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<p class="MsoNormal">Out of an abundance of caution, we made the decision approximately 8 years ago to truncate (not round) our coordinates to a tenth of a degree and give them a standard (5566 meter) error radius. We made this decision after some horror
stories of fossil collectors using a museums published coordinates to enter private property to collect fossils without the landowners permission.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We clearly state what we have done with our coordinates in our uploads to data aggregators and in our online database. We also indicate that more data may be available. For Darwin Core reasons, we do try to assign coordinates to all our
localities but know that this cannot be done for some of our specimens, especially things that only have a country, state or ocean designation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Leslie L. Skibinski<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Collection Manager<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Paleontological Research Institution<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">1259 Trumansburg Road<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Ithaca, New York 14850<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Phone: (607) 273-6623 ext. 128<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Fax: (607) 273-6620<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Douglas Yanega<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Monday, September 30, 2024 12:41 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Nhcoll-l] Lack of latitude and longitude<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p>Assignment of arbitrary points is a balancing act.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>It is a recommended practice (e.g., in the Darwin Core protocols) that every specimen-level database record with a georeference
<b>should include an uncertainty radius</b>. There are lots of collections, ours included, that follow this standard.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>The problem is that not everyone who USES specimen data makes use of this "error radius" information. As tempting as it is to say "Well, it's not our fault if people abuse our data", it does nonetheless represent a real concern, such that we might NOT want
to put specimen data online if the error radius is exceptionally large.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>The use of centroids, common as it is, can have serious repercussions when dealing with assessments for T&E taxa. In my own experience, the datasets for various bumblebees are "contaminated" with so many such points that it has created problems, where very
rare and geographically-limited species are mapping over much larger geographic areas than are realistic. This can keep a species in actual need of protection from BEING protected, and cause wasted resources when a species DOES get listed, and people spend
millions of dollars doing surveys for the species <b>in places where they have never occurred</b>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>The responsibility here is shared, ultimately, between data providers and data consumers. Providers shouldn't assume that all users will know to check for big error radii, and consumers shouldn't assume that the error radius is always zero. Sometimes, even
though you might want to have a data point in your database, you either shouldn't assign one, or - if you do - you shouldn't share it online. Not to prolong or extend the discussion, but a similar issue occurs with respect to non-native plants or animals raised
in gardens or quarantine facilities; if they are given a georeference for their "novel" location, this is
<b>very</b> open to misinterpretation. We have thousands of record in our database of this nature, as we maintain a major insectary/quarantine facility, with thousands of voucher specimens, but those data are
<b>not</b> put online <b>unless</b> the data being displayed are for the point of origin.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Peace,<o:p></o:p></p>
<pre>-- <o:p></o:p></pre>
<pre>Doug Yanega Dept. of Entomology Entomology Research Museum<o:p></o:p></pre>
<pre>Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314 office:951-827-8704<o:p></o:p></pre>
<pre>FaceBook: Doug Yanega (disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)<o:p></o:p></pre>
<pre> <a href="https://faculty.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html">https://faculty.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html</a><o:p></o:p></pre>
<pre> "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness<o:p></o:p></pre>
<pre> is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82<o:p></o:p></pre>
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