ITR/IM: An Internet Environment for BioDiversity Survey Collaboration and Verification

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Much field data for ecology and biodiversity studies uses data collected from hundreds of mostly novice collaborators. In order to address the issues of distributed intelligence, field support, mobile computing, remote training, data quality and coordination of information across time and space, with real-time expert feedback, a BioDiversity Collaboration Environment (BDCE) will be developed.Information technology could fundamentally change the way we understand the world and the way science in done. Substantial improvements in science can be made if the information technology is carefully developed and integrated. The system will integrate collaboration, collection development, information retrieval, and information creation and management. A key component of the technology is the development of software agents that will analyze the needs of survey members, prior surveys of the same site, museum record and other resources to create a customized collection of digital support material that can be put on disk and taken to the field, thereby overcoming bandwidth problems. The DBCE will be developed within the framework of a project being conducted by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which increases the impact of the research by it use in hundreds of surveys across Illinois. This is a largely volunteer effort, including high school students, for the data collection. The education to students and other non-scientists provides significant impact, beyond the information technology impact of smart devices.