MorphoBank
Building the tree of life with phenotypes
There are around nine million living species on earth, plus hundreds of thousands of fossil species. Capturing and sharing this knowledge contributes to understanding the current and past biodiversity of our planet, and impacts everything from medicine and drug discovery to agriculture.
Founded in 2001, MorphoBank is a collaborative Open Source and largely Open Access resource for the creation, preservation, and sharing of phylogenetic matrices. Researchers in comparative biology, paleontology and anthropology use MorphoBank in constructing the tree of life — a genealogy of all living and extinct species.
MorphoBank is home to scientific data and images, curated selections from relevant literature, and essential tools for conducting phylogenetic analyses using a range of methodologies. MorphoBank curators assess submitted data and work to optimize discoverability and reusability.
Benefits of MorphoBank
For researchers, MorphoBank offers rapid real-time collaboration, large data capacity, and a range of powerful purpose-built research tools.
Publishers and libraries appreciate MorphoBank for its open source, open access approach, citable DOIs, and high-quality metadata, preservation, and accessibility standards.
Become a supporting member
MorphoBank is free to use, open source, and predominantly Open Access. We rely on the support of our member community to sustain curation and quality control operations, maintain and update technologies, and continue evolving new and essential research tools. For our members, we offer the following benefits. MorphoBank members play a vital role in advancing open data sharing, collaborative research practices, and better, more trusted research.
| Open Science Supporter | Open Science Leader | Open Science Champion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $1,500 | $4,050 | $5,300 |
| Branded instance | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Stats on usage, deposits, downloads, & reuse | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Prioritized data curation support | 2 projects | 5 projects | 8 projects |
| Prioritized attention to development requests | 1 | Up to 2 | Up to 3 |
| Live training | 1 virtual training a year |
As a MorphoBank member at any level, you contribute to advancing open science in various ways:
- Open Data Sharing: Your fees support maintaining and enhancing the platform, facilitating data sharing and collaboration among researchers.
- Data Curation and Quality Control: Part of your fees ensures datasets meet high standards for accuracy and reliability.
- Community Engagement: We allocate fees to workshops, webinars, and conferences, fostering knowledge exchange and collaboration.
- Software Development: Your support helps develop user-friendly tools that promote transparency and reproducibility.
