<p dir="ltr">Species occurrence data are foundational for research, conservation, and science communication, but the limited availability and accessibility of reliable data represents a major obstacle, particularly for insects, which face mounting pressures. We present <i>BeeBDC</i>, a new <i>R</i><i> </i>package, and a global bee occurrence dataset to address this issue. We combined >18.3 million bee occurrence records from multiple public repositories (GBIF, SCAN, iDigBio, USGS, ALA) and smaller datasets, then standardised, flagged, deduplicated, and cleaned the data using the reproducible <i>BeeBDC</i><i>R</i>-workflow. Specifically, we harmonised species names (following established global taxonomy), country names, and collection dates and we added record-level flags for a series of potential quality issues. These data are provided in two formats, “cleaned” and “flagged-but-uncleaned”. The <i>BeeBDC</i> package with online documentation provides end users the ability to modify filtering parameters to address their research questions. By publishing reproducible <i>R</i><i> </i>workflows and globally cleaned datasets, we can increase the accessibility and reliability of downstream analyses. This workflow can be implemented for other taxa to support research and conservation.</p>
Funding
Biodiversity Outreach Network
Collaborative Research: Digitization TCN: iDigBees Network, Towards Complete Digitization of US Bee Collections to Promote Ecological and Evolutionary Research in a Keystone Clade
Users must cite the associated primary data, our Scientific Data publication, and/or the BeeBDC R package where relevant.
Paper (bee data, workflow, and code):
Dorey, J. B., Fischer, E. E., Chesshire, P. R., Nava-Bolaños, A., O’Reilly, R. L., Bossert, S., . . . Cobb, N. S. (2023). A globally synthesised and flagged bee occurrence dataset and cleaning workflow. Scientific Data.
Package (workflow and code):
Dorey, J. B., O’Reilly, R. L., Bossert, S., & Fischer, E. E. (2023). BeeBDC: an occurrence data cleaning package (Version R package version 1.0.1). Retrieved from https://jbdorey.github.io/BeeBDC/index.html
Bee taxonomy and checklist:
Ascher, J. S., & Pickering, J. (2020). Discover Life bee species guide and world checklist (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila). http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Apoidea_species.
Data sources:
See paper, R package vignette, and/or the data provided here.