Traits.Build

Traits.Build provides a generalised workflow for building harmonised ecological trait databases that facilitates trait-based analyses and integration with other databases.

Key Features:

• Data model: The output structure is fully documented by a data model that ensures the meaning of each variable and semantic relationship between variables is transparent and consistent.
• Data standard integration: The data standard links to terms in previously published data standards, drawing strongly on DarwinCore and the Ecological Trait-data Standard, and includes the ability to fully map location and context properties absent from these vocabularies.
• Ontology adherence: It is the first published database-building workflow that adheres to the Extensible Observation Ontology.
• Metadata propagation: The package contains bespoke functions for propagating metadata files.
• FAIR principles: The workflow provides a straightforward pathway to build a new trait database that achieves the FAIR principles.
• Database interoperability: The meaning of all variables in a traits.build database are documented, allowing integration with other traits.build databases or any other database with a documented data model.

Scientific Applications:

• Ecological research: Facilitates research on the ecology of taxa across the Tree of Life through standardised trait databases.
• Evolutionary biology: Supports research on the evolution of taxa through harmonised trait data.
• Conservation biology: Enables conservation research by providing integrated trait data for diverse taxa.
• Trait-based analysis: Allows researchers to move efficiently from database construction to downstream trait-based analysis and interpretation.
• Database integration: Supports the Open Traits Network vision by enabling easy integration of trait database data for further analysis.

Methodology:

The workflow uses bespoke functions for propagating metadata files and sample configuration files to build trait databases. The data model documents all variables and their semantic relationships, linking to DarwinCore, the Ecological Trait-data Standard, and the Extensible Observation Ontology.