Unlocking the past with data papers….

Data papers, published in journals, can provide a valuable tool in unlocking historically collected data. An example being the recently published “Antarctic macrobenthic communities: A compilation of circumpolarinformation”, published in the journal Nature Conservation. This article aims to unlock over 55 years worth of data from 90 expeditions.

Image: NOAA's National Ocean Service - Flickr

Clearly such data could be valuable for future research efforts. In order to be useful, historical data may need updating prior to or subsequently after publication. This may involve taking account of taxonomic changes that have occurred, where names may now be synonyms etc. This process can be speeded up by using specially designed software (e.g. TREx).

For more information on TREx and it uses, please visit our website (http://www.thomsonecologysoftware.com/trex-2)

Information Source: EurekAlert!