Literature based species occurrence data of birds of northeast India

Abstract

The northeast region of India is one of the world’s most significant biodiversity hotspots. One of the richest bird areas in India, it is an important route for migratory birds and home to many endemic bird species. This paper describes a literature-based dataset of species occurrences of birds of northeast India. The occurrence records documented in the dataset are distributed across eleven states of India, viz.: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The geospatial scope of the dataset represents 24 to 29 degree North latitude and 78 to 94 degree East longitude, and it comprises over 2400 occurrence records. These records have been collated from scholarly literature published between1915 and 2008, especially from the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (JBNHS). The temporal scale of the dataset represents bird observations recorded between 1909 and 2007. The dataset has been developed by employing MS Excel. The key elements in the database are scientific name, taxonomic classification, temporal and geospatial details including geo-coordinate precision, data collector, basis of record and primary source of the data record. The temporal and geospatial quality of more than 50% of the data records has been enhanced retrospectively. Where possible, data records are annotated with geospatial coordinate precision to the nearest minute. This dataset is being constantly updated with the addition of new data records, and quality enhancement of documented occurrences. The dataset can be used in species distribution and niche modeling studies. It is planned to expand the scope of the dataset to collate bird species occurrences across the Indian peninsula.

Untitled

“…16 Another study executed by Lalthanzara and Sailo 17 in Lungleng-1, a non-protected area recorded 114 species of birds belonging to 40 families, though the number of species recorded is higher in the present study, the number of the family is higher in (Figure 3). The recorded highest species richness in Muscicapidae family is in accordance with records from various parts of Mizoram, 17,21 as well as the entire Northeast region 22 . This could be due to their ability to adapt to different habitats including human -modified habitats.…”

ZooKeys 500: traditions and innovations hand-in-hand servicing our taxonomic community

“…Being the first taxonomic journal to promote and implement data publishing in its routine workflow ( Chavan and Penev 2011 ), over the last two years ZooKeys strengthened its leading position in this field and was recognised as the most reliable venue for publication, integration and dissemination of taxonomic data. From November 2011 when the first data paper was published in the journal ( Narwade et al 2011 ) until now, their number increased to 37 covering various aspects of biodiversity knowledge.…”

From text to structured data: Converting a word-processed floristic checklist into Darwin Core Archive format

“…The publication of large datasets in the form of data papers is also supported (Chavan and Penev 2011, see Narwade et al 2011 for an example of such a data paper).…”