ALA Science Symposium
Australia’s remarkable biodiversity is a key part of our economic, social and environmental wellbeing. The Atlas of Living Australia is a national, collaborative project providing everyone from school students to scientists with easy, online access to a vast repository of information about the diversity of Australia’s plants and animals.
Until now, information on Australia’s biodiversity has been fragmented across biological collections, institutions and government agencies, making it difficult to access and analyse. The Atlas of Living Australia (www.ala.org.au) is mobilising and integrating the country’s biodiversity information, making it accessible and useable online.
With over 36 million records, the Atlas includes distribution and molecular data, images, literature, maps, and sound recordings. Powerful mapping and analysis tools and open source software allow researchers and the public to explore and analyse information in novel ways, generating new research possibilities and improving knowledge.
The Atlas also encourages participation by “citizen scientists”, enabling participant’s engagement with the natural environment, and increasing our knowledge of Australian species.
The Atlas is being used by researchers, teachers, students, local communities and natural resource managers – anyone who wants to know more about the living world, identify species or understand their distribution.
The Atlas is a world-leading example of biodiversity information management at a national scale, and an example of the benefits of both open data and open infrastructure
The first ALA first Science Symposium will celebrate research and operational outcomes which have been enabled by the Atlas. It will be held June 12-13 in Canberra. Register your interest now, and continue to check this site for updates on the Symposium.
The Twitter hash tag for the event will be #alass13. Please use this hash tag in any tweets about the event.