Multi-species anatomy ontology development requires a pluralist approach to label-class mapping

Scientists use labels to reference complex anatomical entities that could, in practice, be represented by spelling out their circumscription in excruciating detail. The referential approach, however, potentially limits the utility of the work by forcing the consumer to interpret the underlying meaning sought by the author. These problems of interpretation are exacerbated when the user communities grow to include experts with disparate training and conventions, e.g., the typical community of multispecies anatomy ontology consumers. Anatomy ontologies are poised to address these problems by providing logically parsable definitions for classes and by reconciling the labels and their contexts. Here we discuss mechanisms used by the Hymenoptera Anatomy Ontology project to solicit broad buy-in and promote harmony amongst a very broad array of users.