The platform at biodiversite-quebec.ca includes more than 21 million observations of thousands of species.
With the COP15 biodiversity conference in Montreal this week, Biodiversité Québec unveiled a “unique” scientific platform of data on Quebec’s biodiversity on Thursday.
The platform at biodiversite-quebec.ca includes more than 21 million observations, with 2,223 species of plants, vertebrates and invertebrates — a fraction of the 40,000 species in Quebec.
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“I think it’s really what we needed, a portrait. Not just a study here and there, or data on a certain cycle, but to really have … an overall view,” said co-ordinator Catherine Gauthier.
The group says it’s the first platform of its kind in Quebec, which should facilitate “better understanding and analysis of the general state of biodiversity here, in real-time and over the long term.”
Data on the site come from different sources, including the inventories of the Réseau de suivi de la biodiversité du Québec and the Quebec government.
The portal will be useful for researchers as well as the public, Gauthier said. The former will find more scientific data to study, while the public will see more accessible content like blog posts.
Biodiversité Québec is a partnership between the Centre de la science de la biodiversité du Québec, the Université de Sherbrooke and the Quebec environment ministry.
