RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A Community-Developed Extension to Darwin Core for Reporting the Chronometric Age of Specimens
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.11.24.469822
DO 10.1101/2021.11.24.469822
A1 Brenskelle, Laura
A1 Wieczorek, John
A1 Davis, Edward
A1 Wallis, Neill J.
A1 Emery, Kitty
A1 LeFebvre, Michelle J.
A1 Guralnick, Rob
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/11/24/2021.11.24.469822.1.abstract
AB Darwin Core, the data standard used for sharing modern biodiversity and paleodiversity occurrence records, has previously lacked proper mechanisms for reporting what is known about the estimated age range of specimens from deep time. This has led to data providers putting these data in fields where they cannot easily be found by users, which impedes the reuse and improvement of these data by other researchers. Here we describe the development of the Chronometric Age Extension to Darwin Core, a ratified, community-developed extension that enables the reporting of ages of specimens from deeper time and the evidence supporting these estimates. The extension standardizes reporting about the methods or assays used to determine an age and other critical information like uncertainty. It gives data providers flexibility about the level of detail reported, focusing on the minimum information needed for reuse while still allowing for significant detail if providers have it. Providing a standardized format for reporting these data will make them easier to find and search and enable researchers to pinpoint specimens of interest for data improvement or accumulate more data for broad temporal studies. The Chronometric Age Extension was also the first community-managed vocabulary to undergo the new Biodiversity Informatics Standards (TDWG) review and ratification process, thus providing a blueprint for future Darwin Core extension development.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.