EvolutionData

EvolutionData is a structured data framework and open repository for organizing and sharing data used in evolutionary biology. It harmonizes diverse data types—genomic sequences, morphological traits, phylogenetic trees, taxonomic classifications, and fossil records—within a single interoperable schema. The project emphasizes reproducibility, provenance, and compatibility with established biodiversity standards.

The core model defines entities such as Taxon, Sequence, Trait, Tree, Occurrence, Publication, and Provenance. Data are versioned and linked with metadata documenting sources, methods, and authorship. The schema supports cross-references to external identifiers and standard formats, enabling integration with sequence databases, trait ontologies, and phylogenetic formats.

EvolutionData adopts widely used standards and provides APIs for programmatic access. It supports export in formats like Newick, NeXML, and Darwin Core–style records, and includes validation tools to detect inconsistencies. The project endorses open licensing and community-driven extensions to accommodate field-specific data.

Applications include meta-analyses of diversification, comparative genomics, trait evolution studies, and climate or biogeography simulations. Researchers can reproduce analyses by tracing data lineage and using versioned datasets.

Governance is maintained by a neutral consortium with a public charter. Access is generally open to researchers, with attribution requirements and usage licenses described on the project site.

Related concepts include Darwin Core, NeXML and Newick formats, trait ontologies, and phylogenetic data standards.