Marine Biodiversity Databanks

Anouk Barberousse (1) , Sophie Bary (2)

1 STL - Savoirs, Textes, Langage (STL) - UMR 8163
2 ISYEB - Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité

This chapter presents the contribution of databanks to the development of biodiversity knowledge through the example of marine biodiversity databanks. Focusing on the marine field allows us to insist on the imbalance of the unknown vs. the better known part. The chapter emphasizes the role of taxonomic and genetic databanks as well as the ongoing transformations that databanks are submitted to in order to answer pressing demands due to the biodiversity crisis. It aims to analyse the requirements biodiversity databanks have to satisfy in order to help both researchers and conservationists in their respective endeavors. It begins by pointing out the main characteristics and limits of biodiversity knowledge and defend the view that databanks are well-suited to overcome these limits as soon as they are widely accessible and interoperable. These constraints are analysed as both technical and scientific. Their dynamic dimension is emphasized as databanks must comply with the rapid evolution of scientific knowledge. We also propose a view on the relationships between biodiversity knowledge, assessment, and conservation.

Domaines: Environnement et Société; Histoire, Philosophie et Sociologie des sciences; Systématique, phylogénie et taxonomie

Anouk Barberousse, Sophie Bary. Marine Biodiversity Databanks. Elena Casetta; Jorge Marques da Silva; Davide Vecchi. From Assessing to Conserving Biodiversity, 24, Springer Open, pp.55-76, 2019, History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences, 978-3-030-10991-2. ⟨10.1007/978-3-030-10991-2_3⟩. ⟨hal-02493923⟩