Systematics Databases, Taxonomic Referentials, and Validation of

Data in the Muséum National D'histoire Naturelle, Paris, France (MNHN)

 


Nicolas Bailly1, 2, Thierry Bourgoin1, 3, Simon Tillier1

1 Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Institut de Systématique (CNRS FR 1541),
43 rue Cuvier, 75231
Paris Cedex 05, France

2 Laboratoire d'Ichtyologie, 43 rue Cuvier

3 Laboratoire d'Entomologie (CNRS UPRES-A 8043), 45 rue Buffon

E-mail: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

With increasing development of databases in systematics, the need for a data quality assessment tool has rised as a crucial point. The Institut de Systématique of the MNHN and the Université Paris 6 (UPMC) houses currently numerous databases, of which 26 are already registered by BioCise. In parallel, the Service du Patrimoine Naturel (SPN) within the Institut d'Écologie et de Gestion de la Biodiversité (IEGB) of the MNHN, is in charge of fauna and flora inventories in the metropolitan and overseas French territories. Reliable taxonomic referentials (TR) are a necessity for all, but their validation and reliability remain unresolved difficulties. An internal MNHN working group has started a new programme RefTax which aims at producing the national TR by involving the systematists in the validation and quality assessment processes.

Among the RefTax objectives is a data validation procedure. The questions addressed are: how to involve systematists? how to provide a(several) quality assessment(s) to users? should the data quality be assessed as a whole (full record) and/or by field and/or by the components of quality (standards conformity, semantics, accuracy, reliability)? are tools already available? how to integrate tools in current databases? can we take the existing TR in MNHN and UPMC as generic models (CIPA, for phlebotoms; CLEMAM, for European marine molluscs; FLOW, for planthoppers)?

Because the species are not constrained by country borders, international contacts and networks are crucial. The group is thus involved in the data quality assessment in three systematics database projects proposed for the 5th European FP-RTD…………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...……………………………………………………………………………

 

<<INSTRUCTIONS>>

Paper: A4 (210mm x 297mm)

Number of pages: 1

Font: Times New Roman

Title:  12point, bold,  

Names of  authors:  12 point, centered         

Address: 11point, Italic, centered

E-mail address: 11point, Italic, centered 

Text: 11point

Margin: top, right and left 25mm

Indent: 7mm

We only accept this abstract in Word format (Windows), which should be better including background, purpose, materials & methods, results & discussion, etc. Please send your abstract before Jan. 26, 2004.