Biodiversity informatics

Biodiversity informatics is an emerging field that applies information management tools to the management and analysis of species-occurrence, taxonomic character, and image data. A wide and growing range of tools is available for both curators and researchers. The development and implementation of formal data exchange standards and query protocols have made it possible to integrate data holdings from collections around the world. The current technological environment is summarized; protocols, standards, and tools for data management, sharing, and integration are reviewed; and methods and tools for analyzing species-occurrence and character data are examined. Direct access to primary data and imagery has the power to transform the means by which taxonomy is practiced and its results disseminated to the general community.