zcb - LIB

From objects to knowledge

Natural history museums are evolving into international centers of open biodiversity knowledge. At the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB), this transformation is driven by the creation of The Center Biodiversity Knowledge Science — a cross-sectional hub connecting all LIB research and transfer centers.

Vision and mission

The Centre for Biodiversity Knowledge Science will transform the LIB's collections and expertise into a globally accessible knowledge space. By integrating data science, artificial intelligence (AI) and citizen science, the centre combines physical objects with digital knowledge to make biodiversity and its changes understandable and relevant for action.

Strategic goals

Build a future-oriented, networked collection: Digitize up to 100% of LIB’s holdings, supported by AI, robotics, and FAIR/CARE-compliant data standards.
Enable impactful biodiversity research: Develop data infrastructures and AI tools to monitor, analyze, and predict biodiversity change.
Create the LIB Knowledge Space: An open, semantic web-based platform for connecting research data across disciplines and making it accessible to scientists and the public.

Core areas

Data Mobilization – Digitization, data integration, and metadata management across all LIB collections.
Biodiversity Data Science – Development of AI models, semantic knowledge graphs, and analytical tools for ecological and genomic data.
Citizen Science – Inclusive participation in biodiversity research through collaborative data collection, validation, and analysis.

Implementation and governance

Cross-location collaboration between the LIB locations Bonn and Hamburg, involving all centers of expertise.
Flat, participatory governance encouraging open discussion, agile development, and joint decision-making.
Roles and expertise include AI developers, data scientists, digital collection managers, semantic web developers, and strategic researchers.

Effects until 2035

By systematically digitizing, connecting, and interpreting biodiversity data, The Center Biodiversity Data Science will:

Position LIB as a globally open object and knowledge hub.
Strengthen LIB’s leadership in biodiversity informatics and data-driven conservation science.
Foster innovation and social engagement through transparent, participatory research.

Dr. Lars Martin Vogt

Head of Centre for Biodiversity Knowledge Science (zcb)

Phone: +49 228 9122 342
E-Mail: l.vogt@leibniz-lib.de

Larissa Pape

Centre assistance

Phone: +49 228 9122 358
Fax: +49 228 9122 212
E-Mail: l.pape@leibniz-lib.de

Projects

All projects

LEPMON: Recording the biodiversity of moths (Lepidoptera) with AI
Management: Dr. Peter Grobe
Unknown Germany
NFDI4Biodiversity
Management: Dr. Peter Grobe
CaBOL - Caucasus Barcode of Life
Management: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof
FOGS
Management: Dr. Jonas Astrin
1KITE
Management: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof
GGBN
Management: Dr. Jonas Astrin
GGBC
Management: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof

Publications

| of

2025

2025/09
Vogt, L., Mons, B.
Show more...
The Grammar of FAIR: A Granular Architecture of Semantic Units for FAIR Semantics, Inspired by Biology and Linguistics
2025/09
Alamenciak, T., Arnillas, C.A., Caufield, J.H., Compton, K., DREW, K.M., Frühstückl, R., Heger, T., König‐Ries, B., Mungall, C., Moxon, S., Reese, J., Tardif, J., Vogt, L.
Show more...
Ecolink: Towards a Knowledge Graph Schema for Complex Environmental Systems
2025/08
Vogt, L., König‐Ries, B., Alamenciak, T., Brian, J.I., Arnillas, C.A., Korell, L., Frühstückl, R., Heger, T.
Show more...
A Framework for FAIR and CLEAR Ecological Data and Knowledge: Semantic Units for Synthesis and Causal Modelling
2025/04
Vogt, L., Strömert, P., Matentzoglu, N., Karam, N., Konrad, M., Prinz, M., Baum, R.
Show more...
Suggestions for extending the FAIR Principles based on a linguistic perspective on semantic interoperability
Scientific data, 1, 12
2025/03
Biniossek, C., Betz, D., Vogt, L., Stocker, M.
Show more...
Towards Machine-Actionable Scientific Knowledge as FAIR Digital Objects
2025/03
Ahrens, D., Haas, A., Pacheco, T.L., Grobe, P.
Show more...
Extracting specimen label data rapidly with a smartphone—a great help for simple digitization in taxonomy and collection management
ZooKeys, 1233
2025/03
Moore, J., Garilao, C., Kerbl, A.
Show more...
An annotated catalog of Annelida types at the Museum of Nature Hamburg, Zoology. Part I: Annelida: Errantia: Aciculata: Eunicida, Myzostomida, Aciculata incertae sedis, and Errantia: Protodriliformia
Evolutionary Systematics, 1, 9
2025/01
Mozer, A., Di‐Nizo, C.B., Consul, A., Huettel, B., Jäger, R., Akintayo, A., Erhardt, C., Fenner, L., Fischer, D., Forat, S., Gimnich, F., Grobe, P., Martin, S., Nathan, V., Saeed, A., von der Mark, L., Woehle, C., Olek, K., Misof, B., Astrin, J.J.
Show more...
FOGS: A SNPSTR Marker Database to Combat Wildlife Trafficking and a Cell Culture Bank for Ex‐Situ Conservation
Molecular Ecology resources

2024

2024/10
Bräunig, C., Meid, S., Quast, B., Rduch, V., Grobe, P.
Show more...
The ASV Registry: a place for ASVs to be
Metabarcoding and Metagenomics, 8
2024/09
Ruff, M., Wellsow, J., Weiss, M., Rach, B., Triebel, D.
Show more...
4 Datenmanagement – 4.3 Management von Vorkommensdaten, Umfang und Herkunft der Datenbestände
2024/07
Vogt, L., Konrad, M., Farfar, K.E., Prinz, M., Oelen, A., Prinz, M., Stroemert, P.
Show more...
Rosetta Statements: Simplifying FAIR Knowledge Graph Construction with a User-Centered Approach
2024/07
Vogt, L.
Show more...
Rethinking OWL Expressivity: Semantic Units for FAIR and Cognitively Interoperable Knowledge Graphs Why OWLs don't have to understand everything they say
2024/05
Vogt, L., Strömert, P., Matentzoglu, N., Karam, N., Konrad, M., Prinz, M., Baum, R.
Show more...
FAIR 2.0: Extending the FAIR Guiding Principles to Address Semantic Interoperability
2024/01
Rani, F.A., Wang, X., Charania, Z., Vogt, L., Urbas, L.
Show more...
Scalable data pipeline: Ontology-based OPC UA data access for the industrial internet of things

2023

2023/11
Vogt, L.
Show more...
FAIR Knowledge Graphs with Semantic Units: a Prototype
2023/11
Bernard‐Verdier, M., Heger, T., Mietchen, D., Musseau, C., Brinner, M., Hillig, A., Kraker, P., Lokatis, S., Nunes, A.L., Scheidweiler, N., Stocker, M., Vial, R., Vogt, L., Bacher, S., Baklouti, E., Gupta, H.B., Beisel, J., Bertolino, S., Briski, E., Castellanos‐Galindo, G.A., Courchamp, F., Daly, E., Dawson, W., Dickey, J.W.E., Evans, T., Itescu, Y., König‐Ries, B., Kumar, L., Kumschick, S., Meyerson, L.A., Pattison, Z., Pfadenhauer, W.G., Renault, D., Rickowski, F., Ruland, F., Schittko, C., Straka, T.M., Yannelli, F.A., Jeschke, J.M.
Show more...
Building an atlas of knowledge for invasion biology and beyond! 2nd enKORE-INAS Workshop
Research Ideas and Outcomes, 9
2023/10
Spanke, T., Gabelaia, M., Flury, J.M., Hilgers, L., Wantania, L.L., Misof, B., Wipfler‍, B., Wowor, D., Mokodongan, D.F., Herder, F., Schwarzer, J.
Show more...
A landmark‐free analysis of the pelvic girdle in Sulawesi ricefishes (Adrianichthyidae): How 2D and 3D geometric morphometrics can complement each other in the analysis of a complex structure
Ecology and Evolution, 10, 13
2023/08
Flury, J.M., Meusemann, K., Martin, S., Hilgers, L., Spanke, T., Böhne, A., Herder, F., Mokodongan, D.F., Altmüller, J., Wowor, D., Misof, B., Nolte, A.W., Schwarzer, J.
Show more...
Potential contribution of ancient introgression to the evolution of a derived reproductive strategy in ricefishes
Genome biology and evolution, 8, 15
2023/07
David, R., Baumann, K., Le Franc, Y., Magagna, B., Vogt, L., Widmann, H., Jouneau, T., Koivula, H., Madon, B., Åkerström, W.N., Ojsteršek, M., Scharnhorst, A., Schubert, C., Shi, Z., Tanca, L., Vancauwenbergh, S.
Show more...
Converging on a Semantic Interoperability Framework for the European Data Space for Science, Research and Innovation (EOSC)
2023/07
Vogt, L., Konrad, M., Prinz, M.
Show more...
Towards a Rosetta Stone for (meta)data: Learning from natural language to improve semantic and cognitive interoperability
2023/06
Nöske, N., Bräunig, C.
Show more...
Das FörTax-Datenportal ist online - „Taxonomische Bildungsangebote auf einen Blick“ bundesweit verfügbar
2023/04
Vogt, L., Konrad, M., Prinz, M.
Show more...
Knowledge Graph Building Blocks: An easy-to-use Framework for developing FAIREr Knowledge Graphs
2023/04
Girón, J.C., Tarasov, S., Montaña, L.A.G., Matentzoglu, N., Smith, A.D., Koch, M., Boudinot, B.E., Bouchard, P., Burks, R.A., Vogt, L., Yoder, M., Osumi-Sutherland, D., Friedrich, F., Beutel, R.G., Mikó, I.
Show more...
Formalizing Invertebrate Morphological Data: A Descriptive Model for Cuticle-Based Skeleto-Muscular Systems, an Ontology for Insect Anatomy, and their Potential Applications in Biodiversity Research and Informatics
Systematic Biology, 5, 72
2023/01
Vogt, L.
Show more...
The FAIREr Guiding Principles: Organizing data and metadata into semantically meaningful types of FAIR Digital Objects to increase their human explorability and cognitive interoperability
2023/01
Vogt, L., Kuhn, T., Hoehndorf, R.
Show more...
Semantic Units: Organizing knowledge graphs into semantically meaningful units of representation

Employees

All employees

Christian Bräunig
Centre for Biodiversity Knowledge Science l zcb Scientist
E-mail: c.braeunig@leibniz-lib.de
Sheikh Mastura Farzana
Centre for Biodiversity Knowledge Science l zcb Scientist
E-mail: F.SheikhMastura@leibniz-lib.de
Cristina Therese Garilao
Centre for Biodiversity Knowledge Science l zcb Hamburg Scientist
Phone: +49 40 238317 707
E-mail: c.garilao@leibniz-lib.de
Dipl. Biol. Katharina Geiger
Centre for Biodiversity Knowledge Science l zcb ztm Lepidoptera & Trichoptera
Phone: +49 228 9122 411
E-mail: k.geiger@leibniz-lib.de
Carina Goretzky
Centre for Biodiversity Knowledge Science l zcb Scientist
E-mail: c.goretzky@leibniz-lib.de
Dr. Peter Grobe
Centre for Biodiversity Knowledge Science l zcb Scientist
Phone: +49 228 9122 342
E-mail: p.grobe@leibniz-lib.de
Larissa Pape
Centre for Biodiversity Knowledge Science l zcb zbm Administrative employee
Phone: +49 228 9122 358
E-mail: l.pape@leibniz-lib.de
Dr. Björn Quast
Centre for Biodiversity Knowledge Science l zcb Scientist
Phone: +49 228 9122 347
E-mail: b.quast@leibniz-lib.de
Dipl. Biol. Birgit Rach
Centre for Biodiversity Knowledge Science l zcb Scientist
Phone: +49 228 9122 422
E-mail: b.rach@leibniz-lib.de
Dr. Tobias Spanke
Centre for Biodiversity Knowledge Science l zcb ztm Postdoctoral researcher
Phone: +49 228 9122 411
E-mail: t.spanke@leibniz-lib.de
Dr. Lars Martin Vogt
Centre for Biodiversity Knowledge Science l zcb Hamburg Scientist
Phone: +49 228 9122 342
E-mail: l.vogt@leibniz-lib.de