2008

GISIN Data Providers Workshop, 2-5 June, 2008. A technical workshop will be held in Athens, Georgia, USA to test implementation of the GISIN search prototype by connecting distributed online invasive species information systems through web services, exposing/indexing their data holdings for simultaneous search. As this is a test implementation, participation in the workshop is by invitation only. This workshop is made possible through funding and logistical support from the Secretariat of the Group on Earth Observations (GEOS), the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), with additional logistical support by The Polistes Foundation. The Steering Team of the Global Invasive Species Information Network and others from around the world are also collaborating on this effort. For more information contact Annie Simpson at asimpson@usgs.gov .

2007

GISIN presentation given at the International Conference on Aquatic Invasive Species. A GISIN talk was presented at the International Conference on Aquatic Invasive Species (ICEAS) in Nejmegen, The Netherlands, 23-27 September, 2007.

GISIN presentation and poster given at the 9th International Ecology and Management of Alien Plant Invasions (EMAPI) Conference. A GISIN presentation (PDF) and poster was presented at EMAPI9 in Perth, Western Australia, 17-21 September, 2007. Other presentations given at the conference are listed online at http://www.hear.org/emapi/2007/.

GISIN presentations given in September 2007 at Biodiversity Information Standards-TDWG Annual Meeting, 17 - 21 September, 2007. Presentations included a description of the GISIN test implementation and a summary of the GISIN needs assessement survey. A Taxonomic Databases Working Group (TDWG) Invasive Species Information Systems (ISIS) interest group was formed at last year's annual meeting (see below, 2006 GISIN Symposium held at TDWG Annual Meeting).

ASEAN-NIS, Southeast Asian Hub of GISIN, Training Workshop, 29 Jan - 02 Feb, 2007. Country focal points from 10 ASEAN countries received training in database use and website development using tools created by the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network’s Invasives Information Network (I3N). The twenty-three participants were also trained to create Web-enabled species identification guides and on the use of internet mapping tools created by Discover Life.

In addition to this training, participants delivered country reports on the status of invasive species in their nations and agreed to prepare a regional proposal for funding consideration. This five day workshop was held at the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI), Serdang, Malaysia, and hosted by ASEANET, the southeast Asian loop of BioNET-INTERNATIONAL, and the CABI South-East Asia Regional Centre. The meeting's five person organizing committee was led by Dr. Keng Yeang Lum and Dr. Soetikno S. Sastroutomo. Additional sponsors included the US Department of State, the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP), and the US National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII).

GISIN Needs Assessment Survey. The GISIN, GBIF, and TDWG are developing a prototype implementation of an invasive species checklist information exchange system. Because a successful Web solution will require full analysis of the needs and current status of potential invasive species information providers and users, the GISIN conducted a Needs Assessment Survey from December 2006 to February 2007. More than 135 people responded, representing 41 countries and both governmental and nongovernmental organizations, including non-profits, academia and private industry. The results of the survey are posted here. Results are also downloadable in Microsoft Word format here and in PDF format (requiring Acrobat Reader) here.

2006

GISIN Symposium held on 21 October 2006 at TDWG Annual Meeting. Highlights included presentations on the importance of data standards for sharing invasive species information. A Taxonomic Databases Working Group (TDWG) Invasive Species Information Systems (ISIS) interest group was formed in order to take the draft Invasive Species Profile schema through a formal standards adoption process.

Annie Simpson convened the Invasive Species Information Systems interest group as a TDWG subgroup, and more information can be found at http://www.tdwg.org/subgroups/isis. Within this interest group, Jim Graham (Research Scientist, Colorado State University, USA) convened the Invasive Species Profile Schema Task Group, which will develop standard computer-based mechanisms for expressing and transferring information about invasive species, including taxonomies, distributions, terminologies, descriptions, identification tools, pathways, invasiveness, management information, and associated resources. These mechanisms will be created for use by the TDWG, GISIN, and the global invasive species science community in general. TDWG task groups are ad hoc, formed with a specific goal and product in mind, and disband once the task is completed. Interest groups, however, continue long-term as long as there are members interested in the topic.

Draft charters for each of these groups are posted on the TDWG ISIS Web page, and anyone interested in forming part of either group should contact the group conveners, at asimpson(at)usgs.gov or jim(at)nrel.colostate.edu.

More information about the products and achievements of the 2006 TDWG Annual Meeting may be found at http://tdwg2006.tdwg.org/

GISIN Invasive Alien Species Profile Schema (IAS-PS) Experts Meeting
Details and logistics ...
When: February 19-24, 2006 (by invitation)
Location: Agadir, Morocco
Members of the Taxonomic Data Working Group, owners of international invasive species databases, and members of the GISIN and its Steering Committee will prepare the IAS-PS for consideration at the Eighth Ordinary Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, 20-31 March, Curitiba, Brazil.

2005

GISIN Symposium at the AAAS Annual Meeting 2005
Top-Down, Bottom-Up Growth of a Global Invasive Species Information Network
When: February 20, 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm, 2005
Event: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting
Location: Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street, Washington, DC 20008
Organizers: Annie Simpson (ISIN/NBII), Elizabeth Sellers (ISIN/NBII), Sharon Gross (BRD/USGS)

2004

Experts Meeting on Implementation of a Global Invasive Species Information Network (GISIN) 6-8 April 2004, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Tremont Plaza Suites Hotel, 222 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21202.

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