Founded in 2012 the Diversity of the Indo-Pacific Network (DIPnet) was created to advance biodiversity research in the Indo-Pacific. Our primary aims are to promote collaboration, build capacity, and advocate for best practices in conducting biodiversity research in the Indo-Pacific. Our first project was to aggregate genetic data from the mitochondrial genomes of marine species of the Indo-Pacific into an free and openly accessible searchable database, which eventually became the first use case and first entry into the Genomics Observatories Metadatabase (GEOME). Going forward, we are looking for ways to promote collaboration and dialogue between the diverse peoples, governments and researchers in the Indo-Pacific.
DIPnet Accomplishments
Figure created by Elizabeth Sbrocco and Libby Liggins
Membership
>65 scientists from around the globe have agreed to abide by community guidelines and joined the network.
GEOME Development
In 2017 The Genomic Observatory Metadatabase (GeOMe Database) was completed, with additional development completed in 2020. This web-based database captures the who, what, where, and when of biological samples and associated genetic sequences. It provides citable DOIs and makes uploading next-generation sequence to the INSDC Short Read Archive (SRA) easy!
DIPnet dataset is growing
> The DIPnet Project on GEOME stores metadata for over 40,000 samples from which genetic data from mitochondrial and nuclear genomes have been sequenced. These samples comprise >250 species from >1,500 sampling sites. This dataset was recently used to test a variety of biogeographic hypotheses for the Indo-Pacific, and to synthesize our understanding of genetic structure in the world’s largest biogeographic region
Special Issue Publication
21 peer reviewed and open access articles published in 2014 in a special issue of Bulletin of Marine Science : Molecular Ecology and Evolution of the tropical Pacific and Indian oceans.
DIPnet Funded
Research Coordination Network proposal funded by the US National Science Foundation (2015-2019)!