Biodi e si y In o ma ion Science and S anda ds 9: e178568
doi: 10.3897/biss.9.178568
Con e ence Abs ac
I Takes a Ne wo k: Building Biodi e si y
Knowledge Th ough Collabo a ion
Sand a Em y , Ellen K Bledsoe , Da id AGA Hun , Jason Pi he , Jessica E Reemeye , Diane
S i as a a
‡ Uni e si y o B i ish Columbia, Vancou e , Canada
§ Uni e si y o A izona, Tucson, Uni ed S a es o Ame ica
| McGill Uni e si y, Mon éal, Canada
¶ Uni e si y o B i ish Columbia, Kelowna, Canada
# Uni e si y o Regina, Regina, Canada
Co esponding au ho : Sand a Em y (em [email protected])
Recei ed: 18 No 2025 | Published: 20 No 2025
Ci a ion: Em y S, Bledsoe E, Hun D, Pi he J, Reemeye J, S i as a a D (2025) I Takes a Ne wo k: Building
Biodi e si y Knowledge Th ough Collabo a ion. Biodi e si y In o ma ion Science and S anda ds 9: e178568.
h ps://doi.o g/10.3897/biss.9.178568
Abs ac
Unde s anding biodi e si y ends h ough ime is complex (Johnson e al. 2024), and
he e is an u gen need o syn hesize da a ac oss ime and space o unde s and changes.
Technological ad ances ha e expanded ou abili y o collec con empo a y
en i onmen al da a, ye unde s anding biodi e si y ends also equi es looking o he
pas . P e iously collec ed da a a e o en no only sca e ed ac oss o ma s, especially
analog, bu also disciplines and ins i u ions. Thus, aluable biodi e si y eco ds a e
di icul o access and unde used in esea ch and decision-making (Mo i z e al. 2011).
The Li ing Da a P ojec (www.ciee-icee.ca/ldp.h ml), an ini ia i e o he Canadian Socie y
o Ecology and E olu ion, b ings oge he his o ical and con empo a y sou ces o c ea e
cu a ed da ase s ha in o m egional and na ional biodi e si y assessmen s.
Cen al o da a escue and syn hesis is collabo a ion: da ase s a e o en his o ical, as a e
he expe ise and ne wo ks o he da a holde s. Building biodi e si y knowledge sys ems,
‡ § | ¶ #
‡
© Em y S e al. This is an open access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License (CC BY
4.0), which pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal au ho and sou ce a e
c edi ed.
he e o e, depends on pa ne ships spanning ins i u ions, disciplines, and skill se s. Ou
collabo a i e wo k low mo es h ough ou key s ages:
1. iden i ying and collec ing legacy da ase s, o en in pa ne ship wi h a chi is s,
lib a ians, and da a s ewa ds;
2. digi izing and s anda dizing da a in o in e ope able o ma s wi h he help o
g adua e s uden s, pos doc o al esea che s, and acul y;
3. analyzing biodi e si y ends h ough in e disciplina y collabo a ion among
ecologis s, s a is icians, and spa ial analys s;
4. deli e ing ou pu s ha each bo h science and socie y, om pee - e iewed
publica ions o policy ools. We illus a e his p ocess h ough wo case s udies.
A: His o ical pes icide sp aying in New B unswick, Canada
S ep 1: Fo es y pes icide applica ion eco ds we e his o ically managed a he
p o incial le el, wi h iles sca e ed ac oss ou p o inces. Some eco ds we e digi ized,
bu many emained only in ha d copy. Go e nmen esea che s ecognized he alue o
hese da ase s o calcula ing cumula i e pes icide loads bu lacked he capaci y o
escue hem.
S ep 2: A eam o g adua e s uden s, men o ed by a pos doc o al esea che and acul y,
compiled, digi ized, and s anda dized pes icide applica ion eco ds. The digi ized da ase
is a chi ed on he Go e nmen o Canada’s open da a po al and published as a da a
pape in Ecology (Hea z e al. 2023).
S ep 3: A wo king g oup (WG) con ened ecologis s, oxicologis s, s a is icians, and GIS
specialis s o in eg a e he pes icide da ase wi h aqua ic communi y da a om he
Canadian Aqua ic Biomoni o ing Ne wo k. This WG collabo a i ely de ined c i e ia o
eco e y, e alua ed legacy e ec s o mul iple pes icides, and assessed d i e s o aqua ic
communi y esilience.
S ep 4: This p ojec p oduced new insigh s in o ecosys em eco e y om pes icide
dis u bances, culmina ing in an a icle in En i onmen al Pollu ion (Sugden e al. 2025),
p esen a ions a na ional con e ences, and S o yMaps o engage he public.
B: The Li ing Plane Index as a biodi e si y indica o .
S ep 1: The Li ing Plane Index (LPI) da abase, managed by he Zoological Socie y o
London (ZSL) and Wo ld Wildli e Fund (WWF), agg ega es mo e han 38,000 e eb a e
ime se ies wo ldwide, including o e 8,000 om Canada (928 species om 1950–2018).
Sou ce da a include pee - e iewed li e a u e, go e nmen epo s, and ci izen science.
Many Canadian eco ds lacked geo e e encing, howe e , and conce ns emained abou
po en ial biases due o hese gaps.
S ep 2: G adua e s uden s, pos docs, and acul y men o s wo ked wi h WWF and ZSL s a
o geo e e ence Canadian LPI ime-se ies da a, ha monizing a iables such as loca ion,
axonomic esolu ion, and moni o ing me hods. The esul ing da abase p o ided he
2Em y S e al
ounda ion o wo subsequen in e na ional WGs on LPI da a sensi i i y and
ep esen a i eness.
S ep 3: Subg oups o hese WGs asked: How sensi i e is he LPI o di e en ea men s o
ze os, sho o spa se ime se ies, o ou lie s?; Wha is he minimum sample size needed
o ep oduce he o e all end?; Can indica o species be iden i ied o poo ly moni o ed
a eas?
S ep 4: These collabo a ions gene a ed mul iple ou pu s. A FACETS a icle (Cu ie e al.
2022) explo es he iden i ica ion o indica o species; a manusc ip cu en ly in e iew
es s he sensi i i y and obus ness o he LPI (Cu ie e al. 2025). A oolki o applying
sensi i i y analyses o na ional indices is also in de elopmen o conse a ion
p ac i ione s. These ou pu s ensu e ha biodi e si y indica o s emain bo h scien i ically
igo ous and policy- ele an , suppo ing Canada’s in e na ional epo ing obliga ions.
Conclusion
By combining legacy da ase s and in e disciplina y expe ise, we can unlock biodi e si y
da a ha would o he wise emain inaccessible. A collabo a i e wo k low—iden i ying,
digi izing, analyzing, and deli e ing—can ans o m dispa a e da ase s in o knowledge
ha in o ms bo h science and policy in an e a o apid ecological change.
Keywo ds
collabo a ion, da a escue, wo king g oups
P esen ing au ho
Sand a Em y
P esen ed a
Li ing Da a 2025
Con lic s o in e es
The au ho s ha e decla ed ha no compe ing in e es s exis .
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4Em y S e al
