Agouti now exports data as Camtrap DP 1.0

[Peter Desmet]

Hi all,

We just released a new version of Agouti (v4.1).

The main change is that data are now exported as Camtrap DP 1.0, which is the first official version of this community-developed export format. Previously, Agouti exported data as Camtrap DP 0.1.6, which was a test format. There are a number of substantial changes between 1.0 and 0.1.6, such as new, deleted, updated or renamed terms, but the main structure (deployments, media, observations) has remained the same.

How can I export data?

Principal Investigators can export data from Agouti.eu from the same tab as usual.

Can I continue to use the R package camtraptor?

Yes, camtraptor has been updated so it can read the new export format as well as the old 0.1.6 format (so old exports are still readable). To minimize breaking changes in your scripts, camtraptor will down-convert Camtrap DP 1.0 to 0.1.6 which is currently used as the internal data model for camtraptor. This will change in the future (see more info).

You will need to update camtraptor to be able to read new Agouti exports:

remove.packages("camtraptor")
devtools::install_github("inbo/camtraptor")

Can I use the export in the GBIF IPT?

Yes, for those who are testing the upcoming version of the GBIF IPT*, you should be able to upload the new Agouti export format to IPT v3 and all data and metadata will be auto-mapped. Note however:

- Agouti exports don't contain a dataset title, description or license, which are required by the IPT. Those fields need to be populated manually.

- There is currently an open issue that has prevented me from testing the IPT3 fully on Agouti exports: https://github.com/gbif/ipt/issues/2190

Kind regards,

Peter

* For people who are not familiar with the GBIF IPT: it is a tool to publish and register datasets as open data with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). I have worked with GBIF to adopt Camtrap DP as a publication format, lowering the technical barrier for publishing data. This is currently in a testing phase. For more info, see the November 2022 webinar on this topic and our draft guide for publishing camera trap data.

--

Peter Desmet (he/him)

Open data coordinator

Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)

Open science lab for biodiversity

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8442-8025