The quality of name-based species records in databases

In a recent Letter to TREE, Huang and Qiao [1] propose a quicker way to boost the dissemination of species occurrence data to fill the generally perceived geographical and taxonomic gaps found in online biodiversity database aggregators, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) [2]. Following a previous paper by Whitlock [3], they suggest that researchers should be pressed to share their raw data, and that journals and editors should be convinced to make electronic submission of such data a prerequisite for publication.