Caveat consumptor notitia museo: Let the museum data user
beware

J 2019

Caveat consumptor notitia museo: Let the museum data user beware

NEKOLA, Jeffrey Clark, Benjamin T. HUTCHINS, Alison SCHOFIELD, Briante NAJEV, Kathryn E. PEREZ et. al.

Basic information

Original name

Caveat consumptor notitia museo: Let the museum data user beware

Authors

NEKOLA, Jeffrey Clark (840 United States of America, guarantor, belonging to the institution), Benjamin T. HUTCHINS (840 United States of America), Alison SCHOFIELD (840 United States of America), Briante NAJEV (840 United States of America) and Kathryn E. PEREZ (840 United States of America)

Edition

Global Ecology and Biogeography, Blackwell Science, 2019, 1466-822X

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Článek v odborném periodiku

Field of Study

10511 Environmental sciences

Country of publisher

United States of America

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

URL

Impact factor

Impact factor: 6.446

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14310/19:00112019

Organization unit

Faculty of Science

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/geb.12995

UT WoS

000484852800001

Keywords in English

body size; data mining; misidentification; museum records; sampling bias; specimen labelling error

Abstract

V originále

Issue Lot accession information from natural history collections represents a potentially vital source of large datasets to test biodiversity, biogeography and macroecology hypotheses. But does such information provide an accurate portrayal of the natural world? We review the many types of bias and error intrinsic to museum collection data and consider how these factors may affect their ability to accurately test ecological hypotheses. Evidence We considered all Texas land snail collections from the two major repositories in the state and compared them with an ecological sample drawn across the same landscape. We found that museum collection localities were biased in favour of regions with higher human population densities and iconic destinations. They also tended to be made during attractive temporal windows. Small, uncharismatic taxa tended to be under-collected while larger, charismatic species were over-collected. As a result, for most species it was impossible to use museum lot frequency to accurately predict frequency and abundance in an ecological sample. Species misidentification rate was approximately 20%, while 4% of lots represented more than one species. Errors were spread across the entire shell size spectrum and were present in 75% of taxonomic families. Contingency table analysis documented significant dependence of both misidentification and mixed lot rates upon shell size and family richness. Conclusion Researchers should limit their use of museum record data to situations where their inherent biases and errors are irrelevant, rectifiable or explicitly considered. At the same time museums should begin incorporating expert specimen verification into their digitization programs.

Citovat

NEKOLA, Jeffrey Clark, Benjamin T. HUTCHINS, Alison SCHOFIELD, Briante NAJEV and Kathryn E. PEREZ. Caveat consumptor notitia museo: Let the museum data user beware. Global Ecology and Biogeography. Blackwell Science, 2019, vol. 28, No 12, p. 1722-1734. ISSN 1466-822X. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/geb.12995.

@article{1598878,
   author = {Nekola, Jeffrey Clark and Hutchins, Benjamin T. and Schofield, Alison and Najev, Briante and Perez, Kathryn E.},
   article_number = {12},
   doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/geb.12995},
   keywords = {body size; data mining; misidentification; museum records; sampling bias; specimen labelling error},
   language = {eng},
   issn = {1466-822X},
   journal = {Global Ecology and Biogeography},
   title = {Caveat consumptor notitia museo: Let the museum data user beware},
   url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/geb.12995},
   volume = {28},
   year = {2019}
}

TY  - JOUR
ID  - 1598878
AU  - Nekola, Jeffrey Clark - Hutchins, Benjamin T. - Schofield, Alison - Najev, Briante - Perez, Kathryn E.
PY  - 2019
TI  - Caveat consumptor notitia museo: Let the museum data user beware
JF  - Global Ecology and Biogeography
VL  - 28
IS  - 12
SP  - 1722-1734
EP  - 1722-1734
PB  - Blackwell Science
SN  - 1466822X
KW  - body size
KW  - data mining
KW  - misidentification
KW  - museum records
KW  - sampling bias
KW  - specimen labelling error
UR  - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/geb.12995
L2  - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/geb.12995
N2  - Issue Lot accession information from natural history collections represents a potentially vital source of large datasets to test biodiversity, biogeography and macroecology hypotheses. But does such information provide an accurate portrayal of the natural world? We review the many types of bias and error intrinsic to museum collection data and consider how these factors may affect their ability to accurately test ecological hypotheses. Evidence We considered all Texas land snail collections from the two major repositories in the state and compared them with an ecological sample drawn across the same landscape. We found that museum collection localities were biased in favour of regions with higher human population densities and iconic destinations. They also tended to be made during attractive temporal windows. Small, uncharismatic taxa tended to be under-collected while larger, charismatic species were over-collected. As a result, for most species it was impossible to use museum lot frequency to accurately predict frequency and abundance in an ecological sample. Species misidentification rate was approximately 20%, while 4% of lots represented more than one species. Errors were spread across the entire shell size spectrum and were present in 75% of taxonomic families. Contingency table analysis documented significant dependence of both misidentification and mixed lot rates upon shell size and family richness. Conclusion Researchers should limit their use of museum record data to situations where their inherent biases and errors are irrelevant, rectifiable or explicitly considered. At the same time museums should begin incorporating expert specimen verification into their digitization programs.
ER  -

NEKOLA, Jeffrey Clark, Benjamin T. HUTCHINS, Alison SCHOFIELD, Briante NAJEV and Kathryn E. PEREZ. Caveat consumptor notitia museo: Let the museum data user beware. \textit{Global Ecology and Biogeography}. Blackwell Science, 2019, vol.~28, No~12, p.~1722-1734. ISSN~1466-822X. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/geb.12995.

Detailed Information on Publication Record