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 47
8/30/2004
NISbase: A Distributed
Database System for Non-
indigenous Species Information
Brian Steves¹, Shawn Dalton², Pam Fuller², and
Greg Ruiz¹
Abstract
During the past decade, many non-
indigenous species (NIS) database workshops
have been held around the world to discuss NIS
data sharing. If you’ve attended one of these
workshops recently, it is likely you have heard
terms like “XML” and “distributed databases”
touted as a promising way to share our NIS
information with each other. With this in mind,
NISbase has been developed as a relatively
simple Extensible Markup Language (XML)-
based distributed database system for NIS
information.
Designed by the Smithsonian
Environmental Research Center (SERC) and the
United States Geological Survey (USGS) and
built around existing non-indigenous species
databases, NISbase enables end-users to
search multiple data providers for information
concerning NIS (existing species summaries
and collections records) from a single interface.
NISbase currently includes five data
providers from the United States and Australia
with an emphasis on marine and aquatic NIS.
The technical expertise required for participating
in NISbase as a data provider has been
intentionally kept to a minimum to allow for
greater participation. The search portal is also
easily implemented, allowing for the potential
creation of various regional and thematic
NISbase portals.
1
Marine Invasions Research Laboratory, Smithsonian
Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf
Rd, P.O. Box 28, Edgewater, MD, USA, 21037
2
Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Program, United
States Geological Survey, Center for Aquatic
Resources Studies, 7920 NW 71st Street, Gainesville,
FL, USA, 32653
Introduction
The NISbase or Nonindigenous Species
database (http://www.nisbase.org) is a
distributed database system (DDS) that
approaches the idea of Web Services at a
very low technical level. It is built on existing
nonindigenous species databases.
The project began with the Smithsonian’s
National Exotic Marine Estuarine Species
Information System (NEMESIS)
(
. This system is served on the Web and
includes a search form that allows users to
search for information by taxonomic group,
common name, or part of a scientific name.
The results are displayed in a HyperText
Markup Language (HTML) table that usually
contains a list of species and links to
species summary pages.
The technical expertise required for
participating in NISbase as a data
provider has been intentionally kept
to a minimum to allow for greater
participation.
Once an alliance between USGS’
Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS)
database
(
and the Smithsonian’s NEMESIS database
was established, other international online
databases were sought that provide the
same types of information and use a similar
approach/structure to that of the NEMESIS.
Existing NIS databases:
a quick survey
•
What databases are out there?
•
What information do these
databases provide?
•
How are these databases
integrated with the internet?
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