GBIF publishes 2013 Science Review

GBIF has released its 2013 Science Review, which compiles peer-reviewed research papers from last year that make use of data published through GBIF’s global infrastructure.

GBIF has released its 2013 Science Review, which compiles peer-reviewed research papers from last year that make use of data published through GBIF’s global infrastructure.

The Science Review lists more than 250 scientific papers published in 2013 that applied data drawn from across the GBIF network. To illustrate the range of applications, the publication also summarizes some papers that made substantial use of GBIF-mediated data or reflect areas of special interest for the scientific and policy communities.

The GBIF Secretariat maintains an ongoing programme to monitor and compile these studies, categorizing them according to the thematic area of research, use of data, discussion and mention of GBIF. This edition of the Science Review identifies research relating to a wide range of policy areas and disciplines including:

  • invasive alien species

  • impacts of climate change

  • species conservation and protected areas

  • biodiversity and human health

  • food, farming and biofuels

  • ecosystem services

  • ecology, biogeography and evolutionary studies

In 2013, GBIF enabled research that

  • models climate impacts on nearly 50,000 common species

  • looks at methods of designing marine protected area networks

  • informs management of emerging infectious human diseases

  • affords insight into the effectiveness of current ex situ conservation efforts towards wild plants most critical for food security

  • casts new light on how plants colonized Earth’s cold-weather regions

The report lists the studies with their Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), which enables readers to trace the research back to their sources on the Internet. Interested users can access a complete bibliography of research citations from 2013 and previous years (managed using the free Mendeley academic reference management application) at http://www.mendeley.com/groups/1068301/gbif-public-library.

Electronic copies of GBIF’s 2013 Science Review are available for download on GBIF.org.

Those interested in receiving printed copies can request them from info@gbif.org.