Rules of use
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Usage Regulations of the Canary Islands Biodiversity Database (BIOTA)

In accordance with the Order of June 1, 1999, which creates the Canary Islands Biodiversity Database (art.2), the objectives of the Database (hereinafter BIOTA) are, among others, to facilitate free access to information for interested individuals and institutions, to promote biodiversity as a potential for the future, and to encourage its sustainable use. In line with these objectives and with Law 27/2006, of July 18, regulating the rights of access to information, public participation, and access to justice in environmental matters, the Government of the Canary Islands has made the Database publicly available.

BIOTA can be accessed via the web, allowing free access to information about all wild species in the Canary Islands. Users can consult and download data regarding the distribution of species and subspecies, their taxonomic position, level of endemism, origin, protection status, etc.

Scope of the Canary Islands Biodiversity Database

According to the aforementioned Order of June 1, 1999 (art.3) and Law 4/2010 of June 4, on the Canary Islands Catalog of Protected Species (art. 1.2), BIOTA is considered a public and administrative register. The information recorded in BIOTA, updated daily, comes from published works and unpublished studies or reports. BIOTA reflects the known distribution of species, but not their actual distribution, so there may be species in certain areas that have not yet been recorded. For this reason, BIOTA is a fundamental tool for the management and conservation of the archipelago's natural environment, but not the only one.

BIOTA exclusively contains wild species and subspecies residing in the Canary Islands (see User Manual. https://www.biodiversidadcanarias.es/biota/manual/Manual.pdf). All information recorded in the database is supported by documents validated by scientific supervisors.

Usage Regulations

Notwithstanding the provisions of the Consolidated Text of the Intellectual Property Law (Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996, of April 12), the use of the information recorded in BIOTA requires the following considerations:

  1. The Government of the Canary Islands is not responsible for the terms in which the information recorded in BIOTA is used.
  2. The Government of the Canary Islands is not responsible if the data recorded in BIOTA are used without recognizing the intellectual property of the authors.
  3. The intellectual property rights of the authors of unpublished documents created specifically for BIOTA, such as Incident Notes or Expert References, Unpublished Studies, etc., must be respected.
  4. The intellectual property rights of the authors of the images contained in BIOTA must be respected.

How to Cite the Canary Islands Biodiversity Database

Considering that BIOTA is a database for consultation and analysis of information from different sources, it is necessary to establish rules for citing data obtained from BIOTA, following the guidelines of ISO 690-2 regarding citations of electronic monographs and databases.

  • To cite the information registered in the Database globally, use:

    Canary Islands Biodiversity Database. Government of the Canary Islands. (https://www.biodiversidadcanarias.es/biota) [Date of consultation].

  • To cite the result of a query extracted from the Database, the citation must include the filter parameters used for proper interpretation.

    Example: Canary Islands Biodiversity Database. Government of the Canary Islands. (https://www.biodiversidadcanarias.es/biota) [Date of consultation]. "The data extracted from BIOTA correspond to records after 1969, precision levels 1 and 2, reliable confidence level, and distribution in 500 UTM grid cells".

  • To cite images of species in the BDBC, use:

    Example: Carabus faustus faustus (Author: P. Oromé) in the Canary Islands Biodiversity Database. Government of the Canary Islands. Available at https://www.biodiversidadcanarias.es/biota/species/A01758 [Accessed: Date of consultation].

  • To cite Expert References and Incident Notes recorded in the BDBC (unpublished documents specific to BIOTA), unpublished studies, use:

    Example: Báez, M. 1999. On the localities related to the lepidopteran species Opogona omoscopa, Casama innotata, and Eupithecia unedonata, and on synonyms of the order Lepidoptera. Expert Reference. In: Canary Islands Biodiversity Database. Government of the Canary Islands. Available at https://www.biodiversidadcanarias.es/biota/document/A00165 [Accessed: Date of consultation].

    Example: Padrón-Mederos, M.A. 2019. Evaluation of invasive plant species on the island of El Hierro (Canary Islands). Top 10. Prioritization of species and management guidelines (control and/or eradication). Unpublished study. In: Canary Islands Biodiversity Database. Government of the Canary Islands. Available at: https://www.biodiversidadcanarias.es/biota/document/P00019 [Accessed: 07.02.2023].