Thursday, August 6, 2020
Roberto Salguero-Gomez, Zoology, Oxford University, Judy Che-Castaldo, Conservation and Science, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, Owen Jones, Interdisciplinary Center on Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark, Hal Caswell, Biology, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Thomas Ezard, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom, Haydee Hernandez-Yanez, Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St Louis, MO, David Hodgson, Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, United Kingdom, Tiffany Knight, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany, Sam C Levin, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity, Leipzig, Germany, Iain Stott, School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, United Kingdom, Cameron Thomas, Conservation and Science, Lincoln Park Zoo and James Vaupel, Evolutionary Demography, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany
Demographic information is key to ecology and conservation. We have standardized, corrected, archived, and complemented discrete stage (COMPADRE & COMADRE) and continuous stage (PADRINO) demographic data for thousands of species. We have also developed tools to analyse these databases. Here, we (1) provide a historical perspective on the key findings that have emerged from these datasets, (2) describe challenges of archiving these data, (3) outline ways in which we are engaging with users and funding agencies to enhance sharing and reproducibility, and (4) propose future plans to achieve a comprehensive “Noah’s Ark” of demographic information across the Tree of Life.
