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Standards for complex observation types

Jocelyn Pender edited this page Mar 8, 2023 · 7 revisions

Absence Data/Negative Data

Note: this standard is in progress

Temporary solution

Field standards

Field Name AC CDC Standards and Notes Examples
NAMEtemp Genus species [ABSENT]
If the observation is tied to an existing record:Genus species [ABSENT; old record IDNUM]

Platanthera hookeri [ABSENT; old record is IDNUM 625173]
OBDESC If the observation is tied to an existing record, enter this text in the existing record OBDESC field:
[site searched by observer on OBDATE but species not seen. DM_INITIALS DATE_OBDESC_NOTE_ADDED]
[site searched by Don McLelland on 2021 06 19 but species not seen. JEP 2021 09 20]

Bird Observations - non-eBird Data

Note: this standard is in progress

e.g., point counts, incidental observations

Case 1. True location of bird: _Coordinates _– location of bird [Locuncm] - the estimated magnitude of error in the coordinates assigned to the true location (i.e., error in GPS + error in correctly plotting position) [NOTEloc] – “coordinates are location of bird”

Case 2. Bird detected within some distance of a known location (e.g., point count survey) _Coordinates _– location of a survey station [Locuncm] - the estimated distance of the bird from the survey station [NOTEloc] – “coordinates are location from which bird was observed, not the location of bird” – or – “coordinates are of survey station”

Ecological Communities

Note: this standard is in progress

Field Name Description Required?
ELCODE If the observation pertains to a defined community (i.e., one with an ELCODE) use the ELCODE field ACTION: add Neily established community types, generating an ELCODE for each (*-NS)
NAMEtemp If the observation does not pertain to a defined community put in the NAMEtemp field the prefix [COMMUNITY] followed by scientific names of the dominant stratum and minimal description (CSB 160524) Example: [COMMUNITY] Picea mariana8 - Abies balsamea1 - Picea rubens1 upland/swamp forest
obDESC age and condition of the community Example: 75 year old forest, mesic to wet swamp
obASSP Additional associated species preferably in order of abundance within a plant layer (from subcanopy, shrub/sapling, understory, moss/lichen on ground Example: Nemopanthus mucronatus; Gaylussacia baccata (70% tall shrub cover); Kalmia angustifolia; Pteridium aquilinum var. latiusculum; Cornus canadensis; Ledum groenlandicum; Pleurozium schreberi; Sphagnum sp

Examples.

  1. Ecological community that does not have an ELCODE: NAMEtemp = [COMMUNITY] – Picea nigra shrub swamp obASSP = Carex trisperma, osmunda cinnamomea obDESC = <blank>, or, 75 year old forest, mesic to wet swamp

  2. Old forest:

  • use community-assoc fields
  • and flag as IsOLDFOREST = 1

Other Features

Non-taxa and non-ecological community natural and anthropogenic features

Field Name Description Required? Data Type Domain Length
OTHERfeature keyword of any kind chosen from standard list (e.g., geology, landform, forestry,gypsum, karst, cave, old forest) so consistent and searchable (replaces OTHERfeature and OTHERfeatureTYPE fields) No Text
OBDESC for a more detailed description if present (replaces OTHERfeatureNOTE field) No Text
isOLDFOREST Whether the location is an old forest stand;
**If no species information is available: **record old forest information using the OTHERfeature fields
If species information is available: record the ecological community (see section above), describing old forest conditions in [obDESC] and entering 1 in the [isOLDFOREST] field
No number 0, 1

Examples

  1. Gypsum, karst OTHERfeature = gypsum or karst OBDESC = <description of feature>

  2. clearcut OTHERfeature = clearcut OBDESC = ~5 year old clearcut with regenerating red maple

OTHERfeature vs COMMUNITY

  • natural features can for the most part be fit into a [COMMUNITY], even features without significant vegetation, e.g., granitic cliff
  • multi-species congregations, e.g., important shorebird areas (which would receive an ELCODE and S-rank)(NatureServe standards available for this, maybe vague)(BC, ON)

OTHERfeature vs observation record

  • use species record whenever possible, e.g., beaver pond, beaver dam

Online Databases

E.g., iNaturalist, Facebook, Bug Guide, eBird, Moth Photographers Group

iNaturalist

Field Name Description Required? Data Type Length
OBSERVER If known: observer name in standard format (see above)
If unknown: “iNaturalist user: “&user_login
URL Of the observation if available (not the photo). E.g., https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/15854706, where the final number is the iNat observation ID Yes, if available text 255
URL_IMAGE URL of an image associated with the observation. E.g., https://static.inaturalist.org/photos/39395777/medium.jpeg?1558351332 No text 255
ACCNUM The iNaturalist observation ID preceded by ‘iNat’: E.g., iNat15854706 Yes, to avoid duplicates in database text
OBEVID iNaturalist. This can be concatenated with other evidence categories, separated by a semicolon Yes text
PROJECT iNaturalist No text
COLLECTION Abbreviated as iNat Yes text
COLLNUM Do not use. text
LOCUNCM When loading these into our database, we set at LOCUNCM 50 or 200 m integer
SURVEYSITE Single placename; optionally, use script to set as nearest CGNDB locality. Should not use for records with LOCUNCM > _. text 255
DIRECTIONS Generate with CDC script. Should not use for records with LOCUNCM > 100. text 255

eBird - IN PROGRESS

TBD.

Captive, cultivated or planted observations

  1. Planted into wild habitat within the native range with the intention of population augmentation: should be tracked as a regular occurrence, with a clear note in OBDESC (e.g., OBDESC = planted for population augmentation).
  2. Planted outside of the native range: can be ignored entirely or (if the record is likely to come back at us again in future, especially SAR) added to the database with the recEXCLUDE = 1 i.e., the Exclude Record box turned on. Ensure there is a clear note in recExcludeReason
  3. Planted ornamentally within native range: should generally be excluded (either completely for most species or with database exclude box for SAR, i.e., recEXCLUDE = 1).