Collaborative Research: Collaborative Databasing of North American Bee Collections Within a Global Informatics Network

自然历史收藏包含数百万份蜜蜂标本，记录了所描述的20,000种蜜蜂的地理范围、时间发生模式和花卉联系。该项目将数字化和合并来自全美10个蜜蜂收藏的标本记录。调查人员将进行物种鉴定或核实，获取完整的标签数据、地理参考和错误检查地点，并将这些信息上传到公众可访问的数据库。基于网络的工具将被用于有效地捕获跨收集的数据，通过与分类学权威文件的自动比较来验证蜜蜂和植物名称，并将物种页面上的数据与图像、数字化文献记录以及关于蜜蜂及其宿主植物的其他信息合成。数据将被上传到全球生物多样性信息设施和探索生命(www.discoverlife.org)，这是一个网站，以所有全球蜜蜂物种的可定制全球地图和北美物种的动态识别密钥为特色。为了获得保护和管理传粉者所需的信息，研究人员将与生态学家合作，根据环境变量对蜜蜂种群的地理和时间趋势进行建模。在大约三分之一需要动物授粉的农作物中，蜜蜂是最重要的传粉者。最近蜜蜂数量的下降突显了更好地了解本地蜜蜂在农业和自然系统中的作用的必要性。该项目将有助于预测气候变化、栖息地丧失和其他因素对蜜蜂及其授粉服务的风险。蜜蜂狩猎推广计划(www.discoverlife.org/bee)将教育公众，包括服务不足社区的学生，了解蜜蜂多样性和授粉服务的重要性。使用数字摄影和严格的研究协议，Bee Hunt将使生物野外站、自然中心、公园、学校和其他地点的人们能够收集高质量的数据，以从标本记录中增加信息。

Natural history collections contain millions of bee specimens documenting the geographic ranges, temporal occurrence patterns, and floral associations of the 20,000 described bee species. This project will digitize and consolidate specimen records from 10 bee collections across the United States. The investigators will make or verify species identifications, capture full label data, georeference and error-check localities, and upload this information to publicly accessible databases. Web-based tools will be used to capture data across collections efficiently, validate bee and plant names through automated comparison with taxonomic authority files, and synthesize data on species pages with images, digitized literature records, and other information about bees and their host plants. Data will be uploaded to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and to Discover Life (www.discoverlife.org), a website that features customizable global maps for all global bee species and dynamic identification keys for North American species. To obtain information needed to conserve and manage pollinators, the investigators will work with ecologists to model geographic and temporal trends in bee populations in relation to environmental variables. Bees are the most important pollinators of the approximately 1/3 of crops that require animal pollination. Recent declines in honey bee populations highlight the need to understand better the roles of native bees in agricultural and natural systems. This project will help predict risks to bees and their pollination services from climate change, habitat loss, and other factors. The outreach program Bee Hunt (www.discoverlife.org/bee) will educate the public, including students in underserved communities, about bee diversity and the importance of pollination services. Using digital photography and rigorous research protocols, Bee Hunt will empower people at biological field stations, nature centers, parks, schools, and other sites to collect high-quality data to augment information from specimen records.