The Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Program Upgrades Web Site

The Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database (NAS), an NBII partner, now offers species point distribution maps. These maps appear as separate links from any species search and from the top of any species page. The maps depict spatial accuracy of the point and species status at each location. Each one can be modified; for example, the background can be changed and various other spatial layers can be turned on or off. Additional environmental layers are planned for inclusion in the future.


Some examples of interactive nonindigenous species maps that are available from the NAS database:

Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)

Northern Snakehead fish (Channa argus)

(Photo: Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix).

Regional Biodiversity Portal Toolkit

 The Pacific Basin Information Node (PBIN) technical staff is participating in the development of a Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) Nodes Portal Toolkit (NPT). The primary goal of the portal toolkit project is to develop an open-source platform for aggregation and dissemination of regional biodiversity-related content. Content will include but not be limited to species factsheets, observation records, publications, and spatial data.  In December 2009, GBIF Node Managers (including PBIN technical staff) met in Montreal to explore the development of the NPT. The group developed a draft action plan that will be carried out by        representatives from PBIN, the Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, and the African Biodiversity consortium.  Initial tasks will be to conduct a user requirements document and implement a draft content management system based on the London Natural History Museum ScratchPads biodiversity portal project. A test interface will be demonstrated at the GBIF Nodes meeting in Seoul, Korea, in October 2010.

(Photo: Red-eyed Tree Frog (Agalychnis callidryas), Costa Rica.  Photo by Gregory Basco, 2003.  Courtesy of GBIF)

Pacific Biodiversity Information Forum (PBIF) Species Occurrence Database

When Pacific Biodiversity Information Forum (PBIF) was created in 2003, three of the four top information needs identified by regional representatives involved the creation of regional, sub-regional, and national taxonomic surveys. In support of these goals, PBIF has been working to bring together available species information from around the globe into a consolidated base of data for the Pacific region.  A database has been created that includes nearly 300,000 records.  PBIF staff have been working to digitize written species observations and assign geospatial coordinates to each record.  Click here for access to the database.


(Photo: A Large-billed tern (Phaetusa simplex) taken flight from a post emerging from the floating vegetation. © 2006 Arne J. Lesterhuis, Photo courtesy of life.nbii.gov.

Hawaii Early Detection Network Update

The Hawaii Early Detection Network has conducted invasive species identification workshops with the Pacific Whale Foundation, Maui County road crews in Hana, and the nearly 100 U.S. Department of Agriculture-Animal Plant Health Inspection Service baggage inspectors. This partnership between the Pacific Basin Information Node (PBIN), the Island Invasive Species Committees (ISCs), and the state of Hawaii trains members of the public to become the “eyes and ears” on the watch for new invasive pests. All participants in the workshops learned how to conduct tests for little fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata), one of the newest invaders of Maui County.  The little fire ant is considered one of the “world’s worst” invaders by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group and has major detrimental environmental and economic impacts on other Pacific islands.  Participants are encouraged to report all suspicious invasive plants and animals to the PBIN invasive species reporting system.

(Photo: Little fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata); Image: SM Gallagher, AntWeb, hosted by California Academy of Sciences.

Vegetation Characterization Products Now Available for Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument

USGS-National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Characterization Program (VCP) documentation for Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument has been completed and is available on the VCP Web site. Products include aerial photography - graphic of orthophoto mosaic, and spatial orthophoto data; project report - photointerpretation key, vegetation descriptions, vegetation key, photos of map class, and accuracy assessment, and classification of the plant communities report; field data - graphic of field plots, spatial field plots data, plots field database, physical descriptive for plots and species list for plots; geospatial vegetation information - graphics of vegetation communities, spatial vegetation data, spatial boundary data and plots and AA photos; accuracy assessment information - graphic of accuracy assessment points, spatial AA points data, AA field database, and contingency matrix; metadata, and a link to NPS information about Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument. The goal of the VCP is to classify and map the vegetation communities of National Parks that have a natural resource component. Complete documentation is currently available for sixty-eight park units and two U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuge units. The VCP is managed by the USGS Center for Biological Informatics in cooperation with the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The USGS Vegetation Characterization effort includes the management and upkeep of the VCP protocols, Web-based access to the standards, and the Web-based access to NPS Vegetation Characterization program finished products.

Publish Post

The Hawaii Weed Risk Assessment Database

The NBII Pacific Basin Information Node (PBIN), under contract with the Hawaii Invasive Species Council (HISC), has completed the development of a database system for the Hawaii - Pacific Weed Risk Assessment (HPWRA).  The HPWRA is a methodology designed to identify high-risk species, facilitating informed decisions that will reduce the economic and ecological harm caused by invasive plants.  Historically, HPWRA data was stored in separate spreadsheets for each of the 800+ species assessed to date. In that form, it was cumbersome to track detailed information and data were difficult to extract for analysis and presentation.
 The new system is based in SQL Server with a Microsoft Access user interface. This model allows the application to be widely distributed in a desktop environment while aggregating data in one central server database. Next steps include the development of a Web site that provides access to HPWRA data to the public.

Photos: Melastoma sanguineum (fox-tongued melastoma) Flower at Keaukaha, Hawaii.; December 05, 2001. Photos by Forest & Kim Starr, HEAR.org

"The Very Handy Manual: How to Catch and Identify Bees and Manage a Collection" is Now Available

The latest edition (March, 2010) of "The Very Handy Manual: How to Catch and Identify Bees and Manage a Collection" is now available.

Compiled mainly by Sam Droege at the USGS Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab with input from specialist researchers and taxonomists over several years from 2004-present, this guide provides detailed instructions on bee monitoring techniques including specimen collection, processing and management; bee identification; and more! The manual also provides guidance on the capture, monitoring, identification, and curation of native bees.

The NBII Pollinators Project coordinates and supports pollinator-related biological informatics projects carried out by the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) and its partners, and provides in-kind support to ventures that benefit pollinators by improving pollinator data delivery and access, and developing decision support tools for resource managers.

You can also subscribe to Sam Droege's Youtube channel and learn How to Dry Bee Specimens, one of the handy techniques described in the manual.

Photo: Honeybee and Purple aster (Apis mellifera, Aster sp.) - A honeybee feeds on purple aster flowers.  Photo credit: Elizabeth A. Sellers.