CONSTRUCTION OF THE REFERENCE DATABASE IN GBDB AND ITS APPLICATION

The Geobiodiversity Database (GBDB, http://www.geobiodiversity.com) is a unique, section-based online database system for palaeontological and stratigraphic research. Various kinds of data sources can be integrated into it, including geographic, lithostratigraphic, biostratigraphic, chronostratigraphic, taxonomic and related bibliographic reference data. Data sources are mostly taken from the published literature. The reference database is therefore an important data source in GBDB. Through the reference database users can track the source of the data, check and verify its quality, and even attach their own opinions, as an important comparison with the initiator’s thoughts. To achieve a comprehensive reference database is a long-term and time-consuming job. As more people become involved, the less time will be consumed per person and the more rapidly data quality will increase.After four years’ development, the present reference database is well integrated in GBDB, and eight major reference types are recognized. Both DOI (Digital Object unique Identifier) and URL (Uniform / Universal Resource Locator) automatic conversion to full-text database are supported. Users can upload their Endnote files to the GBDB reference database through the database administrator (fanjunxuan@gmail.com). A new export function to 12 common journals such as Palaeontology, Journal of Paleontology, Palaeo3, and Acta Palaeontologica Sinica, has recently become available online. By Feb. 15, 2012, 44 310 literature records related to palaeontology and stratigraphy had been compiled into the GBDB. Amongst them, 4 321 were based on material from China, which, according to our preliminary estimation, comprises about one third of the total literature on Chinese material. Simple counting of literature published in each decade since 1900 indicates a slow increase from 1910-1919 to 1950-1959, except for a slight decrease probably resulting from the 2nd World War. Then there was a rapid increase in the number of publications until 2000. A considerable, subsequent drop during the decade 2000-2009 may have resulted from two factors: one is the negative correlation between publication year and spread rate of literature; the other is the diminishing field collecting and systematic palaeontological study conducted in recent years.