Biodiversity time-series database gives unprecedented insight into global change - University of St Andrews

The largest biodiversity time-series database on the planet – created by the University of St Andrews – has had a major new release. The BioTIME database offers unprecedented insight into how biodiversity is changing through time across the globe, spanning nearly 150 years of ecological records from 1874 – 2023.

Published in the journal of Global Ecology and Biogeography the new version contains data from over 553 thousand locations tracking species abundances from the Arctic to the Amazon, helping researchers, policymakers, and the public better understand the complex realities species face in a rapidly changing world.

The update to BioTIME 2.0 dramatically expands on the previous version of the database, specifically targeting increased geographic and taxonomic representation. With this update, the database now includes nearly 12 million records representing more than 56,000 species across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems.

This is the most comprehensive collection of ecological assemblage time-series ever created. An assemblage is a group of organisms of the same taxon (e.g. fish, plants or birds) that live in the same place. This is different from say a population, which is focused only on one species. It’s possible to keep track of populations from assemblage level data (because it includes many populations) but not the other way around. Assemblage data is essential to calculate many biodiversity metrics like species richness, diversity etc.

Prof Maria Dornelas from the School of Biology at the University of St Andrews, who leads the project, said: “Because we cannot travel in time, biodiversity data from the past is precious to help us understand where and how biodiversity is changing. Human eyes and ears are the main instruments behind this massive data resource. This database is the collective work of hundreds of people, both scientists and citizen scientists, who systematically record species and their abundances over time.”