There are several versions of the BMDE that you may encounter when accessing data through NatureCounts. The current core version includes 169 fields that capture the various aspects of an observation. An extended version was created in 2018 which contains 265 fields, though most datasets available on NatureCounts only use the smaller core version.
The versions of the BMDE you may encounter are:
- BMDE 2.0 (169 fields) – This is the current core version of the BMDE.
- BMDE 2.0 Minimum (37 fields) – This version contains a subset of the core fields, suitable for some simple studies.
- BMDE 2.0 Extended (265 fields) – The most comprehensive version of the BMDE, the extended version has additional fields for capturing more observation data, as well as measurement fields for capturing information on individuals marked or measured in the hand.
You can compare the fields available in each version of the BMDE on the BMDE Fields page of the NatureCounts website.
A few extensions (sets of additional fields for different types of observations) have been defined. These include extensions for bird banding data, nest record data, and Monarch butterfly observations. The fields associated with these extensions are currently not implemented in NatureCounts.
Next section: BMDE Fields
