Biodiversity data, particularly species occurrence and abundance, are indispensable for testing empirical hypothesis in natural sciences. However, datasets built for research programmes do not often meet FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) principles, which raises questions about data quality, accuracy and availability. The 21st century has markedly been a new era for data science and analytics and every effort to aggregate, standardise, filter and share biodiversity data from multiple sources have become increasingly necessary. In this study, we propose a framework for refining and conforming secondary biodiversity data to FAIR standards to make them available for use such as macroecological modelling and other studies. We relied on a Darwin Core base model to standardise and further facilitate the curation and validation of data related including the occurrence and abundance of multiple taxa of a region that encompasses estuarine ecosystems in an ecotonal area bordering the easternmost Amazonia. We further discuss the significance of feeding standardised public data repositories to advance scientific progress and highlight their role in contributing to the biodiversity management and conservation.
Keywords: Darwin Core standard; FAIR data; Golfão Maranhense; secondary data.
Nubia Marques, Carla Danielle de Melo Soares, Daniel de Melo Casali, Erick Cristofore Guimarães, Fernanda Guimarães Fava, João Marcelo da Silva Abreu, Ligiane Martins Moras, Letícia Gomes da Silva, Raphael Matias, Rafael Leandro de Assis, Rafael Fraga, Sara Miranda Almeida, Vanessa Guimarães Lopes, Verônica Oliveira, Rafaela Missagia, Eduardo Costa Carvalho, Nikolas Jorge Carneiro, Ronnie Alves, Pedro Souza-Filho, Guilherme Oliveira, Margarida Miranda, Valéria da Cunha Tavares.