About OSBioMoSys¶
OSBioMoSys is the acronym for Open-Source Biodiversity Monitoring Systems.
The similarity of the name with osmosis is not coincidental since the project aims to act as a balancing membrane between biodiversity and technology. It is a bidirectional membrane that transports knowledge, methods and techniques from one side to the other.
Our mottos¶
Designing open-source customizable solutions for the study and conservation of biodiversity
Designing for biodiversity
Mission, vision and values¶
Provide researchers and citizen science with robust and reliable technologies that are open-source and low-cost and that serve to improve knowledge and conservation of biodiversity.
Contributions: We want to create bridges, artifacts, methodologies and tools so that people who study biodiversity and natural systems can take advantage of some of the so-called new technologies. Also democratize access to the study of biodiversity through citizen science.
Impacts: A better understanding of the world we live in, and especially of the other living beings or entities with which we share the planet. I think that knowledge and understanding will make us act with more respect and love.
Purpose statement: To create bridges, artifacts, methodologies and tools open-source for the study of biodiversity and natural systems using new technologies, so that, we can democratize and make more affordable to researches and citizens to study biodiversity with less intrusive methodologies, with the aim of creating more knowledge, respect and love for other non-human entities.
Why?¶
Have you ever wondered what would happen if we better understood the consequences of our actions on other organisms in the biosphere?
Biodiversity loss: In OSBioMoSys we do, very often and that is why we think that research, study and knowledge are basic to do things better and reduce the loss of biodiversity. By the way, one of the biggest challenges of the Anthropocene and one of the Sustainable Development Goals of United Nations.
The importance of the small: Did you know that it is estimated that more than 80% of insect species in the world are not even described or that 20% of mammal species have yet to be studied? Small organisms are a fundamental part of ecosystems, without them larger organisms would not even exist. There is a great bias in knowledge (and resources towards those larger organisms or those that have some socioeconomic interest) compared to those smaller organisms. In addition, some methods of studying small animal species are still very invasive and endanger or directly sacrifice the individuals studied.
Relevance of environment, context and interactions: We also want to highlight the importance of field studies of biodiversity. This type of studies are as important as lab studies since they give us an holistic and integrated vision of the organisms without losing their real interactions with other entities.
Democratization of technology, information and knowledge: We have at our disposal a technology that allows us to better understand the world and the entities (living or not) that make it up. What usually happens is that this technology is not always in the hands of those who want to understand the world in order to treat it better.
OSBioMoSys vision over time¶
| Now | 5 years | 10 years | 15 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create the first prototypes and grow and strengthen the associated community | Have consolidated a solid network that functions independently, creating bridges between different research groups, nature managers and citizen science programs | The study of biodiversity has become sufficiently democratized to impact collective decisions. | Citizen science and knowledge of biodiversity are a key point in making political and personal decisions thanks to knowledge, respect and love for other living beings. |
Our personality (archetypes)¶
Follow us on @OSBioMoSys