TCN Resources
These resources are an at-a-glance introduction to existing Thematic Collection Networks (TCNs), including a volunteer contact and their email for each project, and some rudimentary information about the organisms in their proposal. This information hopes to be an aid to anyone writing a proposal, or who has recently received funding and is looking for tips and advice.
TCN Lightening Round Progress Reports at Summit 3, November 2013
Each TCN gave a succinct digitization progress report: https://www.idigbio.org/content/idigbio-summit-iii-0
TCNs at a Glance
Below is a table of TCN project information. RDCNs are added below for completeness since they work closely with thematic networks.
Note: the number of anticipated specimens and images to be digitized is approximate.
| TCN | Date | Contact with Email | Digitization Methodology | Software | Organisms | # of Specimens/Images | # of Collaborators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| InvertNet (website) | 2011 - 2015 | Christopher Dietrich | robotic scanning of vials, slides and drawers, crowd-sourcing of label data from images | arthropods | 56.1M / .89M | 14 (1 PEN) (Map) | |
| Tri-trophic (TTD)
(website) |
2011 - 2015 | Katja Seltmann (insects), Rob Naczi (plants) | imaging herbarium sheets with the eBioBox | Arthropod Easy Capture, Symbiota | insects (Hemiptera, Hymenoptera) and vascular plants | 1.6M (insects) 6.1M (plants) / 611,000 | 32 (Map) |
| Lichens & Bryophytes (LBCC) | 2011 - 2015 | Corinna Gries, Tom Nash, Ed Gilbert | label imaging, using OCR for data capture workflow | Symbiota | lichens & bryophytes | 2.3M / 2.3M | 73 (3 PENs) (Map) |
| New England Vascular Plants (NEVP)
(TCN website), (CNH website) |
2012 - 2016 | Patrick Sweeney | robotic scanning apparatus for herbarium sheets, specimen-by-specimen label data capture | Symbiota, EMu | vascular plants | 1.29M / 1.29M | 18 (Map) |
| PaleoNICHES | 2012 - 2015 | Bruce Lieberman | specimen-by-specimen label data capture | Specify | fossils: arthropods, brachiopods, echinoderms, and mollusks | 650K / 3600 | 8 (2 PENs) (Map) |
| MacroFungi Collection Consortium (MaCC) | 2012 - 2015 | Barbara Thiers | label imaging, crowd-sourcing of label data | Symbiota | macrofungi | 1.39M / 1.3M | 34 (Map) |
| Southwest Collections of Arthropods (SCAN)
(TCN website), (website) |
2012 - 2015 | Neil Cobb | visionary digital workflow, specimen-by-specimen label data capture | Symbiota | ground dwelling arthropods | .73M / 15,125 | 15 (1 PEN) (Map) |
| Fossil Insect Collaborative (FIC)
(website) |
2013 - 2017 | Dena Smith | visionary digital workflow, most specimen data already captured | Specify, EMu and other (for home institutions) - developing the iDigPaleo Portal for our main interface. | fossil insects | 500k/200k | 9 (Map) |
| Vouchered Animal Communication Signals (VACS) | 2013 - 2017 | Michael Webster | digitizing analog sound recordings, imaging specimens & labels | birds, frogs, fish and insects | 58,374 / 22,939 | 7 (Map) | |
| Macroalgal Herbarium Consortium (MHC) | 2013 - 2017 | Chris Neefus | imaging herbarium sheets with the eBioBox | macroalgae | 1.14M / 1.14M | 49 (Map) |
RDCNs at a Glance
| RDCN | Contact with Email | Methodology | Software | Organisms | # of Participants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VertNet | Dave Bloom
(website) |
aggregator / facilitator | mammals, birds, fish, herps | mammals (), birds (), fish (12), herps (64) | |
| Consortium of California Herbaria (CCH)
(website) |
David Baxter | aggregator / facilitator | vascular plants | 32 | |
| Fishnet2 Collaborative Georeferencing | Hank Bart, Jr. | georeferencing | fish | ||
| Mississippi Herbaria Consortium (Magnolia grandiFLORA) | Lucile McCook | aggregator / facilitator | Silver Biology, Specify | plants | 8 |
| Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria
(website) |
Ben Legler | aggregator / facilitator | plants | 57 | |
| Texas Oklahoma Regional Consortia of Herbaria (TORCH)
(website) |
Wayne Elisens | aggregator / facilitator | plants | 9 |