GBIF
Biodiversity data portal connecting observations, datasets and contributing organisations, with provenance details.
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Find biodiversity observations
Explore occurrences, datasets and contributing organisations.
Check first: Examine provenance, coverage and sampling limits.
Compare this resource with other directory records →
Choose a format that preserves necessary context
- Simple format
- Start with common fields.
- Darwin Core Archive
- Preserve more data and metadata.
- Identify fields needed for your question.
- Compare simple format and Darwin Core Archive.
- Check separators and column definitions before analysis.
Fictional example: a workshop imports a GBIF file and sees every value in one column. It checks the separator instead of deleting headers. For the study, it also keeps data context rather than an extracted table without definitions.
Your useful record: Format, separator, chosen fields and extraction reference.
Correct import does not remove the observations’ limitations.
Editorial method informed by GBIF Technical Documentation — Download formats. Documentation consulted on . Examples are fictional exercises, not results from a live service test.
Understand an occurrence row
An occurrence documents a taxon, place and date; it is not automatically a count of individuals.
| Element | Meaning |
|---|---|
| occurrenceID | Record identifier. |
| basisOfRecord | Evidence type, such as observation or specimen. |
| scientificName / eventDate | Scientific name and event date. |
| Geographic uncertainty | coordinateUncertaintyInMeters records uncertainty in metres; a coordinate alone does not supply it. |
| Recorded quantity | individualCount and organismQuantity describe quantities; missing values mean neither zero nor one individual. |
Try the reasoning
Illustrative situation. Two rows concern the same place and species. Can you immediately conclude there were two animals?
Read the explanation
No. Examine record types, identifiers and documented quantities. A row and an individual are not equivalent units.
Documentation for the table : GBIF — Occurrence data quality requirements · . The exercise is an editorial example.
Preserve provenance in an occurrence download
GBIF aggregates biodiversity data from different publishers. Use an occurrence download with its selection criteria, metadata and DOI. Check location fields, dates and quality indicators before counting or mapping records.
- Data
- Biodiversity occurrences and datasets.
- Download
- Documented formats and export DOI reference.
- Quality
- Distinguish original fields from GBIF interpretations.
- Decimals and uncertainty
- The number of coordinate decimals does not by itself measure location uncertainty. Read the locality description, reference system and documented uncertainty before using a point in a small-area analysis.
- Locality and checking
- Compare the coordinate with its locality description and retain georeferencing metadata. A precisely displayed point may come from a broad historical description; do not assign field precision that the source does not establish.
- Simple GBIF download
- SIMPLE_CSV provides tab-separated text despite its name.
Source: GBIF Technical Documentation — Download formats · consulted on - Darwin Core Archive
- DWCA combines data tables and XML metadata in an archive.
Source: GBIF Technical Documentation — Download formats · consulted on
Is every record an independent observation?
Inspect data type and possible duplicate records before counting.
Why cite the download DOI?
It identifies the export used; source dataset references also help trace provenance.
Initial profile documentation
Initial profile documentation consulted on . Added details carry their own source and consultation date above.
Editorial selection, without website certification. Read our method.