Wikispecies

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Wikispecies, a project of the Wikimedia Foundation, was launched in September 2004. Details of how the project came about can be found in the Wikispecies FAQ.

Biologists who classify new species normally publish in specialized esoteric journals, which has led to an overwhelming amount of information with nobody keeping an overview. Even experts in very specialized fields often don't notice if a species has been formally recorded twice, three times or even more often. Therefore, it is not known how many known species there are - and this is just as ridiculous as it sounds.

We are not talking about all species that EXIST on earth - but simply the total number of species that were already RECORDED in scientific publications. Nobody knows how many there are. Expert A might think that there are 17 000 annelids known, expert B believes to know about 20 000. This is because there is no central registration process and no database or reference directory to browse information about the current state of knowledge on a particular species. This situation can be summarized with two statements:

1.) A central, more extensive database for taxonomy is urgently needed. All their advantages are demonstrated strikingly by bases such as www.wikipedia.org. [1]

2.) A central, more extensive database for taxonomy is feasible. Wikipedia proved the technical feasibility; other existing species directories like FishBase [2] or Animal Diversity Web [3] prove the need for this kind of a database and the willingness of volunteers to make the commitment to contribute.

Based on these key statements, Benedikt Mandl defined two major tasks:

1.) Figure out how the contents of the data base would need to be presented - by asking experts, potential non-professional users and comparing that with existing data bases.

2.) Figure out how to do the software, which hardware is required and how to cover the costs - by asking experts, looking for fellow volunteers and potential sponsors.

Wikispecies is the idea of creating an open, wiki-based species directory for both, scientific and non-professional users. This idea is still very young, although others have tried similar things before. WikiSpecies will benefit from these endeavours and learn from previous mistakes.

[edit] Previous work with similar targets

In molecular biology and genetics open databases for genes or proteins are already very important, only taxonomy, the most internet-related of all sciences, still lacks the advantages of an online network. Due to that lack, there are already some databases that tried to establish species directories. The most important ones are "Integrated Taxonomic Information System" [4] focusing on species of North America and its European equivalent Species 2000 [5]. Both directories try to connect other, existing databases to an integrated unit.

Furthermore, there are ambitious commitments by the "ALL Species Foundation" [6] with much ado about almost nothing, a small but charming database from the University of Michigan [7] and other, partly commercial directories. All these websites have some things in common: They lack funding, are mismanaged, created for experts and scientists, limited to a particular group of species or a region, or face other difficulties. To put it in a nutshell: There is a need for www.wikispecies.org!

[edit] Current state

Advantages and disadvantages were widely discussed by the wikimedia-I mailing list. The board of directors of the wikimedia foundation voted by 4:0 FOR the establishment of a Wikispecies. The domain www.wikispecies.org/ [8] was registered by Benedikt Mandl and was transferred to the foundation. Benedikt Mandl co-ordinates the efforts of several people who are interested in getting involved with the project and contacted potential supporters. Databases were evaluated and the administrators contacted, some of them have agreed on providing their data for Wikispecies. The project was launched in August 2004 and is hosted at http://species.wikimedia.org. As of May 2007, there are over 100,000 articles available at Wikispecies.

[edit] Wikidata and Wikispecies

The implementation of Wikidata is under way. This will implement the potential of embedding a relational database in the Mediawiki software. When this functionality is available, it will be possible to have a proper database and include all taxons and all revisions on these taxons. Basically, a database will enable new functionality and this will make Wikispecies relevant.