Checklist of alien herpetofauna of Belgium
Citation
van Doorn L, Reyserhove L, Speybroeck J, Adriaens T, Govaert S (2024). Checklist of alien herpetofauna of Belgium. Version 1.4. Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/pnxu4c accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-12-03.Description
The checklist of alien herpetofauna of Belgium is a species checklist dataset published by the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). It contains information on alien amphibian and reptile species recorded in the wild in Belgium since 1968. Both established species and occasional records are included, but with information on the degree of establishment of species following the unified invasion framework of Blackburn et al. (2011). The checklist is published here as a standardized Darwin Core Archive and includes for each (sub)species: the scientific name and classification (in the taxon core), the presence in Flanders, Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region, year of first and last observation in Belgium (given as a year range in the event date in the distribution extension), coarse habitat information (in the species profile extension), and the degree of establishment, pathway(s) of introduction and native range(s) (in the description extension). Issues with the dataset can be reported at https://github.com/trias-project/alien-herpetofauna-belgium.
We have released this dataset to the public domain under a Creative Commons Zero waiver. We would appreciate it if you follow the GBIF citation guidelines (https://www.gbif.org/citation-guidelines) when using the data. If you have any questions regarding this dataset, don’t hesitate to contact us via the contact information provided in the metadata.
This dataset was published as open data for the TrIAS project (Tracking Invasive Alien Species http://trias-project.be, Vanderhoeven et al. 2017), with technical support provided by the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). It is selected as one of the authoritative sources for the compilation of a unified and reproducible checklist of alien species in Belgium.
Sampling Description
Study Extent
The checklist incorporates all records of alien herpetofauna observed in the wild in Belgium (subdivided for each of the three main political regions). Both established species and casual records were included.Sampling
The data for this checklist are curated from several sources: literature, a citizen science portal, animal shelter databases, news articles, firsthand accounts and own records. The majority of the data for all three political regions is derived from the citizen science portal https://waarnemingen.be/, available through GBIF (Vanreusel et al. 2020). For Flanders, a considerable second source of data are the various animal shelters, operating under Vogelbescherming Vlaanderen, and SOS Reptiel, a non-profit animal shelter specialized in reptiles and amphibians. For Wallonia, data is shared by Natagora, a non-profit nature conservation organisation. Literature, firsthand accounts, news articles and own records constitute a minority of the data in the checklist.Quality Control
All records are individually validated by species experts (resource creators of this dataset) based on data sources and available information. Unreliable records lacking details were omitted from the dataset.Method steps
- The source data for this standardized checklist is a Google Spreadsheet and re-uploaded regularly at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LeXXbry2ArK2rngsmFjz_xErwE1KwQ8ujtvHNmTVA6E/edit?gid=541627250#gid=541627250
- This raw data file was uploaded to a GitHub repository (https://github.com/trias-project/alien-herpetofauna-belgium).
- We developed a RMarkdown script to document and perform the transformation of the data to Darwin Core, which includes the following steps:
- Perform some basic data cleaning of the raw data.
- Generate stable and unique identifiers for each taxon (taxonID).
- Create a taxon core file (http://rs.gbif.org/core/dwc_taxon.xml).
- Create a distribution extension file (http://rs.gbif.org/extension/gbif/1.0/distribution.xml), including standardization of the distribution date range and event dates.
- Create a species profile extension file (http://rs.gbif.org/extension/gbif/1.0/speciesprofile.xml), with coarse habitat information.
- Create a description extension file (http://rs.gbif.org/extension/gbif/1.0/description.xml), with standardized pathway of introduction (using the pathway vocabulary from the Convention on Biological Diversity (2014)), native range, and degree of establishment (based on Blackburn et al. (2011)).
- The resulting Darwin Core data files are uploaded to the INBO IPT and documented with metadata.
- The dataset is published and registered with GBIF.
Taxonomic Coverages
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Animaliarank: kingdom
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Amphibiacommon name: Amphibians rank: class
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Reptiliacommon name: Reptiles rank: class
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Squamatarank: order
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Testudinesrank: order
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Anurarank: order
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Crocodiliarank: order
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Urodelarank: order
Geographic Coverages
Bibliographic Citations
- Blackburn TM, Pysek P, Bacher S, Carlton JT, Duncan RP, Jarosik V, Wilson JRU & Richardson DM (2011) A proposed unified framework for biological invasions. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 26: 333-339. - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2011.03.023
- Convention on Biological Diversity (2014) Pathways of introduction of invasive species, their prioritization and management. UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/18/9/Add.1. Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal. https://www.cbd.int/doc/meetings/sbstta/sbstta-18/official/sbstta-18-09-add1-en.pdf -
- Vanderhoeven S, Adriaens T, Desmet P, Strubbe D, Backeljau T, Barbier Y, Brosens D, Cigar J, Coupremanne M, De Troch R, Eggermont H, Heughebaert A, Hostens K, Huybrechts P, Jacquemart A, Lens L, Monty A, Paquet J, Prévot C, Robertson T, Termonia P, Van De Kerchove R, Van Hoey G, Van Schaeybroeck B, Vercayie D, Verleye T, Welby S, Groom Q (2017) Tracking Invasive Alien Species (TrIAS): Building a data-driven framework to inform Collection data -
- Vanreusel W, Swinnen K, Gielen K, Vercayie D, Driessens G, Veraghtert W, Desmet P, Herremans M (2020). Waarnemingen.be - Non-native animal occurrences in Flanders and the Brussels Capital Region, Belgium. Version 1.25. Natuurpunt. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/k2aiak accessed via GBIF.org on 2020-09-06. - https://doi.org/10.15468/k2aiak
Contacts
Loïc van Doornoriginator
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
BE
email: loic.vandoorn@inbo.be
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3497-9168
Lien Reyserhove
originator
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
BE
email: lien.reyserhove@inbo.be
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7484-9267
Jeroen Speybroeck
originator
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
BE
email: jeroen.speybroeck@inbo.be
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7241-7804
Tim Adriaens
originator
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
BE
email: tim.adriaens@inbo.be
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7268-4200
Sanne Govaert
originator
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
BE
email: sanne.govaert@inbo.be
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8939-1305
Loïc van Doorn
metadata author
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
email: loic.vandoorn@inbo.be
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3497-9168
Tim Adriaens
metadata author
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
email: tim.adriaens@inbo.be
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7268-4200
Jeroen Speybroeck
metadata author
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
email: jeroen.speybroeck@inbo.be
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7241-7804
Lien Reyserhove
metadata author
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7484-9267
Sanne Govaert
metadata author
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
BE
email: sanne.govaert@inbo.be
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8939-1305
Loïc van Doorn
administrative point of contact
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
BE
email: loic.vandoorn@inbo.be
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3497-9168