<div dir="ltr">Thank you so much Dakota, Carolyn and Doug.<div><br></div><div>It is very important to be aware of the uncertainty radii or DwC:coordinateUncertaintyInMeters (<a href="https://dwc.tdwg.org/terms/#dwc:coordinateUncertaintyInMeters">https://dwc.tdwg.org/terms/#dwc:coordinateUncertaintyInMeters</a>) and I am of the opinion<b> each data record needs to be shared (on platforms like GBIF) and educate users about "fitness of use"</b>. In some cases the record could be first for the state or county, and not sharing that, we might miss out on important information. More data we have, the more power we have to identify outliers.</div><div><br></div><div>Regards,</div><div><br></div><div>Vijay</div><div><br></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Mon, Sep 30, 2024 at 9:41 AM Douglas Yanega <<a href="mailto:dyanega@gmail.com">dyanega@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div class="msg-625974510911860535"><u></u>
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Assignment of arbitrary points is a balancing act. It is a recommended practice (e. g. , in the Darwin Core protocols) that every specimen-level database record with a georeference should include an uncertainty radius. There are lots of collections,</div>
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<p>Assignment of arbitrary points is a balancing act.</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.</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.</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>.<br>
</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. <br>
</p>
<p>Peace,<br>
</p>
<pre cols="72">--
Doug Yanega Dept. of Entomology Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314 office:951-827-8704
FaceBook: Doug Yanega (disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://faculty.ucr.edu/*heraty/yanega.html__;fg!!Ljrh0eb5atLX!t6s9KYuUQBJAbvrdku1PsFTzZrlD8HC9RU6F31coY3DKmFnk8uEEeBwTf-murvnO5KfGFdu1HNI$" target="_blank">https://faculty.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html</a>
"There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82</pre>
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