HerpNET Overview and Uses of HerpNET Data

Carol L. SpencerMuseum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA

The main purpose of HerpNET is to make museum collections data available on-line for use in museum, conservation and phylogenetic research and to retrospectively assign coordinates to collection localities using consistent and repeatable methods. HerpNET data include more than 4 million specimen records that are being georeferenced to over 750,000 unique collecting localities.

What are HerpNET data?

Institutions in HerpNET 54 total, 47 North American (NSF funded), 7 international Nine funded by GBIF in red: AMS, BPBM, CIB, MHNG, MVZ, RM, RMCA, SMNS, ZIN.

What data are available on the HerpNET portal & website?

Portal is available for searching data at http://herpnet.org/portal.html

Currently 27 institutions are available on portal(BPBM, BYU, CAS,CUMV, FMNH, INHS, KU, LACM, LSU, MCZ, MHP, MSU, MVZ, PSM, ROM, SBNHM, SDNHM, TCWC,THNC, UAM, UCM, UMBM, UNAM,UNSM, UTA, UTEP)

Distributed database – servers at each institution

~7 servers will be added to the portal by late 2006, with all 54 institutions available online by Fall ‘07

Current state of georeferencing: Information communicated through

HerpNET Listserv http://herpnet.org/communication.html

Data available now on portal are those that were georeferenced previous to HerpNET

Georeferencing by HerpNET-NSF participants is finished for 20% of all localities

All of North American localities and all GBIF collections will be complete by Sept. 2007

Data are sent back to collections for integration into server databases after verification

Completed Georeferencing for North American Institutions: `20% of all unique localities completed

New Features for HerpNET (2007): Easy, “quick” search feature on the HerpNET portal More access to HerpNET point data from AmphibiaWeb

including maps, through data-caching Global Amphibian Assessment distribution maps (polygons

– created from expert opinion) shown with point data Ability to search on synonymous taxonomy on both

HerpNET and AmphibiaWeb

What You Can Do With These Data: Mapping point localities

Make point distributions of species by documenting where they are present

Background map, errors around localities, labels by museum or specimen number can be changed using the interactive mapping interface (Berkeley Mapper)

Options for sending annotated error comments being implemented.

Verification Functions:

Verifying current museum specimen data

Identifying errors due to georeferencing, specimen identification, or written locality information

Verification Functions: Identifying gross

georeferencing errors or specimens falling outside the administrative boundaries (e.g. counties in California)

Verifying current museum specimen data by mapping it on climate data to determine environmental outliers (using DIVA-GIS)

Predicting locations of possible new species or speciation mechanisms:

Predicting species distributions and ascertaining where new species may be found

Madagascar chameleons (Nussbaum et al., 2003)

Dendrobatid frog speciation mechanisms (Graham et al., 2004)

Burmese Bufo species showing areas of high endemicity where new field work should be done (ground truthing)

Predicting Biodiversity Hotspots:

Collecting by

CAS in Myanmar predicts new areas where high species diversity for both tropical highland and xeric habitats

Predicting distributions using past climates:

Mapping distributions onto past climates e.g. Crotaphytus distributions

Are distributions parapatric because of competitive exclusion or due to past glacial maxima causing separate refugium?

Crotaphytus

reticulatusvestigium

bicinctores

collaris

nebrius

antiquus

Predicting distributions using past climates:

• Hypothesis: Glacial maxima should have strongly affected the distributions of Crotaphytus species, driving northern populations extinct, leaving southern refugia (consistent with the genetic data)

• Results from bioclimatic modeling are consistent with this hypothesis

Current

C. collaris

C. bicinctores

C. reticulatus

21,000 ybp

How to do the mapping and niche-modeling yourself:

Download data from HerpNET portal & add your own data

Use automated georeferencing tools and follow standard methods (GeoLocate, Biogeomancer, HerpNET/MaNIS Guidelines)

Use Mapping Function on HerpNET portal to view specimen data that has already been georeferenced

Use DIVA-GIS (free) for BIOCLIM & Domain modeling

Links to other modeling programs available at HerpNET GIS resources web page e.g. MaxENT, GARP, GRASP, R

Benefits of using museum data in research:

Importance of voucher specimens for re-checking identifications

Identifying hybrid zones Tissues plus voucher specimen used to

identify new species (e.g. 19 new species of Batrachoseps since 1985)

Can access species changes over time (genetics, morphology, diet, distributions, disease vectors, pesticide residues,etc)

“At this point I wish to emphasize what I believe will ultimately prove to be the greatest purpose of our museum. This value will not, however, be realized until the lapse of many years, possibly a century, assuming that our material is safely preserved. And this is that the student of the future will have access to the original record of faunal conditions in California and the west, where ever we now work.”

Joseph Grinnell, 1910Founding Director, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley

The value and quality of our data is improved by georeferencing and making it more accessible.

Acknowledgments

NSF and GBIF for funding University of Kansas Museum of Vertebrate Zoology,

University of California, Berkeley

Michelle Koo for use of Myanmar MaxEnt models

Jim McGuire for use of Crotaphytus data & figures

Robert Hijmans for use of MVZ verification figures

CAS, Cal Photos, Michelle Koo, Joyce Gross, David Wake, Jim McGuire, and Henk Wallacy for photographs & maps.