infraFADA: Upgrading the taxonomic backbone of global freshwater animal biodiversity research infrastructures

The Freshwater Animal Diversity Assessment (FADA) comprises an extensive set of global taxa lists for freshwater animal groups. At present, more than 125,000 described freshwater animal species in more than 11,000 genera have been documented. However, taxonomy is a living scientific discipline, where new taxa are continuously being described, and existing taxa are being placed in new taxonomic positions. Therefore, after a period of relative inactivity, the BELSPO (Belgian Science Policy) project “infraFADA” (2023-2026) re-establishes the global FADA consortium of taxonomic experts, so that all taxa lists will be brought up to date, both technically and in terms of content. infraFADA is developing a living, updated, and global FADA database, fully in open access and according to the FAIR principles. Part of FADA’s data originates from existing global resources such as FishBase. In particular, the freshwater fish component of FADA was established in close collaboration with FishBase as a primary reference to ensure taxonomic consistency and completeness of species lists. While FishBase offers authoritative coverage of fish species worldwide—including freshwater fishes—FADA goes further by encompassing all freshwater animal groups, from invertebrates to other vertebrates. SeaLifeBase is likewise relevant, as it includes many non-fish marine taxa with freshwater representatives or life stages, highlighting important connections between these systems. The FADA database is intended for use and consultation by the freshwater scientific community or interested stakeholders, for example, ecosystem managers, biodiversity conservationists, and others. On the other hand it helps the experts to curate their data using FADAtims. Most importantly, FADA will also serve as a taxonomic backbone for other global biodiversity data infrastructures, such as the Catalogue of Life (CoL), the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), the Freshwater Information Platform (FIP), and others. As such, FADA will provide a digital and living heritage of freshwater data, building bridges between science and society and helping to sustainably maintain freshwater resources.

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