How are the AKN Data Shared?

The Avian Knowledge Network should be viewed as a funneling point in a cascading network of avian information. Government and Non-government Organizations, banders, and birdwatchers share their data with the AKN.  These data are standardized and subsets of the data are then redistributed to other biodiversity initiatives.  Note that Darwin Core (DwC) includes the basic information of an observation, but not the associated effort.

GBIF – The DwC subset of the AKN data is uploaded weekly to the Global Biodiversity Informatics Facility (GBIF), which displays observational and specimen data for all taxa at temporal and spatial scales. GBIF provides those data in a variety of outputs, from direct download to representation on a map.

ORNIS – The DwC subset of the AKN data is also uploaded weekly to ORNIS, which displays observational and specimen data for all birds.

NBII– The metadata for AKN partners is shared with the National Biodiversity Information Infrastructure (NBII) where it can be viewed in their NBII Metadata Clearinghouse. This website provides a starting point to inform researchers about other researchers working on similar topics and warehouses these metadata in a single location. Note that NBII does not provide direct access to provider data, only the metadata.