Report prepared for the Experts Meeting Towards the Implementation of a Global Invasive Species
Information Network (GISIN), 6-8 April, 2004. Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Page 102
8/30/2004
Aquatic IAS & NISbase
Collaboration
Group Leaders: Pam Fuller (USGS)¹, Brian
Steves (SERC)²
Rapporteur: Rachel Muir
(NatureServe/USGS)
Introduction - NISbase Collaboration
The Non-Indigenous Species Database or
NISbase is an Extensible Markup Language
(XML)-based distributed database system
that was developed by Greg Ruiz and Brian
Steves (SERC), and Pam Fuller and Shawn
Dalton (USGS). Five databases on aquatic
(marine) non-indigenous species may be
searched simultaneously through this
Internet portal.
The GISIN recognizes and will facilitate the
existing experiences and achievements in
invasive alien species (IAS) database
development such as those of the NISbase
development team. The addition of new
databases and datasets to the NISbase
system will support the GISIN’s goal of
coordinating and serving IAS information
through the Internet, and provides a
valuable opportunity to learn and improve
technology, and methods for IAS
information management.
Twelve individuals representing databases,
information systems, and organizations
concerned with aquatic organisms and
aquatic IAS gathered in an informal
breakout group to explore the possibility of
collaborating with the NISbase system. Prior
to the GISIN meeting, Brian Steves
provided technical details about the
functionality and application of the current
NISbase distributed database system in a
document entitled “NISbase (Non-
Indigenous Species Database Portal):
Information for Developers” (Steves 2004)
(
Appendix J). This document was posted
1
United States Geological Survey
2
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
on the GISIN online Community and paper
copies were distributed to the group
participants during the discussion.
Common Data Fields and Database
Compatibility with NISbase
Database characteristics that would make
other databases compatible with the
NISbase system are described in Mr.
Steves’ report, and include content such as
fact sheets, bibliographies, collection
records, expertise, and georeferenced data.
It was generally agreed that georeferencing
for aquatic systems presents a greater
challenge than that experienced by
researchers and information managers
working within terrestrial systems. Many
different and unconventional approaches to
georeferencing were described by members
of the group. It is clear that the development
of a georeference standard approach will be
a task to be completed in the long term.
…georeferencing for aquatic systems
presents a greater challenge than
that experienced by researchers and
information managers working within
terrestrial systems.
A Georeferencing Standard
Until a georeferencing standard is
developed, interim methods need to be
identified for making existing georeference
classification systems compatible. The
group identified two such classification
systems – those that are geopolitically
referenced, and those that are biological or
ecological in character.
Defining Invasive Species Data for
Information Exchange
The problem of defining an invasive species
and methods for doing so are subjects of
extended debate within research and
conservation communities. Discussions on
the appropriate method for cataloguing
invasive species in a database to facilitate
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