DATASETS FOR: Digital Accessible Knowledge of the Birds of India: Characterizing Gaps in Time and Space

Abstract

DATASETS FOR: This paper evaluates Digital Accessible Knowledge (DAK)of the occurrencesof Indian bird species. More than 2M primary occurrence records from across India were obtained from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and eBird, which were processed into maps of inventory completeness across the country, both prior to 1980 and after 2000, in an attempt to develop evaluations of faunal change resulting from global climate change. We found good coverage of the country by well-inventoried areas after 2000, but almost no coverage prior to 1980. As such, in before-and-after comparisons to document effects of global change on Indian birds, although the “after” is well documented, the “before” is lacking. This significant information gap points to the need for digital capture and open sharing of historical information regarding Indian bird species’ occurrences; this information will derive in large part from natural history museum specimens, particularly in India and Great Britain, and potentially from older observational data sources and the literature.