Award details

Prometheus: a novel database system for classifying biodiversity

Reference	BIO10518
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Dr Mark Watson
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Dr Martin Pullan
Institution	Royal Botanic Gardens - Edinburgh
Department	Taxonomic Computing
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	79,902
Status	Completed
Type	Research Grant
Start date	01/11/1998
End date	01/11/2000
Duration	24 months

Abstract

The task confronting taxonomists today is to catalogue biodiversity to facilitate conservation decisions in the face of rapid habitat loss. There are many alternative classifications for the same group of specimens and attempting to produce a single consensus nomenclature will slow down this vital work. Taxonomists must therefore work with several classifications, without judgement as to which is correct. Despite increasing use of computers in taxonomy, no extant database adequately supports multiple classifications; such systems are therefore suited only to representational and not investigative taxonomy. We address these problems by proposing a database system based on careful analysis of taxonomists working practices, which will allow one to switch between classifications, and to compare and contrast them in an even- handed manner. (Joint with grant BIO10516).

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Not funded via Committee
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	Bioinformatics (Phase 2) (BIO) [1998-2000]
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

Associated awards:

BIO10516 Prometheus: a novel database system for classifying biodiversity

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