Experts Meeting Toward the Implementation of a
Global Invasive Species Information Network
05-08 April 2004
05April2004 Monday evening
06April2004 Tuesday (Room Plaza B unless otherwise
noted)
Online database
collaboration in theory (Plaza B)
Leader: Hannu Saarenma, Rapporteur: Jenn Forman Orth
Online database
collaboration in practice (Plaza B)
Leader: Vishwas
Chavan, Rapporteur: David
Farr
Developing
databases & capacity building (Smith Room)
Leaders Soetikno
Sastroutomo & Silvia Ziller,
Rapporteur: Philip Thomas
Financial &
organizational framework (Hopkin’s Room)
Leaders Keng-Yeang
Lum & Lucie Rogo, Rapporteur: Shelaine Curd-Hetrick
2:00 Return to breakout groups
5:00 Summary reports from breakout groups
07April2004 Wednesday
[top]
7:30am Continental breakfast
12:00-1:00pm Buffet lunch
1:20 NatureServe Data
Network (plenary) Terri Killeffer, Rachael Muir
1:40 Colombian IAS Database (plenary)
Angela Suarez-Mayorga
2:00 Return to breakout groups
08April2004 Thursday [top]
8:30 Discussion and agreement of Action Plans, assigning tasks/responsibilities
12:00 Adjourn
Web Services: Who, What, Why, Where, and When? (
Robert A. Morris,
University of Massachusetts-Boston, USA
Database designers
can not know in advance how their data will be used, nor
what information a user or an application will need to combine with query
responses, much less where that information will come from. The Web Services
architecture addresses these and other questions that usually do not arise in
centralized databases and so supports more robust and extensible systems than
monolithic, centralized data repositories. Using current open source or
proprietary tools, most of the work of deploying Web Services comes down to
reusing the interfaces that already sit between databases and web browsers, and
designing controlled vocabularies to represent the content. Since the second is
desirable in virtually any data sharing architecture, the technical appeal of
Web Services is very high. In some environments (e.g. Microsoft .NET), the
technical burden on the organization deploying the service is very low.
We will give a
non-technical overview of the answers to the questions of the title as applied
to the Web Service architecture, along with how the architecture itself
dynamically addresses those same questions for distributed data sources. The
huge existing base of Web Service tools and standards offers an appealing way
to position GISIN to concentrate more on content and end-user applications than
on infrastructure. Its natural fit to a model of open data adds further appeal.
The talk will briefly outline what would be necessary for GISIN to be based on
the Web Services technologies, and what parts of the GISIN enterprise are /not/
in this realm and would have to be accomplished no matter what distributed
database environment is implemented.
Online Alien
Species Database: Experience of Regional Cooperation in the
(
Sergej Olenin, Klaipeda University, Lithuania
Well-established
international co-operation is a prerequisite of any regional initiative,
especially in the field of environmental protection. Invasion of alien species
is a global problem, which by definition requires international interaction.
The paper presents an overview of the successful regional co-operation in the
Baltic Sea area, which comprises nine countries, different in their cultural
and political tradition.
In 1994, the
Baltic Marine Biologists (BMB), a scientific NGO organization, established a
new Working Group on Non-indigenous Estuarine and Marine Organisms (WG NEMO).
In 1997 the BMB WG NEMO created a first version of the online Alien Species
Directory. In 2000, with the support from HELCOM, the intergovernmental
commission for the protection of the Baltic Sea environment, a new concept of
the online Database was developed. Now, the online Baltic Sea Alien Species
Database is an interactive tool, which includes several information retrieving
options. The next step includes development of schemes for continuous update
and fast dissemination of information. The Baltic Database is seen as a
regional node in a future Global Information System on Invasive species. The
experience of Baltic international co-operation may be of interest for
implementation of GISIN tasks.
NISbase: A
distributed database system for non-indigenous species information. (
Brian Steves1,
Shawn Dalton2, Pam Fuller2, and Greg Ruiz1
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 XML-based distributed database system for NIS
information. Designed by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and the
United States Geological Service 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. Currently, NISbase 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. Also easily implemented is the search portal, allowing for the
potential creation of various regional and thematic NISbase
portals.
1 Marine
Invasions Research Lab, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Rd,
P.O. Box 28, Edgewater, MD, USA, 21037
2 Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Program, United
States Geological Service, Center for Aquatic Resources Studies, 7920 NW 71st
Street, Gainesville, FL, USA, 32653
A few words
about GBIF's
possible role (
Hannu Saarenmaa,
Global Biodiversity Information Facility Secretariat, Denmark
GBIF is trying to
provide an information infrastructure for biodiversity data. This
infrastructure has components such as portal, providers, and registry. The
providers currently only provide "primary biodiversity data" in the
Darwin Core format. Darwin Core is good for expressing things like "a
species has been found in a certain place at certain time". In future
other formats and types of data will be included.
All these types
of data an protocols are defined in the registry. The
providers advertise their data and services there, with entries like "I
provide type A data with protocol B". The
registry is open for anybody to register their provider and any portal and
search engine to discover the right providers.
Now how does that
fit with GISIN? If we look at the data types required (Diagnostics,
Distribution, Basic Biology, Dispersal, Impacts, Biotic Associations, Modes of
Dispersal, Control Methods, Bibliographies and Expert Contact Information), we realise that only Distribution can today be implemented
with existing Darwin Core. Diagnostics can soon be covered with SDD. For others
we need to select/write data exchange format and protocol, and data provider
application.
Technically
speaking, GBIF could include all these information/provider types in its
registry. This would be kind of a global phonebook of available IAS data and
information. However, as we are not talking here only about biodiversity data
but pest control etc, it might be more appropriate that another registry
similar to GBIF's for IAS is established. The
registries, if made using compatible standardised
approaches like UDDI, can share their information where needed, like data on
distribution and diagnostics. So, I hesitate to include all these information
types in GBIF, but I think GBIF provides a model for an infrastructure that
works and the linkages/data flows between GBIF and GISIN should be strong.
Discover Life -- translating across standards (
John Pickering,
Discover Life, University of Georgia, USA
Abstract: Discover Life (http://www.discoverlife.org)
provides Web tools to assemble, process, and share text and images on invasive
and other species. These tools help
users to identify, report, database, and map information using most browsers. They are designed to integrate data from
numerous sources, require minimal training or technical knowledge to use, and
are available to everyone with Web access for free. The philosophy behind their success is that
it is much easier to build translators to share data than it is for everyone to
adopt one or more new data standards.
With the exception of TCP/IP and other low-level protocols, it is
unlikely that new standards will meet all the specific needs of the global
invasive species community. Furthermore, because of the high costs of moving
from legacy systems, rewriting functions, and retraining personnel, it may be
more efficient to integrate existing systems and data structures than to adopt
new ones. Discover Life's tools allow users to import data using Web forms and
software packages that export HTML, XML, RFC822 headers, or flat text
files. They support Excel, Access, and
SQL databases.
The presentation
will demonstrate how to add, share, and query data with (1) Discover Life's IDnature guides and checklists, (2) its Global Mapper developed in partnership with Topozone.com, (3) a
reporting system that supports customized species data entry forms, and (4) a
Web-based data manager that uses globally unique identifiers to label specimens
and track records. For details please see http://www.discoverlife.org/pa/or/polistes/fe.
Web-accessible
Information on Invasive Species in the
Andrea Grosse, U.S.
Geological Survey, USA
Decision-makers
and managers benefit from ready access to invasive species information from all
countries. In the Americas, information from published and unpublished accounts
and databases on invasive species is scattered in locations and formats not
easily accessible even to local users. The Invasives Information Network (I3N)
pilot project of the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network, sponsored
by the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Geological Survey, created a distributed
network of catalogs of invasive species lists, experts, projects and datasets.
Software tools were developed by the U.S. National Biological Information
Infrastructure to assist with the cataloguing and distributed searching. The
pilot project was completed successfully in 11 countries, with many unexpected
benefits. I3N is composed of in-country information providers working towards
the use of common standards. Each provider’s invasive species information is
controlled by the provider but is documented and posted on the Web in a
standard format. The public can search the records for free from a single
entry-point. Several new countries are starting to create I3N catalogs.
Information
management for invasive alien species in
Yan XIE, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
People’s Republic of China
China is the
world's third largest country and one of the richest in terms of biodiversity.
A wide range of habitats and environmental conditions makes China especially
vulnerable to the establishment of invasive species of foreign origin. Alien
species occur in each of China's 34 provinces, municipalities and autonomous
regions. The presentation will show the distribution patterns of IAS based on
distributions, taxonomy, biology and other features of most serious 128 IAS in
China. They will be used to show IAS problem in each of these units and their
higher divisions. The presentation will review information management status of
relevant sectors and the CAS. Three key recommendations on improving
information management for IAS in China will be presented. The first one is
that it is the importance to manage IAS information together with native
species. The second is that using biogeographic divisions
will help with understanding status and impact of IAS. The third is that
internet is the most powerful data sharing mechanism and some experiences on
maintenance of shared information databases. It will also explain why or how
this system might be of benefit to the development of the global system.
Key words: China,
IAS, Distribution, Information, Management
NatureServe Data Network
(
Terri Killeffer, NatureServe, and
Rachael Muir, US Geological Survey, USA
NatureServe is a non-profit conservation
organization representing an international network of natural heritage programs
operating in 50 U.S. states, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean (74
programs with some 800 scientists). Over the last 30 years, the network has
documented detailed information on a half-million occurrences of at-risk
species and communities. Biotics 4, a geographic
information systems software tool for managing biodiversity information, is
designed to ensure that data collected in each member program can be
aggregated, analyzed, exchanged and delivered through our website, NatureServe Explorer. A rigorous set of biological
inventory and data management standards are applied which serves as a common
language for our network. The network utilizes many sources for data: natural
heritage scientists as well as scientists at universities, conservation
organizations, museums, botanical gardens, and state and federal agencies.
Historically, NatureServe's principal focus was
species of concern. Recently we added fields to Biotics
4, expanding our invasive species information for plants by including data
developed using a peer-reviewed Invasive Species Assessment Protocol that
evaluates non-native plant species for their impact on biodiversity. Our
network has the capacity for additional information regarding invasive alien
species and is available to participate in the Global Invasive Species
Information Network.
An IAS
database in the Colombian biodiversity framework (
Ángela M. Suárez-Mayorga, Alexander von
Humboldt Biological Resources
Institute, Colombia
The Colombian
Invasive Species Database (CISD) is one of the databases integrated to the
Biodiversity Information System of Colombia (SIB). SIB is a distributed system
conceived as a national alliance to efficiently manage the information about
the biodiversity of the country. As every other integrated database, CISD is
actually working under a robust database structure known as “biological
records” where every unit recorded is tied to five reference components:
spatial, temporal, classification, conceptual and source. Each component
(except the temporal one) is supported by a reference dataset, provided –or
recommended- by the system and administered by the coordinator team. Using that
structure allows everyone to manage information about any biological entity
(from species to ecosystem), even simultaneously, as long as three conditions
are met: 1) entities, methods and attributes of interest are defined, 2) almost
all the contents come from controlled languages –i.e. authority files-- and 3)
relationships among entities and between them and their references are
established. The IAS working group of Instituto
Humboldt and the coordinator team of SIB are responsible for fulfilling those
requirements. The information structured that way will be ready to be shared in
XML format, so interoperability of CISD with other databases, systems or networks (IABIN or GBIF, for example) is assured.
E-POSTERS & OTHER PRESENTATIONS: [top]
Invasive
Species and the Compendium Programme at CAB International (throughout,
during breaks)
Soetikno Sastroutomo,
CAB International, South-East Asia Regional Centre
The Compendium Programme, managed by CAB International (CABI), plays a
coordinating role in compiling expert inputs on chosen topics into global
knowledge bases ("Compendia"). These are presented through innovative
and user-friendly technology (the "Compendium Technology") on CD-ROM
and the Internet. The existing Compendia already provide a great deal of
information on invasive species of importance to agriculture, forestry and
animal health and are proven to assist users in assessing risks and evaluating
impacts and control of potentially harmful organisms. A major enhancement of
the Crop Protection Compendium in 2004 will add over 200 new data sheets on
invasive weeds and other pests and provide information on 'invasiveness' and
environmental impact on many more. Next year, the Aquaculture Compendium will
include information on a range of invasive aquatic animals, plants and disease
agents. CABI's Compendium Programme
is well placed to make a greater contribution towards the provision of
information for the management of invasive species and is keen to explore
possibilities to achieve this goal.
Major Invasive
Alien Species of Bangladesh (throughout, during breaks) [top]
Badrul Amin Bhuiya, Biodiversity Research Group, Bangladesh
As a sub-tropical
country, Bangladesh is exceptionally rich in biodiversity. Several species of
flora and fauna were deliberately introduced into the country mainly in order
to increase productivity. The two most controversial genera of flora introduce
are Acacia and Eucalyptus. Trading and import of these species have now been
banned. A total of 15 species of fishes were introduced in Bangladesh; most of
them are carps. The most “disastrous” species of alien invasive species in the
country are Clarias gariepimus,
Pangasius sutchi, P. giganticus, Oreochromis mossambicus, and O. niloticus.
Report of
Workshop on Invasive Alien Species: Global
Biodiversity Forum
South and Southeast Asia Colombo, Sri Lanka (throughout,
during breaks) [top]
Bhujang D. Dharmaji,
IUCN-Regional Biodiversity Programme,
In view of the
importance of the issue and with an aim to assess national and regional status
of invasive alien species, the IUCN Regional Biodiversity Programme-
Asia organised a regional workshop on the issue as a
part of South and Southeast Asia Regional Session of Global Biodiversity Forum
in Colombo, Sri Lanka during October 1999. Several country studies and status
reports were presented during this workshop. Participants also came up with a
set of recommendations from the discussions to deal with invasive alien species
in the region.
We are pleased to
present before you the country papers presented during the workshop along with
the recommendations that came out of this regional workshop. We hope that
countries in the region and policy makers will find the compilation useful to
design interventions dealing with the issue.
For more details:
http://www.biodiversityasia.org/publications
SURVEY RESULTS – PARTICIPANTS’ INFORMATION
NEEDS (throughout, during
breaks) [top]
Shelaine Curd-Hetrick, Elizabeth Sellers, Annie Simpson, and Nichole McNeely, National Biological Information Infrastructure, USA
In preparation for the Global Invasive Species Information Network (GISIN) being held on 6-8 April, 2004, three surveys were conducted through the GISIN community – an online electronic discussion and resource access forum – created and hosted by the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII). Designed for GISIN respondents, the surveys represented invasive species databases, data sets, or distributed database systems (DDSs) that are accessible whether or not they are online.
Sixty individuals from 26 countries participated in at least one survey. The majority of respondents were developers using (a) personal IBM systems, Windows operating systems, and Internet Explorer 5.x (or later) to meet geographically focused national initiatives and (b) MS Access and/or SQL server as development software. The majority of initiatives were nationally funded. There was a wide variety of data extraction formats supported by the represented systems, with most available in English and species-focused.
Hardware and software created the greatest technology limitations effecting database development. Future funding was identified as the greatest non-technology limitation. Most respondents’ reported having reliable internet connection; however, the connection speeds vary greatly. Among possible requirements for an Invasive Alien Species (IAS) database, respondents indicated that the highest priority would be taxonomic information, either all inclusive or more specifically Family, Genus, and Species. The most important requirement identified by respondents for data types included species name, biology/ecology and geographic origin. The most important search criterion was scientific name. The type of result respondents look for most and thus rated highest are Fact Sheets. Roughly half of the respondents are involved in collaborations and use ITIS as a taxonomy / terminology / data standard. The highest ranked future development issues were taxonomy and funding.
These surveys will serve as a discussion and collaboration tool to allow those both attending the GISIN meeting and future collaborators to sharing IAS information.
INFORMAL
PRESENTATION: European Research Network on Aquatic Invasive Species (ERNAIS)
(
Stephan Gollasch (GoConsult, Hamburg, Germany) and Vadim E. Panov (Zoological
Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St.Petersburg,
Russia)
The importance of
international cooperation on invasive species issue on both the regional (Pan-European)
and sub-regional levels is well recognized by the European scientific
community. Also, the European Strategy on Invasive Alien Species, adopted under
the Bern Convention in December 2003, aims to promote the development and
implementation of coordinated measures and cooperative efforts throughout
Europe to prevent or minimize adverse impacts of invasive alien species,
including regional and sub-regional cooperation in exchange of
information. European cooperation
relevant to aquatic species invasions resulted in the establishment in 2001 of
the European Research Network on Aquatic Invasive Species (ERNAIS), which
currently includes more that 100 experts (scientists, managers and
administrators) from 27 countries (searchable online ERNAIS experts database is
available at http://www.zin.ru/rbic/projects/ernais/ ). Facilitation of
international cooperation in research, scientific information exchange and
management of aquatic invasive species in Europe and worldwide is a main
objective of ERNAIS. The future ERNAIS priority objectives include facilitation
of development of the subregional thematic
networks/information hubs (Nordic/Baltic, Mediterranean, Ponto-Caspian
etc.), and, in long-term perspective, integration into the Global Invasive
Species Information Network (GISIN) via development of the European Information Network on IAS,
based on subregional information hubs.