Ontologizing morphological terms for Hymenoptera

(Insecta) - implementing and benefiting from a

controlled vocabulary

Andrew R. Deans

Gregory A. Riccardi

Fredrik RonquistSchool of Computational Science, Florida State University

Hymenoptera

• one of 4 megadiverse insect orders (>115,000 described spp.)

• includes sawflies, ants, bees, social wasps, parasitic wasps

Hymenoptera Relationships

HymAToL - Assembling the Tree of Life for Hymenoptera

>30 people collaborating to resolve relationships between the major lineages of Hymenoptera

molecules

morphology

Terminological Issues

same spelling but different structure (e.g., “face”)

same structure but different spelling

Terminological Issues

“unguis” or “(pre)tarsal claw”

Terminological Issues

obscure terms

outdated terms (=to be discouraged)

ortaxon-specific terms

alitrunk

gaster

Ontology - controlled, explicit vocabulary

• includes relationships (“part of”, “synonym of”, etc.)

• hierarchical

• treats outdated terminology

• terms are verbally defined and illustrated

• incorporates taxon-specificity

Several ways to implement and benefit...

Search for -

“claw”

“pretarsus”

“orbicula”

“ungues”

“unguis”

OR

Search for -

“pretarsus”

+

related terms

Annotations

• high-lighting

• feedback

Phylogenetic tools

• high-lighting

• feedback

Terminological Issues

same spelling but different structure (e.g., “face”)

• online atlas of hymenopteran morphology

Other implementations/benefits

• “approved” terminology (ISH)

bioinformatics

colleagues

[Term]

id: 587

name: scrobal groove

def: "A horizontal groove on the mesopleuron that may be continuous with the episternal groove anteriorly and ends at the pleural grove posteriorly”

ref: "Goulet H, Huber JT, 1993. Hymenoptera of the World: An Identification Guide to Families. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada Publication 1894/E., Ottawa, ON. 668 pp.”

link: "<link to images, etc. could go here>”

relationship: part_of 157 ! mesopleuron

relationship: is_a 138 ! groove

data dump

REAL ONTOLOGY

mx

backend

NSF-funded MorphBank project (http://morphbank.net/)

Neil Sarkar (AMNH), Donat Agosti (AMNH), Norm Johnson (OSU), Matt Yoder (TAMU), et alia plurima

Acknowledgments