NaBiD - Frequently asked questions

Collaborators

• What is a NaBiD collaborator?
• What does NaBiD expect from its collaborators?
• What should collaborators look out for?
• Can I do research / fieldwork in Namibia in order to expand NaBiD?
• Can I loan biological material from Namibian institutions in order to expand NaBiD?
• How much will you pay me for my work as collaborator?
• I'd like to help, but you already have a collaborator for my group
• Do you notice when collectors or dealers pose as collaborators?

• What is a NaBiD collaborator?
  
  NaBiD collaborators are taxonomic experts who have agreed to assist us in ensuring quality control for their specialist groups in the Namibian Biodiversity Database. If you want to volunteer as a collaborator after reading the rest of this FAQ, please contact us.


• What does NaBiD expect from its collaborators?
  
  
  • Initially, please check your group on the web site and alert us to glaring errors and omissions.
  • Subsequently, please be available for guidance if e.g. we run across ambiguities in the literature, or have other taxonomic questions we cannot resolve ourselves.
  • Please alert us to additions to the Namibian fauna when they occur, e.g. by sending us pdf-files of your publications when they appear.
  • The bottom line is: you have more than enough to do, and we do not want to add to your workload. We will do the work here, all we expect from you is just to point us in the right direction and check back occasionally to see that we are getting it right.


• What should collaborators look out for?
  
  
  Start at the top of the following list, and continue as far down as your available time and enthusiasm takes you. We welcome fanatics that do everything, but realistically, we do not expect more than the basics from anybody.
  
  
  • Higher classification. Does our placement of your group conform to what is generally accepted? If not, what would be better?
  • Are you aware of species that occur in Namibia, that we are not listing? If so, we would like to know not only their names, but also the source (publication) we may access to get the associated distribution information.
  • Are all the species that we do list actually Namibian species? Given the unknown provenance of some of our original names, this is a valid question.
  • Are the names that we have the currently accepted, correct names for the taxa? If not, what should they be?
  • Are the species author citations correct? If not, what should they be?
    For animals s.l. we do not abbreviate authors (not even F. or L.), and we list only author surnames and dates, with no punctuation except the brackets that indicate that the species is no longer in the same genus as it was originally described in.
    For plants s.l. we use the author abbreviations and style of the International Plant Names Index.
    Citation of other organisms with their own Codes of Nomenclature are not yet standardised - please make suggestions if this is in your sphere of concern.
  • Sources. Are we missing significant literature sources with Namibian distribution data for some species? Often these will be sources we know about, but that have simply not been added to the database yet, but let us know anyway, please.
  • Synonyms. Are the ones we have correct? If not, what must they be?
    Are we missing any relevant synonyms? We do not try to list all synonyms, since this becomes exhaustive for cosmopolitan species. Instead, we concentrate on synonyms that have been used to refer to the species in Namibia, only. The rationale is that these are the alternative names that our users are most likely to come across in the literature, and these are the ones they need to be able to connect to valid species.
  • If there is a species summary (habitat, distribution etc.), is this correct? If not, could you please contribute / correct?
  • Name derivations. We accept two sources for these:
    a) Where the author stated the meaning of the name in the original publication, we use this.
    b) Where he/she did not, you are welcome to give your interpretation and we will list it as a pers. comm.
    We try to paraphrase the lengthy discourses of some authors to only: 'From the language for 'meaning', reason (source)', or 'Named for someone, reason (source)'.
  • Descriptive text. There is provision for adding a short descriptive paragraph for any taxon, detailing interesting facts about it. If a taxon has this, please check its correctness. If not, you are welcome to contribute it, and we will display it acknowledging you. Shorter is better, of course, since all this goes on the web.
  • Photographs. Eventually we would like to have pictures of all taxa. If you want to contribute any, please do.
  • Data. If you already have distribution data in electronic format, we may be able to extract and add it here in less time than it will take to re-type it from the original sources. If you are willing to contribute in this way, speak to us, please. The same goes for unpublished data.
  
  
• Can I do research / fieldwork in Namibia in order to expand NaBiD?
  
  Yes, subject to the normal requirements. At the very least, you will need a research visa, to be issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, prior to your arrival in Namibia. If you intend to collect biological material, you will additionally need a collecting permit, to be issued by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. In the latter case, it is recommended that you then also liaise with either the National Museum of Namibia (Ministry of Youth and Culture) or the National Herbarium of Namibia (Ministry of Agriculture), as appropriate, since at least part of the collected material may need to be returned to one of these institutions subsequent to study.
  
  NaBiD welcomes biodiversity research in Namibia. We can put you in contact with the appropriate people, we can provide information, and we can recommend meritious proposals if and when we are asked to evaluate them. However, we have no authority or influence over the bureaucratic process, and there is little we can do to help with what is sometimes a very lengthy and frustrating experience. The end result will be worth it - getting there may not be easy, and you will be on your own most of the way. Sorry.


• Can I loan biological material from Namibian institutions in order to expand NaBiD?
  
  Yes, subject to the normal requirements. Contact the National Museum of Namibia or the National Herbarium of Namibia as appropriate. NaBiD itself has no collections - we deal with biological information, not specimens. Also see previous question.


• How much will you pay me for my work as collaborator?
  
  Sadly, we cannot pay our collaborators, even though they provide an invaluable service. We do what we can to credit and acknowledge them, by listing all current and former collaborators on the top level page for the taxon they help(ed) with. Some of them may also get a warm fuzzy feeling from knowing that they have contributed to a worthwhile project, but we cannot guarantee that .


• I'd like to help, but you already have a collaborator for my group
  
  For species-rich groups, more than one collaborator might be appropriate, since it spreads the load. However, if two or more collaborators give us conflicting information, we have a problem. So, please make sure that the existing collaborator is someone with whom you do not have irreconcilable differences of opinion on the taxonomy of the group. If that is not a factor, there is no reason why your group cannot have multiple collaborators.


• Do you notice when collectors or dealers pose as collaborators?
  
  Of course. But we're too polite to let on that we know.