Data from: Born digital biodiversity data: millions and billions

Given the dramatic pace of change of our planet, we need rapid collection
of environmental data to document how species are coping and to evaluate
the impact of our conservation interventions. To address this need, new
classes of ‘born digital’ biodiversity records are now being collected and
curated many orders of magnitude faster than traditional data. In addition
to the millions of citizen science observations of species that have been
accumulating over the last decade, the last few years have seen a surge of
sensor data, with eMammal’s camera trap archive passing 600,000
photo-vouchered specimens and Movebank’s animal tracking database recently
passing one billion animal locations. Data from digital sensors have other
advantages over visual citizen science observation in that the level of
survey effort is intrinsically documented and they can preserve digital
vouchers that can be used to verify species identity. These novel digital
specimens are leading spatial ecology into the era of Big Data and will
require a big tent of collaborating organizations to make these databases
sustainable and durable. We urge institutions to recognize the future of
born digital records and invest in proper curation and standards so we can
make the most of these records to inform management, inspire conservation
action, and tell natural history stories about life on the planet.