LifeWatch-WoRMS DiatomBase Editor Workshop

The Diatom experts had their first workshop in Prague – from 20-22 March 2017 – which was organized back-to-back with the 11th Central European Diatom Meeting hosted by the Czech Academy of Science. This LifeWatch-WoRMS sponsored workshop was the official start of DiatomBase, a world register of all marine, non-marine, recent and fossil diatom species. A series of practical aims for the workshop were identified. They included: Introducing the editors to the history, potential and challenges of developing and sustaining a project like DiatomBase. Determining the priorities for the DiatomBase project (in the short-, mid- and long-terms). Discussing and agreeing to the different roles and responsibilities for editors. In addition, a timeline was to be set up, to help set goals and move things forward. All participants would learn how to use the online editing interface and make progress in editing their areas (taxonomic, geographical) of responsibility. During the focused hands-on editing sessions, help would be provided to ensure the priorities are tackled and that all editors know how to add and change information to DiatomBase.