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TaxonWorks

TaxonWorks is an integrated web-based workbench for taxonomists and biodiversity scientists

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

Observations → Get

AI-generated

Overview

This node integrates with the TaxonWorks API, a web-based workbench for taxonomists and biodiversity scientists. Specifically, the "Observations" resource with the "Get" operation allows users to retrieve observation records from a TaxonWorks server. This is useful for accessing detailed data about observations linked to collection objects, descriptors, OTUs (Operational Taxonomic Units), or specific global identifiers.

Typical use cases include:

  • Fetching observations related to particular specimens or taxa.
  • Querying observations filtered by descriptors or other metadata.
  • Integrating TaxonWorks observation data into automated workflows for biodiversity research or data curation.

Example: Retrieve all observations for a given OTU ID or collection object to analyze specimen traits or ecological data.

Properties

Name Meaning
Server The URL of the TaxonWorks server to query (e.g., http://localhost:3000 or a remote URL).
Additional Fields Optional filters and pagination parameters to refine the observations query:
- Collection Object ID Identifier for the collection object associated with the observation.
- Descriptor ID Identifier for the descriptor used in the observation.
- Observation Object Global ID Global identifier for the observation object.
- OTU ID Identifier for the OTU related to the observation.
- Page Pagination page number (default 0).
- Per Number of results per page (default 0).

Output

The node outputs an array of JSON objects representing the observations retrieved from the TaxonWorks API. Each object corresponds to an observation record including its metadata and relationships as provided by the API.

The output is structured as:

[
  {
    // Observation fields as returned by TaxonWorks API,
    // e.g., id, collection_object_id, descriptor_id, otu_id, observation_object_global_id, etc.
  },
  ...
]

No binary data is output by this node.

Dependencies

  • Requires access to a running TaxonWorks server with API enabled.
  • Requires two credentials configured in n8n:
    • An API key credential for user authentication.
    • A project token credential for project-specific access.
  • The node makes HTTP GET requests to the TaxonWorks REST API endpoints.

Troubleshooting

  • Authentication errors: Ensure that valid API tokens are provided via credentials; invalid or expired tokens will cause request failures.
  • Connection issues: Verify the server URL is correct and accessible from the n8n environment.
  • Empty results: Check filter parameters; overly restrictive filters or incorrect IDs may return no data.
  • Pagination: If many results exist, use the Page and Per properties to paginate through data.
  • API changes: If the TaxonWorks API changes, the node might fail; verify compatibility with your TaxonWorks version.

Links and References

Discussion