Towards a Post-Graduate Level Curriculum for Biodiversity Informatics. Perspectives from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) Community.

Biodiversity informatics is a new and evolving field, requiring efforts to develop capacity and a curriculum for this field of science. The main objective was to summarise the level of activity and the efforts towards developing biodiversity informatics curricula, for work-based training and/or academic teaching at universities, taking place within the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) countries and its associated network. A survey approach was used to identify existing capacities and resources within the network. Most of GBIF Nodes survey respondents (80%) are engaged in onsite training activities, with a focus on work-based professionals, mostly researchers, policy-makers and students. Training topics include data mobilisation, digitisation, management, publishing, analysis and use, to enable the accessibility of analogue and digital biological data that currently reside as scattered datasets. An initial assessment of academic teaching activities highlighted that countries in most regions, to varying degrees, were already engaged in the conceptualisation, development and/or implementation of formal academic programmes in biodiversity informatics, including programmes in Benin, Colombia, Costa Rica, Finland, France, India, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Taiwan and Togo. Digital e-learning platforms were an important tool to help build capacity in many countries. In terms of the potential in the Nodes network, 60% expressed willingness to be recruited or commissioned for capacity enhancement purposes. Contributions and activities of various country nodes across the network have been highlighted and a working curriculum framework has been defined.

Distribution of birds in Colombia.

BACKGROUND: 1. Colombia with 1941 known recorded bird species is one of the most species rich countries in the world. Efforts are necessary to conserve, study and promote sustainable use of this important taxonomic group throughout Colombia's vast territory.2. In an ideal world, informed decisions that are based on sound scientific information should be likelier to have successful outcomes. Nevertheless, there are barriers that make it difficult to access and use information in a timely fashion. Those same barriers impede the study, conservation and sustainable use of bird species in Colombia. On the other hand, given that there is good documentation about the ecology of a large number of species, information about the distribution of birds can be easily incorporated into decision-making processes, once this information becomes readily available in a consumable format using Geographic Information Sciences tools.3. In this context, the main objective of this paper is to present the first compilation of the current distribution of 1889 (97%) species of birds in Colombia, using expert criteria. The shapefiles were used to show the distribution and diversity of bird species in Colombia under both geopolitical and conservation geographic units.4. The information provided in this paper can be used as a baseline for a huge number of initiatives that aim to strengthen conservation efforts and improve knowledge about one the most unique taxonomic groups in the country. These range from land use planning strategies at the municipal or department scale to sustainable use of bird species - such as those initiatives related to bird watching - in Colombia. NEW INFORMATION: This study has considered three key aspects: 1) the importance of birds for Colombia's ecosystems, 2) the privileged place of Colombia in bird species richness and 3) the importance of data mobilisation in formats easily consumable by Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to facilitate the processes of informed decision-making. We present the first compilation - in shapefile format - for 1889 of the 1941 bird species recorded from Colombia. Using this novel collection, we showed the species richness of birds in Colombia's 33 Departments plus its Captial District (DPs), 1122 Municipalities (MNs), 58 protected areas (PAs), 39 Regional Autonomous Corporations (the authorities responsible within their respective jurisdictions for regulating the environment and renewable natural resources in Colombia; CARs) and 916 Collectively Titled Territories (including both indigenous reservations and afro-descendant communities; CTTs). In addition, we provide a list of known bird species richness for the above geographic units found in the available literature. The information provided here can be used as a baseline for a huge number of initiatives concerning the study, conservation and sustainable use of bird species present in Colombia, providing access to key features of bird distribution that should facilitate decision-making.

A synopsis of the subgenus Centris (Hemisiella) Moure, 1945 (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Centridini) in Colombia, with description of a new species.

A synopsis of the species of Centris subgenus Hemisiella Moure in Colombia is presented. The species included are Centris dichrootricha (Moure), C. facialis Mocsáry, C. merrillae Cockerell, C. tarsata Smith, C. trigonoides Lepeletier and C. vittata Lepeletier. In addition, C. nebulosa new species from northwestern Colombia is described, as well as the male of C. merrillae. Diagnoses for both sexes, occurrence records, and an identification key for the seven species of the subgenus that occur in the country are provided.

Two new species of Centris (Aphemisia) Ayala, 2002 from Colombia with a synopsis of the subgenus for the country (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Centridini).

A synopsis of the species of Centris subgenus Aphemisia Ayala in Colombia is presented. A total of six species were recognized: C. lilacina Cockerell, C. mocsaryi Friese, C. plumipes Smith and C. quadrimaculata Packard, including C. celadonia n. sp. and C. vallecaucensis n. sp., two new species described from the Departments of Huila and Valle del Cauca, respectively. Diagnoses, descriptions, information on geographical distribution and an identification key to all species are provided. The previously unknown male of C. plumipes is described for the first time.

A new species of Centris (Xanthemisia) Moure, 1945 from South America with a synopsis of the known species of the subgenus in Colombia (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Centridini).

A synopsis of the species of Centris subgenus Xanthemisia Moure in Colombia is presented. The species identified are Centris ferruginea Lepeletier, C. lutea Friese and C. aureiventris, a new species from the Colombian Andes. Morphological characters of both sexes, distribution records and an identification key for the three species of the subgenus that occur in Colombia are provided.

Abejas sin aguijón (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) en cementerios de la Cordillera oriental de Colombia / Stingless Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) in Oriental Mountains Cementeries from Colombia

Se encontraron 203 nidos de abejas sin aguijón pertenecientes a 15 especies en 11 cementerios de los departamentos de Cundinamarca y Meta (Colombia). El 61por ciento de los nidos encontrados pertenecen a abejas del género Nannotrigona Cokerell, 1922. La especie con el mayor número de nidos y mayor representatividad en los cementerios estudiados fue Nannotrigona mellaria; Trigona (Tetragonisca) angustula se encontró en todos los cementerios estudiados pero, en un porcentaje menor que N. mellaria (29 por ciento del total). La densidad máxima encontrada fue de 118 nidos/ha, con un porcentaje de ocupación de las tumbas de 13,9 por ciento en el cementerio de Tena (Cundinamarca). Se discute sobre la importancia de los cementerios como alternativa para conservación de los sitios de nidificación para abejas silvestres en áreas urbanas.