The case of the red lionfish exemplfies how EOL can provide information for science-based decision making. Red lionfish are native to coral reef ecosystems in the Indo-Pacific. Yet, probably due to human release of the fish from aquariums, a large population has found itself in the waters near the Bahamas.
Nope, I suggest it demonstrates just how limited EOL is. If I view the page for the red lionfish I get an out of date map from GBIF that shows a very limited distribution, and doesn't show the introductions in Florida and the Bahamas (I have to wade through text to find reference to the Florida introduction, and the page doesn't mention the Bahamas!). The blog entry states that
In this senerio[sic], EOL and its data partners provide up to date information about the lionfish, or pterois[sic] volitans, in a species page.
Well, the GBIF map is old (a more recent map is available from GBIF itself), the bibliography omits key references such as "Biological invasion of the Indo-Pacific lionfish Pterois volitans along the Atlantic coast of North America" (useful reading for a "science-based decision", one would think). Most of this information I got from Wikipedia, GBIF, and Google Scholar via an iSpecies search.
In other words, EOL in it's present state is serving limited, out of date information. The gap between hype and delivery shows no sign of narrowing. How can this help "science-based decision making"? Surely there will come a point when people will tire of breathless statements about how EOL will be useful, and they will start to ask "where's the beef?"
