As a volunteer biodiversity recorder and coordinator in the UK, I think I see the issues of citizen science at the sharp end. Here are several points that often seem to be missed in these discussions and I hope they might stimulate discussion.

• The majority of reliable biodiversity records are generated by a few expert volunteers, not by casual observers.
• These amateur experts have little incentive to share their observations though many of them do.
• These experts do not like to be told what, where and when to study, except if they see clear outcomes of their work, i.e. the products of their work shouldn't be published in a scientific journal that they have to pay for.
• Amateur records do it for fun and relaxation they don’t want stress. They don’t want to work with over complicated software and they should not be expected to change the way they give data to suit the professionals.
• They do not want to be paid to do what they do, but their conferences, publications and training courses could be better supported.
• They don’t like loosing control of their data. For example, it is painful for a recorder to see their name next to an error in data entry that they cannot correct.

In general I see the professionals making it easier for themselves to get hold of data through websites and databases. I also see a lot of altruism from recorders, but I think I’d like to see more altruism from professionals.

Dear qgroom,

Thanks for your commemments. I agree on what you wrote.

I googled and found in what kind of issues you yourself are an expert.

Regarding of identification keys of wild flowers, and organisms in general, I bet that the easiest and the fastest is to use NatureGate Online Service. It could be applied to all the data that you have created or administrate the identification key(s) (botanicalkeys.co.uk).

Regarding of e.g. one of your interests, please check how easily you can find Arabidopsis thaliana using NatureGate Online Service: http://www.naturegate.net

You ought to find very quickly and easily. I clicked the following options and found two species, one of which is Arabidopsis thaliana:
(1) size of flower: small (<10mm), (2) Number of petals: 4 petals, (3) Colour of flower: white, l(4) eaves and/or leaflets: rosetta leaf, (5) Margin of leaf: entire, (6) other features: hairy, (7) Size: medium (10-50cm, and I came to conclusion:

http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/ku ... hale-cress

These selcetions can be made in any order, even you can easily cancel a part selection just clicking the icon again. If you use also site and time options, you'll get even more fast and accurate species identifications.

We could create similar NaturGate sister Online Services in UK and in Belgium if we can create powerful enough partners to cooperate with us.

I am sure that citizen scientists would benefit in collaborating with NatureGate Online Services:

(1) IUCN: http://www.iucn.org/about/union/commissions/cec/?2614/

(2) The Finnish Institute of Environment (SYKE), and Ministry of Environment:
http://www.ymparisto.fi/default.asp?node=5319&lan=en

(3) Finnair’s Blue Wings magazine has published a beautiful article of NatureGate
http://www.digipaper.fi/bluewings/25082/
The article is on pages 60 – 63. The fastest way to find it is to use pull-down menu on the top of the pages.

Best wishes

mauri

_________________
Dr. Mauri Ahlberg FLS
Professor of Biology and Sustainability Education
University of Helsinki, FINLAND

Dear Mauri,

thanks for your comments. The naturegate is a really nice key and a lovely design. How is the data stored in the back end? My own keys are rather web 1.0, but they are almost 10 year old now and could use a web 2.0 upgrade.

Regards

Quentin

Dear Quentin,

Thanks for your comments.

We would like to cooperate with you and other people who are willing to cooperate.
Concerning your question, “How is the data stored in the back end?”, I do not know the answer. I am not a computer scientist, neither are Eija and Jouko Lehmuskallio. But Eija and Jouko have worldwide patent for the following method used by NatureGate Online Services:
Method, System and Service Product for Identification of Objects:
http://www.google.fi/patents?hl=fi&lr=& ... allio+eija
<http://www.google.fi/patents?hl=fi&lr=&vid=USPATAPP11574074&id=fwWiAAAAEBAJ&oi=fnd&dq=lehmuskallio+eija>

They have paid a professional programmer to do the programming work. This is how the software for NatureGate was created. Jouko Lehmuskallio is professional Nature Photographer. Eija and Jouko Lehmuskallio have over 400 000 nature photos, mainly of different organisms in wild, outdoors, in their own habitats, ecosystems.
We have a US patent pending business process model according to which everybody wins (The Total Win-Win Strategy) who takes part in NatureGate Online Services: experts, photographers, individuals, organisations, regions, nations, and the whole humankind for conserving biodiversity and for sustainable use of biodiversity.

We are ready for discussing about options with you and everybody else who is interested in cooperation with NatureGate Online Services.

Regards,

Mauri

_________________
Dr. Mauri Ahlberg FLS
Professor of Biology and Sustainability Education
University of Helsinki, FINLAND

Surely, they are trying to patent a key which is prior art. What part of naturegates is patentable?

Hi,

Eija and Jouko Lehmuskallio have not only tried but they have succeeded to patent
the following method used by NatureGate Online Services:

Method, System and Service Product for Identification of Objects:

http://www.google.fi/patents?id=fwWiAAA ... hmuskallio

<http://www.google.fi/patents?id=fwWiAAAAEBAJ&dq=Eija+and+Jouko+Lehmuskallio>

If you read the text carefully and come to see demonstration in London and test yourself, then you'll understand what is patented and what is unique. It is not prior art. Design used in NatureGate may be simple after they are revealed, but ithese ideas are ingenious. They were patentable world wide. I do not have the patent. Eija and Jouko Lehmmuskallio have. I have seen documents and the service as it is implemented now. There are more features which are described in the patent and which are coming this year, hopefully before the June 1 - 3 Conference.

with good wishes

Mauri

Best

_________________
Dr. Mauri Ahlberg FLS
Professor of Biology and Sustainability Education
University of Helsinki, FINLAND