Skip to content
Menu
Cellular & Organismic Networks @ LMU Munich
  • The Group
  • Research
    • Pollinator-Microbe-Plant interactions
    • Bee-Plant-Interactions
    • Tools
    • Other Ecology Research
    • Other Microbiome Research
  • Publications
  • Institution
Cellular & Organismic Networks @ LMU Munich

Open Science principles for accelerating trait-based science across the Tree of Life

Posted on November 28, 2020June 28, 2022

Synthesizing trait observations and knowledge across the Tree of Life remains a grand challenge for biodiversity science. Species traits are widely used in ecological and evolutionary science, and new data and methods have proliferated rapidly. Yet accessing and integrating disparate data sources remains a considerable challenge, slowing progress toward a global synthesis to integrate trait data across organisms. Trait science needs a vision for achieving global integration across all organisms. Here, we outline how the adoption of key Open Science principles—open data, open source and open methods—is transforming trait science, increasing transparency, democratizing access and accelerating global synthesis. To enhance widespread adoption of these principles, we introduce the Open Traits Network (OTN), a global, decentralized community welcoming all researchers and institutions pursuing the collaborative goal of standardizing and integrating trait data across organisms. We demonstrate how adherence to Open Science principles is key to the OTN community and outline five activities that can accelerate the synthesis of trait data across the Tree of Life, thereby facilitating rapid advances to address scientific inquiries and environmental issues. Lessons learned along the path to a global synthesis of trait data will provide a framework for addressing similarly complex data science and informatics challenges.

Gallagher, R., D. S. Falster, B. Maitner, B. Enquist, M. Ankenbrand, M. Balk, L. Bland, B. Boyle, C. Bravo, B. Cavazos, B. Fadrique, X. Feng, A. Halbritter, J. Hammock, J. A. Hogan, C. Iversen, M. Jochum, J. Kattge, A. Keller, J. Madin, P. Manning, L. McCormack, S. Michaletz, D. Park, W. Pearse, C. Penone, T. Perez, S. Pineda-Munoz, J. Poelen, C. Ray, R. Salguero-Gomez, H. Sauquet, F. Schneider, M. J. Spasojevic, V. Vandvik, C. Violle, and K. Weiss (2020) “Open Science princi- ples for accelerating trait-based science across the tree of life” Nature Ecology & Evolution 4 pp. 294–303

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-1109-6

Tweets by CiyaTheFox

Recent Posts

  • Phylogenetic relatedness of food plants reveals highest insect herbivore specialisation at intermediate temperatures along a broad climatic gradient
  • Diets maintained in a changing world: Does land-use intensification alter wild bee communities by selecting for flexible generalists?
  • Do amino and fatty acid profiles of pollen provisions correlate with bacterial microbiomes in the mason bee Osmia bicornis?
  • Wild bee larval food composition in five European cities
  • Critical links between biodiversity and health in wild bee conservation

Categories

  • Bee-Plant-Interactions
  • Other Ecology Research
  • Other Microbiome Research
  • Plant Microbiomes
  • Pollinator Microbiomes
  • Tools
©2022 Cellular & Organismic Networks @ LMU Munich | WordPress Theme by Superbthemes.com