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.
ADBC Annual Report Info Sheet
Guidelines for Annual Reporting Requirements for Lead Proposal PIs and Collaborative Proposal PIs at iDigBio, TCN and PEN locations. https://www.idigbio.org/wiki/index.php/File:ADBC_AnnualReportInfoSheet.pdf
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
(website) |
Dave Bloom | 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 |