Freebase: Discussion about spatialed

Birds: AOU Type

2008-10-10T17:26:31.0012Z

I've filled in a bit of data from the 49th supplement. The AOU Latin name and AOU English name types seem to be holding up well, including list imports. The supplement contains a lot of name and taxonomy changes that conflict with the ITIS data so it was a good test for how well those differences can be documented. I also added a couple text properties to document reasons for changes in nomenclature and taxonomy. This might become an enumerated list down the road.

Birds: AOU Type

2008-10-10T02:02:29.0012Z

Minor revision: Latin name could be used to describe a specific instance of a taxon description (e.g., the latest edition of the AOU checklist). This will allow you to resolve ITIS English names with AOU English names linked to a single instance of the Latin name. Additional Latin names can later be added to the English names to describe changes that were made in more recent supplements or to document previous Latin names in earlier editions and supplements.

Birds: AOU Type

2008-10-10T01:39:02.0012Z

Update: I have added properties for previous and revised English and Latin names. This is so far the best way I can figure out how to explictly make those connections.

Also note that the AOU Latin names can only be linked to 1 edition of the checklist/supplement whereas common names can be linked to multiple. My thinking is that the Latin name will be used to identify the first case in which the Latin-English combo were used (only the American Flamingo data currently represent this relationship). The common name on the other hand can hold all instances of association with Latin names, editions, and supplements.

Birds: AOU Type

2008-10-10T00:34:06.0012Z

So... after playing with the AOU taxonomy type for awhile I wasn't happy with it.

I decided to let the existing Freebase English bird names drive the links between common names (linked to ITIS codes) and AOU English names. Each English bird name is type as "AOU English name" type. This type contains an "AOU Latin name" property/type that has disambiguation for taxon rank (e.g., species) and source (i.e., an edition of the AOU checklist and possibly supplement). For each AOU English name, one or more AOU Latin names can be added to track changes. For each Latin name, only one English name can be added. This means that there could be duplicate Latin names if one was changed in say the 5th edition of the checklist and then changed back in the 7th edition. Disambiguation is used to distinguish the similar Latin names topics by edition/supplement.

So far this seems to work alright. The English names are simple to update. The Latin names are where the effort must be made to keep track of changes.

Because of the way this is structured, Latin names are automatically reciprocated back to the checklist editions and supplements, which is great. Common names, however, must be reciprocated through additional properties. This adds some denormalization but I can't figure out how to get around that yet.

Birds: AOU Type

2008-10-10T00:28:27.0012Z

Ugh.... I would really rather go with a co-type, and not try to duplicate the hierarchical relationships. I was envisioning a type that would only have AOU-specific properties. I realize there may be some differences in the relationships, but I think they can be modelled without having to duplicate all the info. Perhaps when I finish resolving the names, we can get some data on how hairy the conflicts are. I don't think there will be so many differences that mirroring the Organism Classification type will be warranted.

Birds: AOU Type

2008-10-09T21:30:06.0012Z

Sorry. This is the updated link. The previous one will probably be recycled as the bucket for the taxonomy type, codes, and anything else AOU related.

Birds: AOU Type

2008-10-09T21:27:26.0012Z

I updated the type and changed the key. Check out AOU taxonomy and let me know what you think. Unfortunately it's complex but I think that might be a necessity to keep all the dated information together. A simpler approach would be to update the names everytime a supplement to the AOU check-list came out. However, that would require someone committed to doing that. Also, the historical information would be lost.

Birds: AOU Type

2008-10-09T19:25:38.0012Z

My suggestion:

I don't see any way to do this except to add an AOU taxonomy CVT for each bird taxon’s English name. The CVT would link the AOU English name to its organism rank, Latin name, AOU edition, and AOU supplement. Both the English and Latin names can change over time so all this information needs to be stored together. Following the current Freebase format, the English name should be the topic described by the CVT. The higher and lower AOU taxa ranks probably need to be included in the AOU CVT too.

If the AOU English name is the same as the ITIS English name then the topic will have both types. If the AOU name is different than ITIS then it will only have one or the other type. There is no way to properly "resolve" these different taxonomic systems. They are similar but different and both change over time. The changes within each system need to be maintained. Perhaps a “most similar ITIS taxon” property is needed, especially for those bird topics that do not have the same AOU and ITIS common names. Alternatively, we could use a more generic “equals”, “overlaps”, “contains”, and “contained by” properties for defining relationships among taxon topics associated with multiple taxonomies.

I've brought this non-overlapping category issue up a few times now under the umbrella of "crosswalks" in various discussions, including those related to taxonomy. I still think they are a necessity. The world is categorized by different people in different ways. In this case, ITIS circa 2007 is not going to work as a one-size-fits-all taxonomic system. There are dozens of other taxonomies, including AOU. Freebase provides an amazing tool for describing relationships among taxonomies and other categorical classification systems. This ITIS/AOU conflict provides yet another example of how categories can be crosswalked in Freebase. Land cover classification schemes provide another.

I'm working on an AOU taxonomy type but the current version of the UI is stymieing me again by not allowing me to delete properties or change the key. The draft is: http://www.freebase.com/type/schema/user/spatialed/bird_codes/aou Ignore the properties below AOU supplement. The AOU code properties will need to be added separately, possibly within an AOU bucket type that contains the taxonomy CVT and a standard type with additional properties that do not need to be directly linked to the taxonomy.

Birds: AOU Type

2008-10-09T17:49:59.0012Z

great -- looking forward to seeing what you come up with. i will probably be resolving names for a little while yet, but when that is done, i can help populate that type.

Birds: AOU Type

2008-10-09T17:17:49.0012Z

That's funny you should write this right now. I noticed your question as I was about to start this exact type. I was wondering how to organize it and agree that an AOU type would be a good way to go. I'll take a crack at it. Let me know if you think anything should be added or changed.