The PteridoPortal: A publicly accessible collection of over three million records of extant and extinct pteridophytes
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Premise: Pteridophytes-vascular land plants that disperse by spores-are a powerful system for studying plant evolution, particularly with respect to the impact of abiotic factors on evolutionary trajectories through deep time. However, our ability to use pteridophytes to investigate such questions-or to capitalize on the ecological and conservation-related applications of the group-has been impaired by the relative isolation of the neo- and paleobotanical research communities and by the absence of large-scale biodiversity data sources. Methods: Here we present the Pteridophyte Collections Consortium (PCC), an interdisciplinary community uniting neo- and paleobotanists, and the associated PteridoPortal, a publicly accessible online portal that serves over three million pteridophyte records, including herbarium specimens, paleontological museum specimens, and iNaturalist observations. We demonstrate the utility of the PteridoPortal through discussion of three example PteridoPortal-enabled research projects. Results: The data within the PteridoPortal are global in scope and are queryable in a flexible manner. The PteridoPortal contains a taxonomic thesaurus (a digital version of a Linnaean classification) that includes both extant and extinct pteridophytes in a common phylogenetic framework. The PteridoPortal allows applications such as greatly accelerated classic floristics, entirely new "next-generation" floristic approaches, and the study of environmentally mediated evolution of functional morphology across deep time. Discussion: The PCC and PteridoPortal provide a comprehensive resource enabling novel research into plant evolution, ecology, and conservation across deep time, facilitating rapid floristic analyses and other biodiversity-related investigations, and providing new opportunities for education and community engagement.
Source: Applications in Plant Sciences
DOI: 10.1002/aps3.70003
Authors: Carl J. Rothfels, Jaemin Lee, Michael A. Sundue, Alan R. Smith, Amy Kasameyer, Joyce Gross, Garth Holman, Shusheng Hu, Matt von Konrat, Emily B. Sessa, Kimberly Watson, Alan Weakley, Libing Zhang, Patricia Gensel, Michael Hassler, Katelin D. Pearson, Ed Gilbert, Robyn J. Burnham, Richard K. Rabeler, Patrick Sweeney, Alejandra Vasco, Weston Testo, David E. Giblin, Stefanie M. Ickert‐Bond, Margaret Landis, Melanie Link‐Perez, Tatyana Livshultz, Ian Miller, Christopher Neefus, Kathleen Pigg, Mitchell Power, Alan Prather, Tiana Rehman, Lena Struwe, Michael Vincent, George Weiblen, Timothy Whitfeld, Michael D. Windham, George Yatskievych, Aaron Liston, Elizabeth Makings, Kathleen M. Pryer, Caroline Strömberg, Eve Atri, Jason Best, Ian Glasspool, Layne Huiet, Elizabeth Johnson, Megan R. King, Az Klymiuk, Richard Lupia, Lucas C. Majure, Carol Ann McCormick, Richard McCourt, Shanna Oberreiter, Kent D. Perkins, Yarency Rodriguez, Chelsea Smith, James Solomon, Jordan Teisher, Donna Ford‐Werntz, Petra Fuehrding‐Potschkat, Holly Little, Tom A. Ranker, Eric Schuettpelz, Carrie M. Tribble, Diane M. Erwin, Cindy V. Looy
Institutions: Utah State University, University of California, Berkeley, Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Berkeley Natural History Museums, University of Michigan, Yale Peabody Museum, Field Museum of Natural History, New York Botanical Garden, University of Florida, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Missouri Botanical Garden, University of Kansas, University of Vermont, University of Washington, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Oklahoma, University of Wisconsin System, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Drexel University, National Geographic Society, University of New Hampshire, Arizona State University, University of Utah, Natural History Museum of Utah, Michigan State University, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Miami University, University of Minnesota, Bell Museum of Natural History, Duke University, The University of Texas at Austin, Oregon State University, University of Arizona, University of Manitoba, Florida Museum of Natural History, West Virginia University, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Language: English
Topic: Fern and Epiphyte Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,340
Funders: National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Welch Foundation, Alzheimer's Association, McKnight Foundation, Vanderbilt University, Research Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology, Medical University of South Carolina, Naito Foundation, Takeda Science Foundation, North Carolina State University, Tulane University, Texas A and M University, University of Oklahoma, Drexel University, Inoue Foundation for Science, Deutsches Zentrum für Infektionsforschung, West Virginia University, Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, University of Louisiana Monroe, Swedish Cancer Foundation, Stichting de Drie Lichten, Region Östergötland, Moderna, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Royal Society, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, National Natural Science Foundation of China, ZonMw, Austrian Science Fund, Carlsbergfondet, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee, Stichting MS Research, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, National Research Foundation of Korea, University of Hong Kong, Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse, Vetenskapsrådet, National Health Research Institutes, Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, Total, University of the Philippines, Tata Sons, Novo Nordisk Fonden, Stiftelsen för Strategisk Forskning, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, National Institutes of Health, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Museum of Natural History, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, Berkeley Natural History Museums, Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program, Center for Research Computing, University of Pittsburgh, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, John A. Blume Earthquake Engineering Center, Stanford University, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Program of Shanghai Academic Research Leader, Center for Innovative Medicine, National Institute on Aging, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, University of California Museum of Paleontology, Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology, Fusion Oriented REsearch for disruptive Science and Technology, Air Force Institute of Technology, H2020 European Research Council, H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, H2020 Health, HORIZON EUROPE European Innovation Council
Awards: Digitization TCN: Collaborative Research: The Pteridological Collections Consortium: An integrative approach to pteridophyte diversity over the last 420 million years, Digitization TCN: Collaborative Research: The Pteridological Collections Consortium: An integrative approach to pteridophyte diversity over the last 420 million years, Digitization TCN: Collaborative Research: The Pteridological Collections Consortium: An integrative approach to pteridophyte diversity over the last 420 million years, Digitization TCN: Collaborative Research: The Pteridological Collections Consortium: An integrative approach to pteridophyte diversity over the last 420 million years, Digitization TCN: Collaborative Research: The Pteridological Collections Consortium: An integrative approach to pteridophyte diversity over the last 420 million years, Digitization TCN: Collaborative Research: The Pteridological Collections Consortium: An integrative approach to pteridophyte diversity over the last 420 million years, PurSUiT: Collaborative Research: Accelerating Lineage Discovery to Document Neotropical Fern Diversity, Digitization TCN: Collaborative Research: The Pteridological Collections Consortium: An integrative approach to pteridophyte diversity over the last 420 million years, Digitization TCN: Collaborative Research: The Pteridological Collections Consortium: An integrative approach to pteridophyte diversity over the last 420 million years, PurSUiT: Collaborative Research: Accelerating Lineage Discovery to Document Neotropical Fern Diversity, iDigBio: Sustaining the digitization, mobilization, accessibility, and use of biodiversity specimen data in U.S. museum and academic collections
OpenAlex ID: W4408323958