When you use the data available through the MedOBIS portal, please consider the following "limitations". Use of data should be handled with care, do not trust blindly the results you get from this database.
MedOBIS is a system which is at present still under construction. This might cause some problems when trying to
access the data, for example, the interactive map might not function always correctly.
Although the data are constantly being checked for data inconsistencies, errors in the database exist. These
errors may include technical, geographical and taxonomic errors, and if you encounter these, please send a feedback
to e-mail.
This helps us to improve the data quality.
Please use the data from the system with caution. Cross-check the data, be aware of errors, do not use the
data "as they are". Background knowledge and expertise is needed to interpret the data.
The data as they are stored in the system do not reflect "reality". If a species is very abundant in one area, this could be due to
a higher sampling effort. Take into account that some areas are well studied whereas there are gaps in other
areas.
Many of the data are available for download. So far, we just distribute the raw data as we have received them from the data contributors. Beware- these files are not quality-checked by MedOBIS. The data in the database might therefore differ a little from the raw data (e.g. update of taxonomic names)
MedOBIS is subject to the MarBEF data policy.