About data curation

The TAOCA platform houses ecological data on the terrestrial Amazonian fauna. This type of data is quite diverse and full of nuances. To standardize the data and facilitate its subsequent use, TAOCA has an automated data curation mechanism. All data deposited at TAOCA will go through the curation mechanism and will only be finally inserted into the database after complete correction and verification of possible inconsistencies.

TAOCA data curation is performed to verify:

- Errors / inconsistencies in the scientific names of the species. Our system will compare the identification of each individual with the most taxonomically updated species list. Typos, synonymous species, taxonomic updates, and misidentifications (eg, there is no specific epithet for a certain genus) will be reported to the data owners. In most cases, our system will suggest changes according to the updated list. Ex: in your data there is an individual Coprophanaeus ensifer and the system will suggest you Coprophanaeus ensifer.

- Errors / inconsistencies in geographic coordinates. Our system will check if the given coordinate overlaps with the informed municipality. If the coordinates are not superimposed on the municipality, the system will inform the distance to the municipality. At the end of the curation, the data contributor will be able to check the distribution map of their sampling points, which will help to confirm the location of the study area.

- Spell check of methods and environments.

You can also find the link Download spreadsheet model, the availability of spreadsheet models to be used on our platform in English and Portuguese.