CRITTERBASE

CRITTERBASE centralizes quality-controlled, taxonomically standardized marine biota datasets to enable integrated analyses of presence/absence, abundance, and biomass across spatial and temporal scales.

Key Features:

• Data integration: Collates datasets from published literature, unpublished sources, original research, and online repositories.
• Data types: Hosts presence/absence, abundance, and biomass data.
• Sample and taxon coverage: Contains 18,644 samples and 3,664 benthic taxa with species-level information for 2,824 taxa.
• Temporal coverage: Includes records spanning 1800–2014.
• Sampling methods: Includes samples collected by grabs, underwater imaging, and trawls.
• Geographic coverage: Covers regions including the Arctic, North Sea, and Antarctic.
• Taxonomic standardization: Applies taxonomic standardization across datasets.
• Quality control: Maintains quality-controlled datasets.
• Metadata and provenance: Provides comprehensive metadata and direct links to primary sources for traceability.

Scientific Applications:

• Spatio-temporal biodiversity analysis: Enables studies of biodiversity patterns and changes over time and across geographic locations.
• Climate impact assessment: Supports assessment of climate change impacts and risks on marine ecosystems.
• Conservation planning: Provides evidence to inform design and evaluation of marine protection policies.

Methodology:

Integrates and collates data from literature, unpublished sources, original research, and online repositories; applies quality control and taxonomic standardization; attaches comprehensive metadata and direct links to primary sources.