title: Streamlining the use of BOLD specimen data to record species distributions: a case study with ten Nearctic species of Microgastrinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae).
abstract: The Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) is designed to support the generation and application of DNA barcode data, but it also provides a unique source of data with potential for many research uses. This paper explores the streamlining of BOLD specimen data to record species distributions - and its fast publication using the Biodiversity Data Journal (BDJ), and its authoring platform, the Pensoft Writing Tool (PWT). We selected a sample of 630 specimens and 10 species of a highly diverse group of parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from the Nearctic region and used the information in BOLD to uncover a significant number of new records (of locality, provinces, territories and states). By converting specimen information (such as locality, collection date, collector, voucher depository) from the BOLD platform to the Excel template provided by the PWT, it is possible to quickly upload and generate long lists of "Material Examined" for papers discussing taxonomy, ecology and/or new distribution records of species. For the vast majority of publications including DNA barcodes, the generation and publication of ancillary data associated with the barcoded material is seldom highlighted and often disregarded, and the analysis of those data sets to uncover new distribution patterns of species has rarely been explored, even though many BOLD records represent new and/or significant discoveries. The introduction of journals specializing in - and streamlining - the release of these datasets, such as the BDJ, should facilitate thorough analysis of these records, as shown in this paper.
authors.affiliation: Canadian National Collection of Insects, Ottawa, and the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph, Ottawa, Canada.
authors.forename: Jose L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Triana
authors.affiliation: Pensoft, Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Lyubomir
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Penev
authors.affiliation: University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada.
authors.forename: Sujeevan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ratnasingham
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology, Guelph, Canada.
authors.forename: M Alex
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada.
authors.forename: Jayme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sones
authors.affiliation: University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Telfer
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada.
authors.forename: Jeremy R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: deWaard
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada.
authors.forename: Paul D N
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Hebert
keywords: Barcode of Life Data Systems; Microgastrinae; Nearctic; Pensoft Writing Tool; Species distribution records; streamlining data