Under point data we understand specimen or observation data, obtained from a single spot, preferably with spatial coordinates. If sufficient point data are available for a particular species, this should give a good idea about its distribution. It should be noted that these data are obtained from a wide range of data providers and may widely differ in data quality. We strongly encourage scientists to perform the necessary data filtering and cleaning before using the data (see also the page on data quality control). By also making other data on distribution data available, e.g. based on expert knowledge, we hope to provide tools for data users to better judge the fitness-for-use of the available data.
In addition to occurrence data, we are also integrating more descriptive distribution data. This distribution data is generally based on expert opinion and can be available at different scales (e.g. country, basin, ecoregion level). We are building tools to visualize this data, so they can be combined with the point data.
The very first "dataset" that was included in this data portal was a set of megafauna records. As we needed a workable dataset to start on, we obtained some data from GBIF, requested by one of the BioFresh partners. We received a list of megafauna (i.e. animals of 45 kg and above) from Jörg Freyhof. Using this list, we automatically retrieved data from GBIF using web services.
In total, we obtained over 150'000 occurrence records for 110 species. Although this dataset is rather limited, it allowed us to develop and test the tools for processing of GBIF-data for extending the data portal.
Genera containing macrofauna species: Acipenser, Alligator, Arapaima, Argyrosomus, Arius, Atractosteus, Brachyplatystoma, Caiman, Carcharhinus, Catlocarpio, Chrysichthys, Clarias, Crocodylus, Ctenopharyngodon, Eleutheronema, Eunectes, Gavialis, Hemibagrus, Heterobranchus, Hexaprotodon, Himantura, Hippopotamus, Hucho, Huso, Hydrochoerus , Hydrocynus, Hypophthalmichthys, Hypselobarbus, Ictalurus, Inia, Labeo, Lates, Lipotes, Luciobarbus, Maccullochella, Mecistops, Megalops, Melanosuchus, Morone, Neophocaena, Oncorhynchus, Orcacella, Osteolaemus, Paleosuchus, Pangasianodon, Pangasius, Paulicea, Phoca, Platanista, Polydactylus, Polyodon, Potamotrygon, Pristis, Probarbus, Psephurus, Pseudoplatystoma, Pusa, Pylodictis, Salmo, Scaphirhynchus, Scomberomorus, Silurus, Sotalia, Tomistoma, Tor, Trichechus, Wallago.
Our database was further extended after full integration of the FADA database (see species registry). We tried to obtain GBIF data for all species in our registry using the same process as mentioned for the megafauna. Where available, we obtained data on freshwater Halacaridae, Hydroida, Cladocera, Copepoda, Mysidacea, Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera, Macrophytes, Bivalvia, Nematomorpha, Turbellaria, Rotifera, Fish and Mammals.
