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| SCAR-MarBIN | |
|---|---|
| Name | SCAR-MarBIN |
| Formation | 2006 |
| Type | Scientific database network |
| Headquarters | Punta Arenas, Chile |
| Region served | Southern Ocean, Antarctic |
| Parent organization | Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research |
SCAR-MarBIN
SCAR-MarBIN is a biodiversity informatics initiative hosted under the auspices of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and the International Polar Year framework, serving as a centralized marine biodiversity database for the Southern Ocean and Antarctic region. The project connects data providers from national research programs such as the British Antarctic Survey, Instituto Antártico Chileno, and the Australian Antarctic Division with global platforms like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the Ocean Biogeographic Information System. SCAR-MarBIN underpins research linked to projects and institutions including the Census of Marine Life, the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Established to collate taxonomic, distributional, and ecological occurrence records, the initiative aggregates datasets from museums such as the Natural History Museum, London, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural in Santiago. SCAR-MarBIN interoperates with standards promoted by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, the World Register of Marine Species, and the International Council for Science and supports tools and infrastructures developed by the Atlas of Living Australia, the Ocean Biogeographic Information System, and the Encyclopedia of Life. Stakeholders include research programs like the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, academic institutions such as the University of Cambridge and the University of Cape Town, and intergovernmental bodies like the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
The initiative grew from biodiversity digitization and Antarctic research efforts during the International Polar Year and drew technical inspiration from projects led by the Australian Antarctic Division, the British Antarctic Survey, and the Institut Polaire Français Paul-Émile Victor. Early contributors included natural history collections from the Smithsonian Institution, the Natural History Museum, and the Museum für Naturkunde, while coordination involved the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and national Antarctic programs including Argentina's Instituto Antártico Argentino and South Africa's National Antarctic Programme. Over time, SCAR-MarBIN adopted interoperability protocols from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and collaborated with taxonomy authorities such as the World Register of Marine Species, the Integrated Taxonomic Information System, and major research cruises like those organized by the Alfred Wegener Institute and the Norwegian Polar Institute.
SCAR-MarBIN aims to provide accessible occurrence data to support research agendas developed by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, conservation measures discussed at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and assessments under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Activities include digitization of specimen records from institutions such as the British Antarctic Survey and the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, data standardization aligned with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the World Register of Marine Species, and delivery of products used by programs like the Census of Marine Life, the Census of Antarctic Marine Life, and regional initiatives coordinated by the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs.
The database consolidates occurrence records, taxonomic checklists, and metadata contributed by museums and research programs including the Natural History Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, the Australian Antarctic Division, and national Antarctic programs. Data management follows standards promulgated by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, the World Register of Marine Species, and the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration, and uses tools developed in collaborations with the Atlas of Living Australia, the Ocean Biogeographic Information System, and the Encyclopedia of Life. Interoperability with portals such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, the Ocean Biogeographic Information System, and regional nodes maintained by institutions like the University of Cape Town and the University of Otago allows integration with taxonomic backbones from the World Register of Marine Species and the Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
Datasets from SCAR-MarBIN have supported peer-reviewed studies published in journals and outlets associated with institutions such as Nature, Science, PLOS Biology, and Antarctic Science, and have informed assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. Research leveraging SCAR-MarBIN data spans work by authors affiliated with the British Antarctic Survey, the Alfred Wegener Institute, the University of Tasmania, and the University of São Paulo, contributing to syntheses connected to the Census of Marine Life and the Census of Antarctic Marine Life.
SCAR-MarBIN partners include the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, the World Register of Marine Species, national programs such as the British Antarctic Survey, the Australian Antarctic Division, the Instituto Antártico Chileno, and research institutions including the Smithsonian Institution, the Natural History Museum, the Alfred Wegener Institute, and the Australian Museum. Collaborative links extend to international initiatives like the Census of Marine Life, the Ocean Biogeographic Information System, the Atlas of Living Australia, and intergovernmental frameworks including the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
By aggregating occurrence records from collections and field campaigns led by the British Antarctic Survey, the Alfred Wegener Institute, the Instituto Antártico Argentino, and the Smithsonian Institution, SCAR-MarBIN has enabled assessments informing Marine Protected Area proposals discussed at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and conservation policy dialogues under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. Its datasets have been integrated into global biodiversity syntheses coordinated by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, the Census of Marine Life, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, supporting spatial planning activities undertaken by national programs such as the Australian Antarctic Division and the South African National Antarctic Programme.
Category:Databases Category:Antarctic science Category:Biological databases