ID: 613 / 173

Category: Symposia

Track: Pending

Proposed Symposium Title: TAXONOMY AS OPEN SCIENCE: TOOL SUPPORT TO FACILITATE DATA USE FOR HANDS-ON PRACTITIONERS

Abstract: Botany has always been an "open science" with our core resources (specimens) stored in open access data repositories (herbaria), bearing world-readable data annotations (determinations) with data citations (specimen references) included as the basis of published hypotheses in literature. This working culture enabled botanical systematists to play a central role in the proposal and initial experiments in e-taxonomy at the start of the 21st century. We have since made major advances in connectivity and the mobilisation of data from literature and specimens - and (partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic) we have also seen significant improvements in software tools for remote collaboration and teaching. We also have access to advanced AI techniques which can be applied to tasks like specimen identification. Given our foundational open science working culture, and enhanced connectivity and data availablility, it is now time to re-evaluate the kinds of tools that were proposed in the initial etaxonomic experiments, to understand what practical tool support is needed to enable systematists to maximise their use of the available resources in their daily work. Participation and hands-on experimentation is crucial to ensure that longer-term initiatives like the digital extended specimen are sustainable and meet real user needs. We aim for this symposium to include contributions from multiple different stage of systematics research, covering for example: - decision support to identify what to work on and where to collect - how we replicate physical / built environment layouts and working practices (specimen comparison, grouping) as we move our working practices online - tool support for work with specimens and literature as research materials, visualising published hypotheses and developing new ones - ensuring that scientific users are hands-on in the creation of datasets for training AI systems and use of results from AI models - mobilisation of published results to facilitate digital curation

Speaker 1: Alex Monro RBG Kew a.monro@kew.org Pablo Hendrigo (RJB) Nadia Bystriakova (NHM London) "Tools to enable prioritisation of areas and eventually taxa"

Speaker 2: Nicky Nicolson / Eve Lucas RBG Kew n.nicolson@kew.org / e.lucas@kew.org "echinopscis: an extensible notebook for open science on specimens" https://echinopscis.github.io/

Speaker 3: James Macklin Agriculture Canada Jutta Buschbom Statistical Genetics A roadmap to develop the digital extended specimen (Session organiser NN is a member of the international partners group for the roadmapping of the digital extended specimen work - JM / JB are cited as representives of this group who will attend IBC and can talk on this subject. We can if necessary retain the subject but swap to a different presenter from the digital extended specimen group if necessary).

Topics (Up to three): Systematics

Topic 2: Floristics

Topic 3: Bioinformatics

Justification: Digital data derived from specimens and literature is crucial as an evidence base across the topics included in the IBC remit, and it is important that technologists can participate with scientific practitioners for maximum effectiveness. Open science principles are increasing seen as requirements from funding bodies. The breadth of attendance at the IBC gives us a good opportunity to discuss how best to utilise the digital resources that we have built so far, and to plan future activities in keeping with these principles to meet real-world needs.