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NLBIF provides access to a variety of software tools and online services. These currently include:
Linneaus II
Linnaeus II is an innovative multifunctional research tool for systematists and biodiversity researchers, facilitating biodiversity documentation and species identification.
Linnaeus II was developed by ETI BioInformatics at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The software package, available for both Windows and Mac OS X, allows the creation of taxonomic databases, optimizes the construction of easy-to-use identification keys, expedites the display and comparison of distribution patterns, and promotes the use of taxonomic data for biodiversity studies.
The software can also be used to publish completed information systems on CD-ROM / DVD-ROM or make them available on the Web.
LucID
LucID is a software tool to build expert systems for taxonomic identification (and other purposes). LucID allows the construction of traditional dichotomous keys as well as multi-access keys which allow you to start at any point in the identification process, rather than follow a set path.
The software was developed by the Centre for Biological Information Technology (CBIT) at the University of Queensland, Australia. The latest version, Lucid3, is a cross-platform implementation and will run on any Java-enabled operating system (such as Windows, Macintosh, Unix and Linux etc).
Completed expert systems can be distributed via CD-ROM or the Internet.
IntKey
IntKey is a Windows-based program to build and use multi-access identification keys in the DELTA format, which has been adopted as a standard by Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG).
NeMys
NeMys is an online species information system developed at the University of Ghent in Belgium. The software include mapping tools and multi-access identification keys.
Database wrappers are software tools that are used to connect data from SQL databases to the GBIF data network. Currently there are wrappers available to connect field observation data and data on specimens in biological collections.
Data associated with specimens in biological collections and recorded observations of plants and animals in nature often share many common attributes, like scientific name, location and date of collection. Therefore data from different data sources can be joined in a data network. To create such a network, each data source has to be "wrapped" to standardized concepts for the attributes, and a common format has to be used for data exchange.
Standards
There are currenly two standards for standardized specimen and observation concepts, these are developed within Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG). The two standards are DarwinCore and ABCD.
Wrapper software
Once you have chosen either DarwinCore or ABCD, you can choose the wrapper software to use for your data. During configuraton of the wrapper you can link concepts from the chosen concept standard to the attributes (fields) in your database. The concept standard is in general included with the wrapper software. Currently there are two software packages supported by GBIF and NLBIF:
More information and installation packages can be found at:
http://www.gbif.org/DataProviders/HowTo
* A few extensions to DarwinCore have been proposed to provide more detailed information. However, these are under development and not yet supported by GBIF.
NLBIF is planning to develop several Web services on the data available through the NLBIF portal.
NLBIF Web Services will allow you easy access to biodiversity information and services in your preferred programming language. This means you can integrate biodiversity information and services directly into your own Web site or applications.
Our services will be REST* services. This means you can easily construct request URLs that will work in your browser and in your code without the need for extra tools or extra knowledge. The only knowledge you will need is some basic knowledge about HTML.
* see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representational_State_Transfer
Add our NLBIF news feed to your favourite RSS reader to keep updated on NLBIF news and projects!
NLBIF also provides an RSS feed for the biodiversity news on this portal.
You may incorporate the biodiversity feed on your own Web site, but please credit NLBIF and provide a link to this site (www.nlbif.nl) if you do so.
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