Tidy NEON data for biodiversity research

Daijiang Li, Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, Daijiang Li, Center for Computation & Technology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, Sydne Record, Biology, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA, Eric R. Sokol, Batelle, National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), Boulder, CO, Matthew Bitters, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, Melissa Y. Chen, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, Anny Chung, University of Georgia, Matthew R. Helmus, Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, Ruvi Jaimes, NEON, Lara Jansen, Department of Environmental Science and Management, Portland State University, Portland, OR, Marta A. Jarzyna, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, Michael G. Just, Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, Jalene LaMontagne, Department of Biological Sciences, DePaul University, Chicago, IL, Brett Melbourne, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, Wynne Moss, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, Kari EA Norman, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, Stephanie Parker and Natalie Robinson, National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), Battelle, Boulder, CO, Bijan Seyednasrollah and Bijan Seyednasrollah, School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, Colin A. Smith, Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, Sarah A. Spaulding, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, Thilina D. Surasinghe, Department of Biological Sciences, Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, MA, Sarah Thomsen, Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, Phoebe L. Zarnetske, Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) provides a database of organismal sampling of several sentinel taxonomic groups across the United States, offering a unique opportunity to advance biodiversity research. However, there are hurdles to use NEON organismal data for biodiversity research. To maximize its potential, it is critical to lower the hurdles for the usage of NEON organismal data. Here, we took the first step to tidy the NEON organismal data. By providing a tidied and harmonized data product, it is our hope to advance biodiversity research based on NEON organismal data in a comparable and reproducible way.