3. EOL’s
Guiding Principles
• Freely accessible: open
access, open source
• Available from a single portal
in a common format
• Quality
• Always growing as new
species are discovered and
new knowledge is generated
4. Goals
• Unprecedented global collaboration of novices and experts
• Combining scientific credibility with public enthusiasm
• Topics that influence our world
• More than just a scientific project—a new social
phenomenon
• Provide value for several audiences
• Scientists
• Educators
• Policymakers
• Citizens
6. Objects can come from many partners
Objects are sorted by topic
Each partner gets credit
7. Overview
Introduction
Description
Physical Description
Molecular Barcode
Life History
Identification
Original Description
Physiology
Evolution and Systematics
Classification
Paleontology
Phylogeny
Nomenclatural history
Ecology and Distribution
Geographic Distribution
Habitat
Niche
Ecosystem Role
Conservation
Relevance
Toxicity
Ethnobotany
How to Grow
Example of detailed table of contents
11. Statistics
• 2,801,697 taxon pages, including families,
genera, etc.
• 117 content partners providing 2,025,592 data
objects (images, text, maps)
• 396,783 pages with vetted objects
• 621 curators
• 940,728 pages with links to literature
• 1,789,138 pages with links to other projects