TDWG OccurrenceRecord LSID Ontology
Roger Hyam
TDWG Biodiversity Information Standards
2006-12-06
2015-07-01
Ontology describing the metadata returned for LSIDs that are used taxon
occurrence records.
0.3
true
This ontology is no longer under development and is no longer recommended for use. See https://github.com/tdwg/ontology for information about recommended replacements.
*** This vocabulary has been superseded by the
TaxonOccurrence vocabulary (http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/TaxonOccurrence) Read more
about this on the associated wiki page.**** This ontology is designed to represent records
of occurrences of taxa in the wild.
Occurrence Record
The record of the occurrence of a taxon in the wild. An OccurrenceRecord may be
vouchered with one or more specimens.
Has Voucher
A voucher specimen for the occurrence record that may be used to confirm
identity and other data about the record.
Voucher String
A string representation of a voucher. May be used for a collector/observer
number or other identifier in combination with or as a replacement for a link to voucher
specimen by hasVoucher.
Core:Collector
Identified To
An identification for this occurrence record.
Identified To String
An identification for this occurrence record as a string
Derived From
This OccurrenceRecord has been derived from another occurrence record following
some procedure that may be documented by the procedure property.
Procedure
The procedure followed that generated this record perhaps by derivation from
another record or from the voucher or other means.
Procedure Descriptor
A string description of the procedure employed in generating this occurrence
record. This may be interpreted in combination with and qualifying the procedure property.
Higher Geography
The combination of all geographic elements less specific than locality. "Like"
query operations on this element will search for a substring that might be in any of the
higher geography elements.
Core:HigherGeography
Continent
The full, unabbreviated name of the continent on which the organism was
collected or observed.
Core:Continent
Water Body
The full, unabbreviated name of the body of water in or over which the organism
was collected or observed.
Core:WaterBody
Island Group
The full, unabbreviated name of the island group in which the organism was
collected or observed.
Core:IslandGroup
Island
The full, unabbreviated name of the island on which the organism was collected
or observed.
Core:Island
Country
The full, unabbreviated name of the country or major political unit in which the
organism was collected or observed.
Core:Country
State Province
The full, unabbreviated name of the state, province, or region (i.e., the next
smaller political region than Country) in which the organism was collected or observed.
Core:StateProvince
County
The full, unabbreviated name of the county, shire, or municipality (i.e., the
next smaller political region than StateProvince) in which the organism was collected or
observed.
Core:County
Locality
The full, unabbreviated name of the locality where the organism was collected or
observed. This element need not contain geographic information provided in other geographic
elements.
Core:Locality
Minimum Elevation In Meters
The minimum or actual elevation at which the collection or observation was made.
Use negative values for locations below sea level. Examples: 75 (for an elevation of 100 +-
25 meters). 100 (for an elevation between 100m and 200m).
Core:MinimumElevationInMeters
Maximum Elevation In Meters
The maximum or actual elevation at which the collection or observation was made.
Use negative values for locations below sea level. Examples: Examples: 125 (for an
elevation of 100 +- 25 meters). 200 (for an elevation between 100m and 200m).
Core:MaximumElevationInMeters
Minimum Depth In Meters
The minimum or actual depth at which the collection or observation was made. Use
positive values for locations below the surface. Examples: 0 (for a depth of up to 10m). 50
(for a depth between 50m and 100m).
Core:MinimumDepthInMeters
Maximum Depth In Meters
The maximum or actual depth at which the collection or observation was made. Use
positive values for locations below the surface. Examples: 10 (for a depth of up to 10m).
100 (for a depth between 50m and 100m).
Core:MaximumDepthInMeters
Valid Distribution Flag
A flag ("true" or "false") that indicates whether the locality information
represents a valid distribution occurrence for a specimen. Specimens taken from captivity
and showing the captive location should use the value "false".
Core:ValidDistributionFlag
Earliest Date Collected
The earliest date-time (Common Era calendar) in a date-time period during which
an organism or group of organisms was collected or observed. If the event is recorded as
occurring at a single date-time, populate both EarliestDateCollected and
LatestDateCollected with the same value.
Core:EarliestDateCollected
Latest Date Collected
The latest date-time (Common Era calendar) in a date-time period during which an
organism or group of organisms was collected or observed. If the event is recorded as
occurring at a single date-time, populate both EarliestDateCollected and
LatestDateCollected with the same value.
Core:LatestDateCollected
Day Of Year
The ordinal day of the year on which the object or observation was collected (1
for January 1, 365 for December 31, except in a leap year, in which case it is 366). If the
EarliestDateCollected and LatestDateCollected do not occur on the same day, do not populate
DayOfYear.
Core:DayOfYear
Decimal Latitude
The latitude of the location from which the organism or observation was
collected, expressed in decimal degrees. Positive values are North of the Equator, negative
values are South of the Equator.
Geospatial:DecimalLatitude
Decimal Longitude
The longitude of the location from which the organism or observation was
collected, expressed in decimal degrees. Positive values are East of the Greenwich
Meridian, negative values are West of the Greenwich Meridian.
Geospatial:DecimalLongitude
Geodetic Datum
The geodetic datum to which the latitude and longitude refer. If not known, use
"not recorded". This concept should be vocabulary-controlled.
Geospatial:GeodeticDatum
Coordinate Uncertainty In Meters
The upper limit of the distance (in meters) from the given latitude and
longitude describing a circle within which the whole of the described locality lies. Leave
the value empty if the uncertainty is unknown, cannot be estimated, or is not applicable
(because there are no coordinates). The value should be greater than zero.
Geospatial:CoordinateUncertaintyInMeters
Point Radius Spatial Fit
A measure of how well the circle defined by the coordinates and uncertainty
match the original spatial representation, as a ratio of the area of the circle to the area
of the original spatial representation. Legal values are 0, greater than or equal to 1. A
value of 1 is an exact match or 100% overlap. A value of 0 should be used if the given
georeference does not completely contain the original representation. The
PointRadiusSpatialFit is undefined if the original representation is a point without
uncertainty and the given georeference is not that same point (without uncertainty). If
both the original and the given georeference are the same point, the PointRadiusSpatialFit
is 1. Detailed explanations with graphical examples can be found in the Guide to Best
Practices for Georeferencing (Chapman and Wieczorek, eds. 2006)
http://www.gbif.org/prog/digit/Georeferencing.
Geospatial:pointRadiusSpatialFit
Georeference Protocol
A reference to the methods used for determining the coordinates and
uncertainties. Example: "http://manisnet.org/GeorefGuide.html".
Geospatial:GeoreferenceProtocol
Georeference Sources
A list of maps, gazetteers or other resources used to georeference the locality.
The content of this concept is meant to be specific enough to allow anyone in the future to
use the same resource to georeference the same locality. Example: "USGS 1:24000 Florence
Montana Quad".
Geospatial:GeoreferenceSources
Georeference Sources
A categorical description of the extent to which the georeference has been
verified to represent the location where the specimen or observation was collected. This
element should be vocabulary-controlled. Examples: "requires verification", "verified by
collector", "verified by curator".
Geospatial:GeoreferenceVerificationStatus
Georeference Remarks
Comments about the spatial description determination, explaining assumptions
made in addition or opposition to the those formalized in the method referred to in
GeoreferenceProtocol.
Geospatial:GeoreferenceRemarks
Well-Known Text Footprint
A Well-Known Text (WKT; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Well-known_text)
representation of the the shape (footprint) that defines the location of the occurrence.
Example: the one-degree boundin box with opposite corners at (longitude=10, latitude=20)
and (longitude=11, latitude=21) would be expressed in well-known text as POLYGON ((10 20,
11 20, 11 21, 10 21, 10 20))
Geospatial:WKTFootprint
Footprint Spatial Fit
A measure of how well the geometry expressed in the footprint match the original
spatial representation, as a ratio of the area of the footprint given to the area of the
original spatial representation. Legal values are 0, greater than or equal to 1. A value of
1 is an exact match or 100% overlap. A value of 0 should be used if the given georeference
does not completely contain the original representation. The FootprintSpatialFit is
undefined if the original representation is a point without uncertainty and the given
georeference is not that same point (without uncertainty). If both the original and the
given georeference are the same point, the FootprintSpatialFit is 1. Detailed explanations
with graphical examples can be found in the Guide to Best Practices for Georeferencing
(Chapman and Wieczorek, eds. 2006). http://www.gbif.org/prog/digit/Georeferencing
Geospatial:FootprintSpatialFit
Value
An OccurrenceRecord may represent more that just the presence of an instance of
a taxon in the wild. If the occurrence is the result of a survey there may well be a
quantitative measure associated with the record such as a count or frequency. In the most
simple case this property may contain the integer 0 indicating a lack of occurrence. If
this property is present then its meaning (including units) should be interpreted in terms
of the value of the procedure property. The associated valueConfidence property is provided
to hold indication of error or deviation - again dependent on the procedure followed.
FIXME
Value Confidence
This property should be interpreted in association with the value property. It
provides a measure of error associated with that measurement in the context of the
procedure followed in the procedure property.
No equivalent
Identification
The identification or determination of the occurrence of a taxon to a specific
taxon.
Expert
The person who made this identification. May also be represented by
expertString. The 'Who' of and identification.
Expert Name
A string representation of the person or agent that identified this occurrence
record. This may be interpreted in combination with method property - particularly if the
method is automated and no human was present.
occurrence
The OccurrenceRecord that is identified by this identification. The 'What' of
an identification. This property is usually omitted when and identification object is
embedded within an OccurrenceRecord when the subject of the identification is implied.
date
The date and time the identification occurred. The 'When' of an identification.
location
The location the identification took place. The 'Where' of an identification.
Method
The procedure used to identify the occurrence. The 'How' of an identification.
Method Descriptor
A string description of the method employed in the identification. This may be
interpreted in combination with and qualifying the method property.
Confidence
A measure of the confidence that the identification is correct. By default (in
the absence of a method field) this should be interpreted as 0 = no confidence and 1 =
total confidence but other interpretations may be appropriate depending on the value of the
method field.
No equivalent
Taxon
The TaxonConcept this occurrence is identified to.
No equivalent
Taxon Name
A string representation of the TaxonConcept this occurrence is identified to. Be
aware that using a Taxon Name in here without qualifying in what sense it is used is
imprecise. Some indication of the taxonomic monograph or treatment followed is important
when available. Populate the taxon property whenever possible.
ofOccurrenceRecord
The OccurrenceRecord that this Identification is of. This property is used when
the Indentification is 'free standing' and not the target of a
OccurrenceRecord::identifiedTo property.
Verbatim Det
The verbatim text of an identification. For example the text of a determination
slip attached to a herbarium specimen.