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

Hyper-Extending Specimens For Ecological Monitoring Each year, the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is a long-term, continental scale project designed to monitor and forecast ecological change. The network collects over 400 terabytes of standardized ecological data alongside more than 100,000 spatially and temporally co-located samples and specimens, many of which are linked to downstream genetic, genomic, chemical, trait, and pathogen analyses. These materials are archived and made accessible through the NEON Biorepository, while associated data are published via the Symbiota-driven NEON Sample Portal following Darwin Core standards. Together, this infrastructure supports #hyper-extended specimens" connected to rich contextual data, externally hosted resources (e.g., BOLD sequences), derived media, references to scholarly publications and other outputs, related samples, and more. We outline the current state of NEON extended specimens and how we leverage new software tools to enable more integrated and reusable biodiversity data. Additionally, we highlight the use of NEON sample data as an exemplar of emerging biodiversity informatics data standards, including the Darwin Core Data Package and Humboldt Extension, which better represent standardized event-based sampling and long-term ecological monitoring. These efforts aim to improve provenance tracking, enhance discoverability, and further integrate specimen-based research across the biodiversity data ecosystem. Speaker: Kelsey Yule, Senior Data Science Specialist (NEON Biorepository, Arizona State University) Co-authors: Chandra Earl (NEON Biorepository, Arizona State University) Edward Gilbert (NEON Biorepository, Arizona State University & University of Kansas)