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ABCD - Access to Biological Collection Data

The Access to Biological Collections Data (ABCD) Schema is an evolving comprehensive standard for the access to and exchange of data about specimens and observations (a.k.a. primary biodiversity data). The ABCD Schema attempts to be comprehensive and highly structured, supporting data from a wide variety of databases. It is compatible with several existing data standards. Parallel structures exist so that either (or both) atomised data and free-text can be accommodated.

Sponsored by Biodiversity Information Standards TDWG - the Taxonomic Databases Working Group, the current specification was last modified in 2007.

Mappings

Darwin Core; Eurisco Descriptors (Draft); OECD Minimum Data Set
Related Vocabularies

LSID Vocabularies
Specification

http://www.tdwg.org/standards/115/
Standard's website
http://wiki.tdwg.org/ABCD

Extensions

ABCDDNA

An extension of the ABCD standard for DNA data.

ABCDEFG - Access to Biological Collection Databases Extended for Geosciences

An extension of the ABCD standard for Geosciences data.

HISPID - Herbarium Information Standards and Protocols for Interchange of Data

An extension to ABCD 2.06, it is designed to allow the storage and transmission of herbarium plant specimen data.

Use Cases

BioCASE - Biological Collection Access Service for Europe

The BioCASE Biological Unit Network provides access to a transnational network of biological collections; its protocol requires providers to use the ABCD schema in their configuration files.

GBIF - Global Biodiversity Information Facility

Established by a global network of countries and organizations, GBIF is a web portal promoting and facilitating the mobilization, access, discovery and use of biodiversity data. The preferred format for publishing data to the GBIF network is the Darwin Core Archive, and its Integrated Publishing Toolkit uses EML as its data standard.

GeoCASe - Geosciences Collection Access Service

The GeoCASe Network provides access to a transnational network of palaeontological, mineralogical, and geological data; providers are required to use ABCDEFG, an extention of ABCD, in their configuration files.