The BRC works alongside and provides support for over 100 national recording schemes and societies, with a particular emphasis on recording species’ distributions and how these change over time. The BRC helps promote the collection of biological records of a wide range of taxonomic groups across the UK, and supports the verification, publication and widespread use of this data.
Background
The BRC began in 1964 and is a partnership between JNCC and UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH).
The BRC would not be possible without the dedication and support of thousands of talented volunteers. It has been estimated that over 70,000 recorders contribute to recording schemes. However, the true total may be considerably higher than this, with approximately 200,000 distinct recorder names having contributed records to iRecord. Thanks to these volunteers, over 3 million records a year are made available for verification and wider sharing via iRecord alone, whilst individual recording schemes collate and share a large number of additional records. In total, iRecord currently holds records of over 32,000 species and printed atlases now cover over 10,500 species of organisms. Records for a much wider range of taxa are recorded by the schemes and shared with the online NBN Atlas.
Why do we need the BRC?
The UK has a rich history of biological recording, much of which is contributed by volunteers. Recording schemes typically focus on unstructured or semi-structured recording, collating records from a wide range of sources, while monitoring schemes ask participants to follow a defined method that is repeated over time.
Many people participate in unstructured recording, providing fundamental information on the distribution and phenology of species across a wide range of taxonomic groups, allowing data to be gathered from a much wider range of taxon groups and locations than is possible through the structured monitoring schemes.
However, working with unstructured data provides a unique set of challenges in understanding potential biases and changes in patterns of recording over time. BRC works alongside over 100 national recording schemes and societies to offer support in data collection, management, verification, availability and publication to ensure that these challenges can be overcome, and that the data collected by volunteers can be used to inform conservation and policy. BRC develops and maintains the Indicia software tools that are used for iRecord and other online recording platforms.
Distribution data and trends of a wide range of species collected through schemes supported by BRC are published in Atlases, online resources and the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Atlas. They are key components to many national and international targets, conservation measures and policies, including the national State of Nature reports. The data are directly used in the UK Biodiversity Indicators C4b, D1c and E1, and for red-listing, invasion biology, conservation action, and a wide range of research such as on the effect of climate change on species’ distributions.
Sampling approach/how are the data collected?
The BRC supports a large number of recording schemes and societies which in turn support thousands of volunteer biological recorders. Each recording scheme and society is dedicated to a taxonomic group.
Volunteers submit records of species direct to the schemes or through platforms such as iRecord, which is developed and maintained by BRC.
Records consist of the taxon name, the date and location of the sighting, and the name of the recorder. There may be a photo with the record, along with additional information about habitats, weather, species behaviour etc. These wildlife records are made in an unstructured way, unlike the monitoring schemes that are also supported by JNCC, creating unique challenges in data handling and use. BRC works with the schemes to verify the records through the use of experts, trained volunteers, and automated verification.
Once verified, the data can be shared widely via the schemes themselves, with Local Environmental Records Centres, and the data are aggregated in the NBN Atlas for wider use.
BRC has an important role in investing in and supporting the management of the increased amount of data that schemes receive through platforms like iRecord, processing and analysing data, liaising with schemes to understand what problems they face and what solutions could be useful, and providing the technical capability to make these changes.
How and where data/results are available to stakeholders
The data and trends are published in Atlases which are accompanied by online supporting information. Most data are also aggregated into the NBN Atlas where they can be accessed for further use.
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