Biodiversité

We are currently experiencing an exciting moment in conservation, according to Dr. Dalia Conde, Director of Science at Species360 and Associate Professor of the University of Southern Denmark. In her seminar lecture entitled “Mapping Information Gaps: Towards an Index of Knowledge for Every Vertebrate Species”, Dr. Conde described the unique opportunity that we currently have to capitalize on machine learning technology and big data tools to create an interconnected and standardized knowledge system on the life history of the world’s biodiversity. Dr. Conde explained how, in her view, biodiversity data resembles the universe: it is ever expanding and becoming infinite thanks to mixed forms of data collection, from field based research and captive population studies, to citizen science, or genome coding. However, all the effort that we are putting into producing large quantities of data on species life histories can become futile if we are unable to transform basic data into interconnected knowledge that can be used for conservation decision making.