Scientists To Explore Life's Mysteries Through Encyclopedic 'Macroscope'

Intended as a tool for scientists and policymakers and a fascinating resource for anyone interested in the living world, the EOL is being developed by a unique collaboration between scientists and the general public.

By making it easy to compare and contrast information about life on Earth, the resulting compendium has the potential to provide new insights into many of life's secrets.

In essence, EOL will be a microscope in reverse, or "macroscope," helping users to discern large-scale patterns. By aggregating for analysis information on Earth's estimated 1.8 million known species, scientists say the EOL could, for example, help map vectors of human disease, reveal mysteries behind longevity, suggest substitute plant pollinators for a swelling list of places where honeybees no longer provide that service, and foster strategies to slow the spread of invasive species.

Most importantly, the EOL will be a foundational resource for helping to conserve the species already known and to identify millions of additional species that haven't yet been described or named. At its core is the knowledge about the world's species that has been discovered by scientists over the last 250 years. By putting this information all together in one place, EOL hopes to accelerate our understanding of the world's remaining biodiversity.

EOL will illuminate patterns in biodiversity, promising knowledge comparable in impact to that gained after the microscope's invention in the 1600s. The EOL "macroscope" will have a catalytic effect on comparative biology, ecology and related fields. It will also be the ultimate online field guide, complete with links to DNA barcoding and other information of interest and use to everyone from professional scientists to birdwatchers and gardeners.

Among many potential applications of the EOL:

• Tracing the relation between changes in animal and plant populations and climate;
• Mapping the distribution of human disease vectors, such as crows, mosquitoes and the West Nile virus;
• Comparison of the life spans of related species -- a prelude to lab research into reasons for human aging;
• Port inspections of ballast water for invasive species, assisted by links to molecular DNA barcode reference information;
• Assist in field research and dramatically shorten the time required to authenticate or describe new mammals, birds, bugs, plants, bacteria and other species discovered by scientists anywhere in the world;
• Revolutionize teaching and learning of the life sciences for all ages;
• Contribute to timely and informed environmental management decisions by professionals and citizen environmental managers alike.

Drawing upon its collaboration with the Catalogue of Life and Tree of Life projects, EOL's infrastructure now includes placeholder pages for 1 million species, of which 30,000 have been populated with detailed information derived from comprehensive, authoritative compilations available for some taxonomic groups (e.g., FishBase, AmphibiaWeb, Solanaceae Source). In addition, about two dozen highly developed multimedia pages are presented as examples of what to expect in time throughout the EOL.

Feedback on the first 30,000 pages will shape the ultimate design and functionality of all 1.8 million pages, scheduled for completion by 2017. It will also help inform priorities for content development.

The pages  just launched are based on the list of accepted species assembled by the Catalogue of Life and include:

• Two dozen exemplar pages, illustrating the kinds of rich multi-media information to be provided for all well-known species. Content on these pages has been verified by relevant experts;
• 30,000 species pages, covering a small number of taxonomic groups. These pages contain authenticated content but are not as fully developed as the exemplars;
• 1 million minimal pages, in most cases providing the species' scientific and common names, limited information about its taxonomic position and geographic distribution (with maps provided by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility), and links to other sources of information. These pages are, in effect, placeholders to be populated with information validated by specialist content editors. Content will also be generated via the Biodiversity Heritage Library, other web-based resources, and by professional and 'citizen scientists';
• Several thousand linking pages to help users traverse the taxonomic hierarchy.

Simply listing in one place all 1.8 million species known to science will be unprecedented. Today, knowledge about biodiversity gleaned over 250 years is scattered across databases, books, and journals worldwide. Researchers are often overwhelmed by lists of sites found by search engines or by lack of easy access to libraries, museums, and other storehouses of knowledge.

Starting later this year, the public will be able to contribute text, videos, images, and other information about a species. The best of this information will be incorporated into the authenticated pages.

The authenticated pages also include a wealth of other materials, including peer-reviewed articles and access to DNA barcodes, all freely available. While most pages are now in English, eventually, they will be available in several other languages for teaching and learning.