BioTIME: A database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene

  • Articles in SCI Journals
  • Jun, 2018

Dornelas, M., Antao, L.H.,... Farneda, F.Z.,... López-Baucells, A.,... Meyer, C.F.J.,... Rocha, R.,...et al., (2018) BioTIME: a database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene.

Global Ecology and Biogeography, 27(7), 760-786. DOI:10.1111/geb.12729 (IF2018 5,667; Q1 Ecology)
Summary:

Motivation

The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene. 

Main types of variables included

The database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains metadata relating to sampling methodology and contextual information about each record. 

Spatial location and grain

BioTIME is a global database of 547,161 unique sampling locations spanning the marine, freshwater and terrestrial realms. Grain size varies across datasets from 0.0000000158 km(2) (158 cm(2)) to 100 km(2) (1,000,000,000,000 cm(2)). 

Time period and grainBio

TIME records span from 1874 to 2016. The minimal temporal grain across all datasets in BioTIME is a year. 

Major taxa and level of measurement

BioTIME includes data from 44,440 species across the plant and animal kingdoms, ranging from plants, plankton and terrestrial invertebrates to small and large vertebrates.


https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/geb.12729

Team

  • BioTIME: A database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene Adrià López Baucells Tropical and Mediterranean Biodiversity - TMB
  • BioTIME: A database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene Christoph Friedrich Johannes Meyer Tropical and Mediterranean Biodiversity - TMB
  • BioTIME: A database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene Ricardo Rocha Tropical and Mediterranean Biodiversity - TMB