Darwin Core terms interpreted

This page explains the Canadensys-specific interpretation and implementation of Darwin Core terms in the Explorer.

** This symbol describes the way Canadensys will display the information coming from this field

Darwin Core Archive

A Darwin Core Archive (Dwc-A) is the main unit of reference in the Explorer because the goal is to maintain synchrony with sources that produce these documents. In the absence of an accepted globally unique ID mechanism, we use a combination of source file (Dwc-A) and core ID to uniquely identify a record within the Explorer.

Darwin Core Terms for OCCURRENCE data – Core file

institution

A Darwin Core Archive may contain records from multiple institutions. In most cases, institutionCode uniquely identifies an institution but this is not a guarantee

  • institutionCode: The Institution Name (or acronym) in use by the institution. Preferably use the name of the institution in full**Used to generate citations on occurrence page and is included in the e-mail when people download results of a query.

    Example : Université de Montréal Biodiversity Centre

  • institutionID: An identifier for the institution having custody of the object(s) or information referred to in the record.
  • ownerInstitutionCode: Name (or acronym) in use by the institution having ownership of the object or information. Preferably use the name of the institution in full.
    Example : Université de Montréal Biodiversity Centre

collection

A Darwin Core Archive may contain records from multiple collections (e.g. botanical or entomological collections).

  • collectionCode: The name, acronym, coden, or initialism identifying the collection or data set from which the record was derived. Use the coden for the collection if known.
    Example : MT
  • collectionID: An identifier for the collection or dataset from which the record was derived. For physical specimens, preferably use the identifier in a collection registry.
    Example : urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:14437

dataset

A Darwin Core Archive may contain multiple datasets (e.g. distinct groups of data representing insect surveys conducted in different years) and datasetID is not globally unique.

  • datasetID: An identifier for the set of data. May be a global unique identifier or an identifier specific to a collection or institution. Preferably use a URL for a collection’s web page, which may be the Integrated Publishing Toolkit where the Darwin Core Archive is served or a recognized global unique identifier such as a DOI.
    Example : http://dataset.canadensys.net/mt-specimens
  • datasetName: Name identifying the data set from which the record was derived. Preferably use the name of the collection along with its coden in brackets.
    Example: Marie-Victorin Herbarium (MT)
  • catalogNumber : Identifier within a collection for a specimen (Normally unique but not always the case). For collection specimens. Should not be used for observation data. **Used to generate preferred citation for specimens
  • recordNumber: Identifier (usually unique, at least for the same sampling day) given to the Occurrence at the time it was recorded, observed or collected in the field. Often serves as a link between field notes and an Occurrence record
  • fieldNumber: Identifier given to the eventin the field. Often serves as a link between field notes and the Event.
    Example : 950802T5Q32 (for an occurrence from the Quadrat 32 on the Transect number 5 on August 2nd 1995)
  • otherCatalogNumbers: A list (concatenated and separated) of previous or alternate fully qualified catalog numbers or other human-used identifiers for the same Occurrence, whether in the current or any other data set or collection.

License

associated data

  • associatedSequences
    : May soon fall in disuse due to new Genome extensionsFor now, the supported format is SequenceProvider:ID where SequenceProvider is currently ‘GenBank’ and ‘BOLD’ . If more than one sequence is provided, pipe | character should be used. **ID will be used to point to the specific sequence webpage.

    Example: GenBank:KC251377|BOLD:TADCR103-10.rbcLa|BOLD:TADCR99-10.rbcLa

event

  • verbatimEventDate: Information about the date as it was originally represented (e.g. on the label). Examples: le 5 janvier de l’an 1983 ; on the 3rd Monday of the month of June 1850 ; Thanksgiving 1935.
  • year, month, day (3 separate fields): Preferred way to represent a single-day event including partial date but not suitable for date intervals.
  • eventDate: Information about the event date (single day event or interval) preferably using ISO 8601(YYYY-MM-DD). For partial dates: ‘YYYY-MM’ for month precision , ‘YYYY’ for year only precision.

    Date intervals preferred representation : ‘YYYY-MM-DD/YYYY-MM-DD’.

    Example for a trap open for 3 days : 2014-05-06/2014-05-08

location – Altitude-related terms

  • verbatimelevation: verbatim altitude (above sea level) as originaly written. **For display purpose only, not used in Explorer filters.
  • minimumelevationinmeters and maximumelevationinmeters: known minimum and maximum altitude for this record, in meters (do not forget to convert from feet if necessary). For elevation where there is no min and max (Example : 200m), use both fields.

various « Remarks » terms

  • occurenceRemarks: About the occurrence or specimen itself.
    Example: Found dead on road
  • eventRemarks: Additionnal information on the location and the time of the record/collection. Were there anything particular on this day at this place that could participate to the presence of the specimen?
    Example: heavy rains for 3 days before this record, the river is nearly at flood stage.

    Examples: forest burnt in a fire 2 months ago (August 2012 – 130km2) ; no precipitation in the past 90 days.

  • locationRemarks : Long-term details on the location (e.g. hint on the chance to find another specimen at this location).
    Example: under water since 2005 ; protected area (Banff National Park).
  • georeferenceRemarks: Comments about the spatial description determination : clarification, addition or opposition to the general method described in georeferenceProtocol.
    Example: assumed distance by road (Hwy 101) ; GPS potential malfunction, coordinates to be used with caution.
  • identificationRemarks: Notes explaining the identification process.
    Example: Distinguished between Anthus correndera and Anthus hellmayri based on the comparative lengths of …
  • taxonRemarks: Comments or notes about the taxon or name.
    Example: “this name is a misspelling in common use”

Darwin Core Terms for CHECKLIST data – Core file

  • acceptedNameUsageID: mandatory for synonyms, pointing to the accepted taxonID inside the same file (taxon file). Leave empty if it is the same than the taxonID.
  • acceptedNameUsage: mandatory for synonyms, name of the accepted taxon (name of the taxon represented by acceptedNameUsageID). Leave empty if it is the same than the ScientificName.
  • parentNameUsageID: used for classification, pointing to the ‘most proximate higher-rank parent taxon (in a classification)’. This should be empty for the root taxon (e.g. Equisetopsida) and all synonyms.
  • parentNameUsage : used for classification, pointing to the ‘most proximate higher-rank parent taxon (in a classification). This should be empty for the root taxon (e.g. Equisetopsida) and all synonyms.
  • scientificNameAuthorship: The authorship information for the scientificName formatted according to the conventions of the applicable nomenclaturalCode.
    Example for Botany: (Hooker ex Goldie) A. Gray
  • scientificName: The full scientific name, with authorship and date information if known from the last determination, and formatted according to the conventions of the applicable nomenclatural Code. This term should not contain identification qualifications.
    Examples for Botany: Hamamelis virginiana Linnaeus ; Abies balsamea (Linnaeus) Miller ; Abies balsamea var. phanerolepis Fernald (in Botany, use only the infrasp Authorship. No Authorship between sp and infrasp).