidae that was later verified using both molecular genetic – and proteomic methods. However, these keys are limited given that they are based on purely morphological characteristics, including where species with strong ontogenetic or sexual dimorphism occur as both genders are not always described. In this case, integrative taxonomy is the method of choice and the combination presented here has been shown to be very promising for correct identification of deep-sea isopods.

Rediscovery of the endemic Afrotropical genus Spathioplites (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Doryctinae) with major range extension records for Spathioplites phreneticus

The endemic, monotypic Afrotropical genus Spathioplites Fischer, 1962 is rediscovered based on new specimens collected in South Africa and Senegal. Spathioplites phreneticus Fischer, 1962 was previously known from the holotype (male) and 12 paratypes (11 males and a female) collected in Chad in 1959. As part of an ongoing long-term insect inventory survey program in Africa new specimens were recently collected in Tswalu Kalahari Game Reserve in South Africa, extending the distribution range southwards by 4900 km. An additional historical specimen from Senegal was discovered in the collections of the Natural History Museum in Paris, extending the range westwards by 4000 km. Possible reasons for the disjunct distribution exhibited by current locality records for this species are discussed. The holotype male and a paratype female, as well as one of the two newly collected South African females were imaged. These photographs, as well as genus and species re-descriptions, are provided. An identification key to the Old World genera in the doryctine tribe Spathiini s. str. is also presented. All images and interactive identification keys are available on www.waspweb.org.

The 8 Years of Existence of Xper3: State of the art and future developments of the platform

The Xper3 platform was launched in November 2013 (Saucède et al. 2020). Xper3 is a free web platform that manages descriptive data and provides interactive identification keys. It is a follow-up to Xper (Forget et al. 1986) and Xper2 (Ung et al. 2010). Xper3 is used via web browsers. It offers a collaborative, multi-user interface without local installation. It is compatible with TDWG’s Structured Descriptive Data (SDD) format. Xper3 and its previous version, Xper2, have already been used for various taxonomic groups. In June 2021, 4743 users had created accounts and edited 5756 knowledge bases. Each knowledge base is autonomous and can be published as a free access key link, as a data paper in publications or on websites. The risk of this autonomy and lack of visibility to already existing knowlege bases is possible duplicated content or overlapping effort. Increasingly, users have asked for a public overview of the existing content. A first version of a searching tool is now available online. Explorer lists the databases whose creators have filled in the extended metadata and have accepted the referencing. The user can search by language, taxonomic group, fossil or current, geography, habitat, and key words. New developments of Xper3 are in progress. Some have a first version online, others are in production and the last ones are future projects. We will present an overview of the different projects in progress and for the future. Calculated descriptors are a distinctive feature of Xper3 (Kerner and Vignes Lebbe 2019). These descriptors are automatically computed from other descriptors by using logical operators (Boolean operators). The use of calculated descriptors remains rare. It is necessary to put forward the calculated descriptors to encourage more feedback in order to improve them. The link between Xper3 and Annotate continues to improve (Hays and Kerner 2020). Annotate offers the possibility of tagging images with controlled vocabularies structured in Xper3. Then, an export from Annotate to Xper3, allows automatic filling in of the Xper3 knowledge base with the descriptions (annotations and numerical measures) of virtual specimens, and then comparing specimens to construct species descriptions, etc. Future developments are in progress that will modify the Xper3 architecture in order to have the same functionalities in both local and online versions and to allow various user interfaces from the same knowledge bases. Xper2-specific features, such as merging states, adding notes, adding definitions and/or illustrations in the description tab, having different ways of sorting and filtering the descriptors during an identification (by groups, identification power, alphabetic order, specialist’s choice) have to be added to Xper3. A new tab in Xper3’s interface is being implemented to give an access to various analysis tools, via API (Application Programming Interface), or R programming code: MINSET: minimum list of descriptors sufficient to discriminate all items MINDESCR: minimum set of descriptors to discriminate an item DESCRXP: generating a description in natural language MERGEMOD: proposing to merge states without loss of discriminating power DISTINXP, DISTVAXP: computing similarities between items or descriptors MINSET: minimum list of descriptors sufficient to discriminate all items MINDESCR: minimum set of descriptors to discriminate an item DESCRXP: generating a description in natural language MERGEMOD: proposing to merge states without loss of discriminating power DISTINXP, DISTVAXP: computing similarities between items or descriptors One last project that we would like to implement is an interoperability between Xper3, platforms with biodiversity data (e.g., Global Biodiversity Information Facility, GBIF) and bio-ontologies. An ID field already exists to add Universally Unique IDentifiers (UUID) for taxa. ID fields have to be added for descriptors and states to link them with ontologies e.g., Phenotypic Quality Ontology PATO, Plant Ontology PO. We are interested in discussing future developments to further improve the user interface and develop new tools for the analysis of knowledge bases.

Climbing plants from Seridó Ecological Station: diversity, interactive key and five new records from Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil

Abstract In Brazil, Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests (SDTFs) are represented by Caatinga, which exhibits one of the greatest species richness and endemisms among the Neotropical SDTFs. However, studies of the flora of this biome remain deficient, especially in scientifically neglected areas, such as the Seridó region. Located between the states of Rio Grande do Norte (RN) and Paraíba, the Seridó region has an underestimated floristic diversity, especially for non-arboreal components such as climbers. Given this scenario, the study aimed to survey the climbers of the Seridó Ecological Station, a federal conservation unit located in the RN state, as well as to provide a multiple access online identification key. Collections were carried out from 2018 to 2019, as well as consultation of material deposited at the UFRN herbarium. In total, 56 species were listed, being 33 herbaceous and 23 woody climbers, respectively, adding 14 species of climbers to the previous checklist of the unit. Five new occurrences were found for the state of Rio Grande do Norte: Cuscuta globosa, Cuscuta partita (Convolvulaceae), Macroptilium bracteatum (Fabaceae), Heteropterys trichanthera and Tetrapterys longibracteata (Malpighiaceae), being the latest a new occurrence of the genus Tetrapterys for the state. Convolvulaceae is the most representative family (18 spp.), followed by Fabaceae (10 spp.), Apocynaceae (eight spp.) and Cucurbitaceae (five spp.). This is the first study that provides an interactive identification key for the Seridó region and for the RN state. The interactive identification key is published throughout the Xper³ platform, and can be accessed at <xper3.fr/xper3GeneratedFiles/publish/identification/-4505993480748774750/mkey.html>.

Virtual Systematics with Annotate: The Mexican archaeocyaths example

Digitization and online publishing of museum specimen data are happening worldwide. Studies based solely on online data become increasingly accessible. The current events, for example, reducing our transport-related carbon footprint or the COVID-19 pandemic, provide key opportunities to highlight the full value of digitized collections and their related tools, which allow us to continue our research from home or at least without travelling. Are existing data resources and tools adequate for engaging in a research project from beginning to end? To address this issue, we propose to use the Mexican archaeocyaths digitized collection from the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France (MNHN) and the freeware Annotate in order to describe and identify all the archaeocyaths from the Mexican Cambrian reef. Archaeocyaths are aspiculate sponges that lived during the Cambrian Period. They were the first animals to build reefs. In the MNHN collection, they are found as thin-sections with several archaeocyaths per thin-section (Fig. 1). Multiple individuals are grouped under a single collection number and a single species name. The list of species in the thin-section is only captured on the paper label, and cannot currently be found online. To study an archaeocyaths' reef, the archaeocyaths have to be described and identified one by one, and the location of each specimen has to be accuratly captured. Is it possible to do this with Annotate? Can a palaeontologist use only digitized specimens and Annotate to study a complete fauna of a given time and space? Annotate is an image annotation tool for the natural sciences. It allows users to measure, count, and tag all the morphological structures of an organism. Photos may be imported from the Recolnat database or users may import their own photos. Users can measure lengths, surfaces, and angles, count occurrences and add points of interest. Users can also tag the different individuals to identify them. Morphological terms may be imported as a standardized list from Xper2 or Xper3. Xper3 is a web platform that manages descriptive data and provides interactive identification keys. The results of the measurements and annotations can be exported into CSV format (comma-separated values) or into a structured descriptive data (SDD) format. To identify an archaeocyath to genus level, we need to identify morphological structures and count the occurrence of some of them, and for an identification to the species level, we need to measure different additional parts. The standardized list of morphological terms has been imported from the archaeocyaths genera knowledge base and the list of measurements has been created directly in Annotate. Lengths (e.g., pore size, cup diameter), counts (e.g., number of septae, number of pores) and points of interest (e.g., tumuli, canals, septa) are easy to use. What are the key lessons learnt to remember at the end of this study? The digitized archaeocyaths from Mexico have been identified as easily with Annotate as if a microscope and thin sections were used. The CSV export provided quick access to statistics calculations. The main difference between a microscope and Annotate is the working time. Some functionalities of Annotate are not optimized, their uses are time consuming. For instance, the importation of photos is not really appropriate for archaeocyaths studies. Two sections (transversal and longitudinal) per specimen are necessary to see all the morphological structures. These two parts of the same rock are packed together with one collection number. While users can easily switch from one section to another with a microscope, they can not with Annotate. Annotate allows only one photo per collection number from Recolnat, but not images of the two sections and their metadata. The main difference between a microscope and Annotate is the working time. Some functionalities of Annotate are not optimized, their uses are time consuming. For instance, the importation of photos is not really appropriate for archaeocyaths studies. Two sections (transversal and longitudinal) per specimen are necessary to see all the morphological structures. These two parts of the same rock are packed together with one collection number. While users can easily switch from one section to another with a microscope, they can not with Annotate. Annotate allows only one photo per collection number from Recolnat, but not images of the two sections and their metadata. Although Annotate is not an intuitive tool to use it is still very powerful however, some training is required to fully take advantage of it, and there is no documentation available. This freeware has great potential as it can assist researchers in their work and proposes an alternative to the need to travel around the world to study a fossil.

Wood anatomy of endangered Brazilian tree species

Abstract Endangered Brazilian tree species are traded on national and international scales. Efficient control of wood supply chains is fundamental to both species and environmental conservation. Wood anatomy offers an effective method for timber screening and diagnosis, although diagnostic tools and reliable reference materials are required to verify the precise timber species commercialized. We present here anatomical information that can be used for the identification of the wood of endangered Brazilian tree species, including coded wood anatomy descriptions following standardized lists of macroscopic and microscopic features, stereomicroscope and bright field microscope micrographs, and reference data (wood collections with reference samples and anatomical descriptions). Description datasets and interactive identification keys (macroscopic and microscopic) were made available on the Xper3 web platform (http://gbg.sites.uff.br/lamad/) and can aid trained front-line staff or professional wood anatomists in trade control and forensic timber identifications of endangered Brazilian species.

A Taxonomic Revision of Aneuraceae (Marchantiophyta) from Eastern Africa with an Interactive Identification Key

A taxonomic revision of the liverwort family Aneuraceae in eastern Africa is presented based on the results of an integrative approach. Molecular and morphological data lead to the recognition of fourteen species in eastern Africa, in three genera: eleven species in Riccardia Gray, two in Aneura Dumort. and one in Afroriccardia Reeb & Gradst. One further species, R. multifida, may be expected in eastern Africa and is included in this treatment. Keys, descriptions and illustrations are provided for the accepted species together with data on types, synonymy, geographical distribution, habitat and differentiating characters. A knowledge database was built using Xper3 and an interactive key was generated using the Xper3 platform tools. Riccardia gasparii sp. nov., R. martinii sp. nov. and R. vohimanensis sp. nov. are described as new to science. A comparison with other regions of the world shows that Africa has relatively few Aneuraceae taxa; only the Holarctic region, with the exception of East Asia, has fewer species. Moreover, dendroid taxa and species with cuticular ornamentation are lacking in Africa. On the other hand, Africa stands out by the presence of the endemic genus Afroriccardia. More collecting is needed in future to clarify the species ranges, the status of questionable taxa and the knowledge of local floras.

SEINet: A Centralized Specimen Resource Managed by a Distributed Network of Researchers

The SEINet Portal Network has a complex social and development history spanning nearly two decades. Initially established as a basic online search engine for a select handful of biological collections curated within the southwestern United States, SEINet has since matured into a biodiversity data network incorporating more than 330 institutions and 1,900 individual data contributors. Participating institutions manage and publish over 14 million specimen records, 215,000 observations, and 8 million images. Approximately 70% of the collections make use of the data portal as their primary "live" specimen management platform. The SEINet interface now supports 13 regional data portals distributed across the United States and northern Mexico (http://symbiota.org/docs/seinet/). Through many collaborative efforts, it has matured into a tool for biodiversity data exploration, which includes species inventories, interactive identification keys, specimen and field images, taxonomic information, species distribution maps, and taxonomic descriptions. SEINet’s initial developmental goals were to construct a read-only interface that integrated specimen records harvested from a handful of distributed natural history databases. Intermittent network conductivity and inconsistent data exchange protocols frequently restricted data persistence. National funding opportunities supported a complete redesign towards the development of a centralized data cache model with periodic "snapshot" updates from original data sources. A service-based management infrastructure was integrated into the interface to mobilize small- to medium-sized collections (<1 million specimen records) that commonly lack consistent infrastructure and technical expertise to maintain a standard compliant specimen database. These developments were the precursors to the Symbiota software project (Gries et al. 2014). Through further development of Symbiota, SEINet transformed into a robust specimen management system specifically geared toward specimen digitization with features including data entry from label images, harvesting data from specimen duplicates, batch georeferencing, data validation and cleaning, generating progress reports, and additional tools to improve the efficiency of the digitization process. The central developmental paradigm focused on data mobilization through the production of: a versatile import module capable of ingesting a diverse range of data structures, a robust toolkit to assist in digitizing and managing specimen data and images, and a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) compliant data publishing and export toolkit to facilitate data distribution to global aggregators such as Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and iDigBio. a versatile import module capable of ingesting a diverse range of data structures, a robust toolkit to assist in digitizing and managing specimen data and images, and a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) compliant data publishing and export toolkit to facilitate data distribution to global aggregators such as Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and iDigBio. User interfaces consist of a decentralized network of regional data portals, all connecting to a centralized shared data source. Each of the 13 data portals are configured to present a regional perspective specifically tailored to represent the needs of the local research community. This infrastructure has supported the formation of regional consortia, who provide network support to aid local institutions in digitizing and publishing their collections within the network. The community-based infrastructure creates a sense of ownership – perhaps even good-natured competition – by the data providers and provides extra incentive to improve data quality and expand the network. Certain areas of development remain challenging in spite of the project's overall success. For instance, data managers continuously struggle to maintain a current local taxonomic thesaurus used for name validation, data cleaning, and to resolve taxonomic discrepancies commonly encountered when integrating collection datasets. We will discuss the successes and challenges associated with the long-term sustainability model and explore potential future paths for SEINet that support the long-term goal of maintaining a data provider that is in full compliance with the FAIR use principles of making the datasets findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (Wilkinson et al. 2016).

Ecotaxonomy: Linking traits, taxa, individuals and samples in a flexible virtual research environment for ecological studies

Major research progress in ecology is being achieved through large-scale collaborations across people, groups and countries. In large-scale projects harmonization of data is tedious and time-consuming, but needs to be done reliably and rapidly. This is especially true if projects investigate under-explored organism groups such as tropical invertebrates. To link taxa to their role in ecosystems, functional traits of the taxa need to be considered. However, despite the urgent need for a common database for invertebrate traits, this is yet to be established. We developed an open web platform, Ecotaxonomy (ecotaxonomy.org), that allows traits, taxa, individuals and samples to be linked within research projects. Ecotaxonomy includes a virtual research environment, allowing project members to work jointly online on the data input, integration and retrieval. The taxonomic system of Ecotaxonomy is based on the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (gbif.org), but may be complemented by morphospecies, pictures, literature and other parameters. Any parameters can be customized inside the system and attached either to taxa, individuals, or environmental samples (Fig. 1). As public output, the system provides interactive identification keys and web catalogs of traits and taxa. Ecotaxonomy is implemented on GCore platform, that is being developed by Complex Cloud Solutions (http://ccs.msk.ru/en/). The GCore is based on Node.js, allowing for fast and efficient standardised programming. Thus, custom modules can be implemented in the future by external developers in the framework of the platform. Ecotaxonomy is now open for beta-testing. After a public release (presumably in 2020), our goal is to keep the system and the code open and ensure data interoperability via Darwin core standards. The initial stage of Ecotaxonomy development (2016-2023) is funded in the framework of a DFG-funded project (SFB 990). To ensure long-term sustainability, we are involving ecological laboratories around the world and ultimately seek to establish a permanent funding by governmental or non-governmental organisations. Using and developing Ecotaxonomy, and linking it to existing open repositories will greatly improve the efficiency and integration of research in trait-based ecology.

Multi-context Knowledge Base using Calculated Descriptors from Xper3: the Archaeocyaths Knowledge Base example

Natural sciences need to make assertions about characteristics of taxa. Traits and qualities or descriptors and states become increasingly crucial as a resource for identification adapted to both scientists and the public. Specialists, non-specialists, and the general public need different strategies for accessing the information. Creating a knowledge base is time-consuming and adapting this base to several needs seems to increase the required time substantially. Specialists think that an identification tool requires a complete overhaul when they want to change the target audience or the language... so they do not wish to get involved. How to minimize creation and update time? How to aggregate data only once in order to create a single knowledge base with different access levels? Strategies for integrating different patterns of descriptors in a single knowledge base are useful to modulate descriptions without loss of information and with the certainty that everything is up to date in each context. This multi-context knowledge base, derived from a single trait dataset, can generate descriptions adapted to different contexts and users. To address this issue, we propose to use calculated descriptors in order to have on the same knowledge base, different versions of descriptors that are updated automatically when the reference trait is modified. Calculated descriptors are a distinctive feature of Xper3. These descriptors are automatically computed from other descriptors by using logical operators (boolean operators). Xper3 (http://www.xper3.com) is a web platform that manages descriptive data and provides interactive identification keys. Xper3 and its previous version, Xper2, have been used already for various taxonomic groups. We will focus on fossils in order to reveal how calculated descriptors in Xper3 knowledge bases can solve the multi-context problem. The main source of content is the archaeocyaths knowledge base (http://archaeocyatha.infosyslab.fr). Archaeocyaths are the first animals to build reefs during the Cambrian. They are calcified sponges without spicules. The archaeocyaths knowledge base is an efficient resource for scientific studies and a useful tool for non-specialists, especially with the support of calculated descriptors. Correspondence between archaeocyath and sponge morphologies is not ready yet, but everything will be included into PORO (The Porifera Ontology, http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/poro/releases/2014-03-06/) in the short term (an anatomy ontology about sponges). In this knowledge base, calculated descriptors are used to: create a consistent multilingual interactive identification key (French and English are available and Russian is in draft), generate descriptors adapted to different level of expertise and reword morphological descriptors (adapted for identification) into homologous characters (adapted for phylogeny). create a consistent multilingual interactive identification key (French and English are available and Russian is in draft), generate descriptors adapted to different level of expertise and reword morphological descriptors (adapted for identification) into homologous characters (adapted for phylogeny). Xper2 and Xper3 are compatible with TDWG’s Structured Descriptive Data (SDD) format. Calculated descriptors do not exist in SDD format and so they are exported from Xper3 as categorical descriptors, therefore losing the origin of values. Calculated descriptors are powerful and we are interested in discussing these with SDD and Xper3 users in order to improve the user interface and develop new tools for the analysis of such descriptors.

Sycidiphaga, a new genus of Sycophaginae Walker, 1975 (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Agaonidae) associated with Ficus subgenus Sycidium in southern China

A new genus of Sycophaginae (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae), Sycidiphaga Liu, Rasplus & Huang n. gen., is described with a single new species, S. cyrtophyllae Liu, Rasplus & Huang n. sp. This species was discovered in Yun Nan and Gui Zhou, China and is associated with Ficus cyrtophylla (Moraceae, Ficus, subgenus Sycidium). The new taxon is readily distinguished from other genera of Sycophaginae by: 1) the presence of a conspicuous interantennal blade-like projection that extends well above the level of the toruli; 2) an inflated parastigma surrounded by a slight infuscation of the wing membrane; 3) the presence of a long and conspicuous median sulcus on the male pronotum; and 4) the presence of dense and long pilosity on the wings. Illustrations and a diagnosis and description of Sycidiphaga are provided, as is a key to the world genera of Sycophaginae. The phylogenetic position of Sycidiphaga was demonstrated through sequencing four gene regions of COI, Cyt b, 28s D3-D5 and EF-1α genes and conducting a phylogenetic analysis of available sequences for the subfamily. Sycidiphaga cannot be placed with confidence within Sycophaginae but several discussed characters suggest a close relationship with Idarnes Walker and Sycophaga Westwood. Interactive Lucid identification keys are available online at www.figweb.org.

Higher‐level phylogeny of diving beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) based on larval characters

AbstractA comprehensive higher‐level phylogeny of diving beetles (Dytiscidae) based on larval characters is presented. Larval morphology and chaetotaxy of a broad range of genera and species was studied, covering all currently recognized subfamilies and tribes except for the small and geographically restricted Hydrodytinae, where the larva is unknown. The results suggest several significant conclusions with respect to the systematics of Dytiscidae including the following: monophyly of all currently recognized subfamilies, although Dytiscinae when considered in a broad context is rendered paraphyletic by Cybistrinae; currently recognized tribes are monophyletic except for Agabini, Hydroporini and Laccornellini; inter‐subfamily and inter‐tribe relationships generally show weak support, except for a few well supported clades; three distinct clades are recognized within Dytiscinae [Dytiscini sensu lato (i.e. including the genera Dytiscus Linnaeus and Hyderodes Hope), Hydaticini sensu lato, and Cybistrini]; and recognition of Pachydrini as a distinct tribe. Other less robust results include: Methlini sister to the rest of Hydroporinae; relative basal position of Laccornini, Hydrovatini and Laccornellini within Hydroporinae; close relationship of Agabinae and Copelatinae; Matinae nested deep within Dytiscidae, as sister to a large clade including Colymbetinae, Coptotominae, Lancetinae and Dytiscinae sensu lato; the sister‐group relationship of Agabetini and Laccophilini is confirmed. The results presented here are discussed and compared with previous phylogenetic hypotheses based on different datasets, and the evolution of some significant morphological features is discussed in light of the proposed phylogeny. All suprageneric taxa are diagnosed, including illustrations of all relevant synapomorphies, and a key to separate subfamilies and tribes is presented, both in traditional (paper) format and as an online Lucid interactive identification key.

Review of the genus Genaemirum Heinrich (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Ichneumoninae) with interactive identification keys to species.

We describe Genaemirum phagocossorum Rousse, Broad & van Noort, sp. n., a new ichneumonine parasitoid wasp reared from Eucalyptus nitens logs infested by the cossid moth Coryphodema tristis, which is considered a major pest of forestry and food crops in South Africa. This is the first plausible host association for the genus, and fits with the host association predictions of Heinrich. Two further undescribed species were found in the collections of the Natural History Museum in London and are described as Genaemirum phacochoerus Broad, Rousse & van Noort, sp. n. and Genaemirum fumosum Broad, Rousse & van Noort, sp. n. An identification key to the eight known species and a diagnosis for each species are provided, including photographs of all the primary type specimens. Online Lucid interactive identification keys are available at: http://www.waspweb.org.