Expert Group on Antarctic Biodiversity Informatics: Coordinating the state-of-the-art internationally for biodiversity informatics in Antarctica

• Published in: Biodiversity Information Science and Standards
• Main Author: Chen, Thomas
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Pensoft Publishers 2021
• Subjects: coordination; polar; Antarctic; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Wilkinson; Antarc*; Antarctica; SCAR; Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/5518366; https://doi.org/10.3897/biss.5.74332

Biodiversity informatics have emerged as a key asset in wildlife and ecological conservation around the world. This is especially true in Antarctica, where climate change continues to threaten marine and terrestrial species. It is well documented that the polar regions experience the most drastic rate of climate change compared to the rest of the world (IPCC 2021). Research approaches within the scope of polar biodiversity informatics consist of computational architectures and systems, analysis and modelling methods, and human-computer interfaces, ranging from more traditional statistical techniques to more recent machine learning and artificial intelligence-based imaging techniques. Ongoing discussions include making datasets findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) (Wilkinson et al. 2016). The deployment of biodiversity informatics systems and coordination of standards around their utilization in the Antarctic are important areas of consideration. To bring together scientists and practitioners working at the nexus of informatics and Antarctic biodiversity, the Expert Group on Antarctic Biodiversity Informatics (EG-ABI) was formed under the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). EG-ABI was created during the SCAR Life Sciences Standing Scientific Group meeting at the SCAR Open Science Conference in Portland Oregon, in July 2012, to advance work at this intersection by coordinating and participating in a range of projects across the SCAR biodiversity science portfolio. SCAR, meanwhile, is a thematic organisation of the International Science Council (ISC), which is the primary entity tasked with coordinating high-quality scientific research on all aspects of Antarctic sciences and humanities, including the Southern Ocean and the interplay between Antarctica and the other six continents. The expert group is led by an international steering committee of roughly ten members, who take an active role in leading related initiatives. Currently, researchers from Australia, Belgium, the United ...