The UK's Biological Records Centre coordinates records of terrestrial and freshwater species with volunteer observers.
Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
BioCASe connects biological collections and provides access services for biodiversity records across Europe.
About Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
The Biological Collection Access Service (BioCASe) is a transnational network of primary biodiversity repositories. It links specimen data from natural history collections, botanical and zoological gardens, and research institutions with information from large observation databases. The site states that its aim is to make biodiversity data freely and universally accessible on the Internet through data portals and web services. The secretariat is based at the Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin. BioCASe is the GBIF Participant Node for the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities.
The homepage describes the network as worldwide in scope, while the directory listing focuses on Europe. Collections use the BioCASe Provider Software to publish their records to GBIF and other biodiversity networks. Some thematic portals, such as the German Virtual Herbarium and GeoCASe 2.0, are built on this network.
Key features
- Links specimen data from natural history collections with observation databases
- Data portals and web services for accessing biodiversity records
- Provider Software for publishing collection data to GBIF and other networks
- German Virtual Herbarium portal with list, map and gallery views
- GeoCASe 2.0 portal for minerals, rocks, meteorites and fossil records
- Template for connecting the cloud-based IrisBG management system
Best for: Staff at natural history collections, botanical gardens and research institutions who publish biodiversity specimen records, and researchers who need access to European specimen data.
Good for
- The Python 3 version of the Provider Software was reported as up to 50% faster in the project's tests on MySQL and SQL Server
- Reduced external dependencies make installation easier, according to the project's release notes
- The site describes BioCASe as a widely accepted standard for data sharing
Watch out for
- The German Virtual Herbarium makes one million of about 23 million German herbarium specimens explorable
- The IrisBG template is described for the cloud-based version of IrisBG only
Biological Collection Access Service for Europe at a glance
- Website
- biocase.org
- Category
- Research & Data › Climate & Environmental Data
- Type
- Website
- Pricing
- Not confirmed. Check the site
- Platforms
- Web
- Open source
- Not stated
- Last checked
- Oct 6, 2026 · Online when checked
- Listed
- Oct 5, 2026
Biological Collection Access Service for Europe alternatives
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Biological Collection Access Service for Europe FAQ
Who runs the BioCASe secretariat?
The secretariat is based at the Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, which says it will answer questions about BioCASe.
What role does BioCASe play in GBIF?
BioCASe is the GBIF Participant Node for the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities.
Does the German Virtual Herbarium include every German herbarium specimen?
No. About 23 million specimens are held in more than 70 German herbaria, and one million of them can be explored in the Virtual Herbarium.
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