2026 Digital Data: Enabling Science Through Integrated Biodiversity Data - Day 3, Digital Resources

Integrating Digital Resources to Increase Biodiversity Information in Latin America Symbiota biodiversity portals facilitate the digitization and mobilization of more than 1,000 collections worldwide, including about 150 in Latin America. Regional Symbiota-based platforms (e.g. Guatemala Biodiversity Portal, STRI portal) facilitate the management of specimen records derived from local collections. Furthermore, these platforms allow the integration of standardized records from external collections, thereby increasing the accessibility of this information for local researchers. The Snow Entomological Collection (SEMC) at the University of Kansas (digitized in its primary Specify 7 platform), represents a concrete example on how active curation and mobilization of external specimen data are contributing to Symbiota portals, increasing availability of Neotropical species information. Over the past year, more than 100 exemplar taxa (including type specimens) deposited in SEMC have been digitized in Specify 7, incorporating high-resolution images, and later mobilized to Symbiota portals. These enriched records provide not only updated distribution data but also valuable identification resources for species in the region. Successful workflows for data mobilization from Specify 7 and integration into Symbiota portals will be discussed during the presentation. Speaker: K. Samanta Orellana, Postdoctoral Researcher (University of Kansas) Co-authors: Zack Falin (University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute) Grant Fitzsimmons (University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute) Aimee Stewart (University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute) Andy Bentley (University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute) Nico Franz (University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute)