Actions20
- Asserted Distribution Actions
- Biological Association Actions
- Citation Actions
- Collecting Event Actions
- Collection Object Actions
- Content Actions
- Data Attribute Actions
- Download Actions
- Identifier Actions
- Image Actions
- Notes Actions
- Observation Matrices Actions
- Observations Actions
- OTUs Actions
- People Actions
- Projects Actions
- Sources Actions
- Taxon Name Classifications Actions
- Taxon Name Relationships Actions
- Taxon Names Actions
Collection Object → Get
AI-generatedOverview
This node integrates with the TaxonWorks API, a web-based workbench for taxonomists and biodiversity scientists. Specifically, the "Collection Object" resource with the "Get" operation allows users to retrieve detailed information about collection objects stored in a TaxonWorks server. Collection objects typically represent physical specimens or items in biological collections.
Use cases include:
- Fetching metadata about specific specimens or collection objects by ID.
- Searching collection objects based on various criteria such as collecting events, geographic areas, identifiers, dates, and taxonomic determinations.
- Including related metadata like biocuration classes, biological relationships, depictions, loan status, and type material.
- Filtering results by project, user date ranges, or spatial/geographic parameters.
Practical examples:
- Retrieve all specimens collected within a certain date range and geographic area.
- Get detailed data on a specimen including its current determinations and associated images.
- Search for collection objects that have never been loaned or are currently on loan.
Properties
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Server | The URL of the TaxonWorks server to connect to (e.g., https://sfg.taxonworks.org). |
| Additional Fields | A collection of optional filters and parameters to refine the search query. These include: |
| - ID | Specific collection object ID to fetch. |
| - Ancestor ID | Include OTU ancestor in the search. |
| - Biocuration Class IDs | Filter by biocuration class IDs to include related metadata. |
| - Biocuration Relationship IDs | Filter by biological relationship IDs to include related metadata. |
| - Buffered Collecting Event | Text filter to include data where collecting event info contains this text. |
| - Buffered Determinations | Text filter to include data where determination info contains this text. |
| - Buffered Other Labels | Text filter to include data where other labels contain this text. |
| - Collecting Event | Boolean to include collecting event data. |
| - Collecting Event IDs | List of IDs for associated collecting events. |
| - Collection Object Type | Type of collection object (e.g., "Specimen"). |
| - Collector IDs | IDs of collectors to include in the search. |
| - Collector IDs Or | Boolean indicating if any of the collector IDs should be included (true) or all (false). |
| - Current Determinations | Boolean to include metadata for current determinations. |
| - Depictions | Boolean to include metadata for depicted objects. |
| - Determiner IDs | IDs of determiners to filter results. |
| - Determiner IDs Or | Boolean indicating if any of the determiner IDs should be included (true) or all (false). |
| - Darwin Core Indexed | Boolean to include metadata for Darwin Core indexed objects. |
| - End Date | Limit search to collection objects dated before this value. |
| - Exact Buffered Collecting Event | Exact text match for collecting event info. |
| - Exact Buffered Determinations | Exact text match for determinations info. |
| - Exact Buffered Other Labels | Exact text match for other labels info. |
| - Geo JSON | GeoJSON string defining a spatial search area. Example polygon coordinates can be provided. |
| - Geographic Area | Boolean to find if associated collecting event has a geographic area. |
| - Geographic Area IDs | List of IDs for associated geographic areas. |
| - Georeferences | Boolean to include metadata for associated collecting event georeferences. |
| - Identifier | Identifier string associated with the collection object. |
| - Identifier Start | First part of the identifier. |
| - Identifier End | Last part of the identifier. |
| - Identifier Exact | Exact identifier string match. |
| - Identifiers | Boolean to include metadata for associated collecting event identifiers. |
| - In Labels | Boolean to search wildcard in all related collecting event labels. |
| - In Verbatim Locality | Boolean to search in verbatim locality in related collecting events. |
| - Is Type | String to include metadata for primary types by IDs. |
| - Keyword ID And | Comma-separated keyword IDs that must all be included in the search. |
| - Keyword ID Or | Comma-separated keyword IDs where any may be included in the search. |
| - Loaned | Boolean to include metadata for loaned (borrowed) objects. |
| - MD5 Verbatim Labels | Match MD5 hash of verbatim label if inLabels is true. |
| - Namespace ID | Include metadata for associated identifier namespace by ID. |
| - Never Loaned | Boolean to include metadata for collection objects never loaned. |
| - On Loan | Boolean to include metadata for collection objects currently on loan. |
| - OTU IDs | Comma-separated list of OTU IDs to filter by. |
| - Partial Overlap Dates | Boolean to allow date overlaps in filtering. |
| - Preparation Type IDs | Comma-separated IDs for preparation types in the search. |
| - Project ID | ID of the project to restrict the search to. |
| - Radius | Radius around a location for spatial searches. |
| - Repository | Boolean to include metadata for repository. |
| - Repository ID | Include metadata for repository by ID. |
| - SLED Image ID | Include metadata for SLED images by ID. |
| - Spatial Geographic Areas | Boolean to find if associated collecting event has a geographic area. |
| - Start Date | Limit search to collection objects dated after this value. |
| - Taxon Determinations | Boolean to include taxon determinations metadata. |
| - Type Material | Boolean to include type material metadata. |
| - Type Specimen Taxon Name ID | Include metadata for specific type taxon by ID. |
| - User Date End | Limit search to user dates prior to this value. |
| - User Date Start | Limit search to user dates later than this value. |
| - User ID | ID of the user for date range filtering. |
| - User Target | Specifies whether user date filtering applies to creation or update date. Options: Created, Updated. |
| - Validity | Boolean to include metadata for valid objects; used only with ancestor ID. |
| - With Buffered Collecting Event | Boolean to return collection object with buffered collecting event data. |
| - With Buffered Determinations | Boolean to return collection object with buffered determinations data. |
| - With Buffered Other Labels | Boolean to return collection object with buffered other labels data. |
| - Well Known Text (WKT) | WKT string describing the spatial search area. |
| - Page | Pagination page number (integer). |
| - Per | Number of items per page (integer). |
Output
The node outputs an array of JSON objects representing collection objects matching the specified filters. Each object includes fields returned by the TaxonWorks API for collection objects, potentially enriched with related metadata depending on the input parameters (e.g., collecting events, determinations, depictions).
The output JSON structure corresponds directly to the TaxonWorks API response for collection objects, which may include nested objects and arrays for related entities such as:
- Collecting events
- Determinations
- Biocuration classes and relationships
- Identifiers
- Geographic and spatial data
- Loan status and repository information
- Taxon determinations and type material details
No binary data output is produced by this node.
Dependencies
- Requires access to a running TaxonWorks server API endpoint.
- Requires two credentials configured in n8n:
- An API key credential for user authentication.
- An API key credential for project authentication.
- The node uses HTTP GET requests with query parameters and tokens for authentication.
- The server URL must be correctly set in the "Server" property.
Troubleshooting
- Authentication errors: Ensure that both user and project API tokens are correctly configured and valid.
- Invalid server URL: Verify the "Server" property points to a reachable TaxonWorks instance.
- Incorrect parameter names or values: Double-check the spelling and format of additional fields, especially IDs and boolean flags.
- Pagination issues: If no results appear, try adjusting the "Page" and "Per" properties to retrieve different result sets.
- Empty responses: May indicate no matching collection objects for the given filters; try broadening search criteria.
- Malformed GeoJSON or WKT: Ensure spatial parameters are valid JSON strings or well-formed WKT strings.
- API rate limits or server errors: Check server logs or API documentation for limits and error messages.
Links and References
- TaxonWorks Official Website
- TaxonWorks API Documentation (assumed, check actual docs)
- GeoJSON Specification
- Well-Known Text (WKT) Format