Definitions on environmental sample related terms

[gdadade]

The IG should come up with definitions for environmental sample, environmental DNA (in comparison to single species samples), abiotic versus biotic environments etc.

Examples from Droege et al. 2016 doi: 10.1093/database/baw125:

• Material sample: The physical result of a sampling (or subsampling) event. In biological collections, the material sample is typically collected, and either preserved or destructively processed. (see http://terms.tdwg.org/wiki/dwc:MaterialSample)
• Environmental sample: A material sample that (i) represents taxonomic biodiversity from across the tree of life (e.g. blood, gut), (ii) represents abiotic substrate or environment (e.g. soil, water, ice core) or (iii) an assemblage of both
• Environmental DNA: The physical result of DNA extraction of an environmental sample containing DNA of multiple taxa. Often completely consumed during sequencing
• Ancient environmental DNA: The physical result of DNA extraction of an environmental sample older than 100 years (e.g. teeth) containing DNA of multiple taxa. Usually completely processed during sequencing
• Tissue sample: A material sample dedicated to a single taxon (e.g. leaf, muscle, leg), often chemically or physically treated to preserve biomolecules from degrading. May contain tissue/DNA of other taxa, e.g. endosymbionts, pathogens, destruents

Examples from GBIF Publishing DNA derived data glossary (https://docs.gbif-uat.org/publishing-dna-derived-data/1.0/en/#glossary):

• Community (bulk) DNA: DNA from bulk samples (e.g. plankton samples or Malaise trap samples consisting of several individuals from many species). For the purpose of this guide, bulk sample DNA is included in the eDNA concept.
• Environmental DNA (eDNA): DNA from an environmental sample, e.g. soil, water, air or host organism. An often used definition is that environmental DNA is the genetic material (DNA) obtained from environmental samples without any obvious evidence of biological source material (Thomsen and Willerslev 2015)

[pbuttigieg]

This should be queued for semantic analysis - there are elements of the proposed definitions that should be refined to prevent ambiguity/extraneous constraints.