Showing posts with label databases. Show all posts
Showing posts with label databases. Show all posts

Thursday, July 21, 2011

GAP Helps Promote Great Outdoors

Mapping the Nation: GIS for Federal Progress 
and Accountability showcases many
ways that federal government agencies 
rely on GIS analysis and maps.  Map image
and text from the GAP Analysis website,
"Mapping the Nation" page.
USGS Core Science Systems' Gap Analysis Program (GAP), which provides important biodiversity data as well as information regarding the protection status of native U.S. species, has been actively involved in Secretary Salazar's efforts to promote the President's America's Great Outdoors Initiative.  As the Secretary and his senior staff visited the Governors of each state this spring, their briefing materials included GAP maps illustrating the State’s Federal and State land ownership boundaries.  The maps were created by expert cartographers and wildlife ecologists in the GAP Moscow, Idaho office using GAP Protected Areas and Species Distribution databases.  These colorful and informative maps will soon be available to the public in large and small formats on the Gap Analysis Web site.

Monday, May 23, 2011

The Inouye Database: An Interactive Bibliography of Pollination Publications

A new resource for pollinator and pollination research is now available online at www.nbii.gov/inouye.  The Inouye Database contains almost 10,000 bibliographic citations from articles and books published from 1793 to the present. It includes some obscure works on pollination biology, flowering phenology, plant demography, and plant-animal interactions such as ant-plant mutualisms, nectar robbing, and animal-mediated pollination.

Dr. David W. Inouye, Professor,
Department of Biology,
University of Maryland.
Credit: Dr. David Inouye
Dr. Inouye sought the assistance of the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII), a program administered by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to take on task of making it available to the broader research community. The USGS-NBII agreed to Web enable the database and develop an administrative interface that would facilitate updates and maintenance.

As a living dataset that Dr. Inouye and other scientists will continue to contribute to, the Inouye Database is now accessible online and available for others to download in extensible markup language and tab delimited text–file formats.

The USGS-NBII plans to continue collaborating with Dr. Inouye on improvements to the database and welcomes feedback on the Web site and ideas for other potential applications for this type of dataset.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database Alert System: Five Years and Going Strong

Invasive Species Information Node (ISIN) partners at the USGS Southeast Ecological Research Station in Gainesville, FL, developers of the Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database (NAS), track the distribution of introduced aquatic organisms across the United States. In May 2004, the program developed an Alert System to notify registered users of new introductions as part of a national early detection/rapid response system. Users register to receive alerts based on geographic or taxonomic criteria. At the September meeting of the NBII Invasive Species Working Group, NAS manager and NBII partner Pam Fuller summarized the NAS alert system’s users and alerts by geography, taxonomy, year, alert level, and source of information.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

USGS Western Ecological Research Center (WERC) San Diego EcoInformatics Expands MultiTaxa Database

The USGS Western Ecological Research Center (WERC) San Diego EcoInformatics group is continuing to expand the Multi-Taxa database by working with partners outside of the region. Datasets from the Amphibian and Reptile Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) and National Park Service (NPS) are being evaluated for inclusion into the database. The partnership with the San Diego Management and Monitoring Program is continuing as we work toward integrating BIOS and the USGS MTX into their data management practices. For Further Information Contact the USGS San Diego Field Station.

(Photo: Golden-cheeked warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia). (Photo: US Fish & Wildlife Service)

Thursday, December 16, 2010

NBII Data Access Wizard Provides Access to New Data Available for the Mid-Atlantic Region

The USGS-NBII Program's Data Access Wizard was updated with updates to the map services for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, National Wetlands Inventory data in the Mid-Atlantic states from the Natural Lands Trust, new weather data map services, aerial photos for south-central Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania oil/gas locations, illegal dump sites, decadal climate maps through the Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Atlas project, and 2008 National Agriculture Imagery Program for states of the Chesapeake Bay. You can search the Data Access Wizard on the Mid-Atlantic Information Node (MAIN) web site to access these data.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database Offers Interactive Species Maps

NBII Invasive Species Information Node (ISIN) partner, the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) database, recently made some upgrades to its Web site. NAS now offers point distribution maps. These appear as a separate link from any species search and from the top of any species page. These new maps depict spatial accuracy of the point and species status at each location. The map background can be changed and various other spatial layers can be turned on/off. Additional environmental layers are planned for the future.

Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)
Northern Snakehead fish (Channa argus)
Nutria (Myocastor coypus)

Also, the site has been converted from classic .ASP to .NET. As a result, all of the Web page addresses have changed.  However, the change is simple: the basic URL remains the same but will contain the letter X after any “ASP within the former URLs (as can be seen in the links above).

(Photo: Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), exotic to United States with map showing points of distribution.  Photo by the Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures, Auburn University, Alabama.  Photo courtesy of the NAS Web site).

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

USGS Gap Analysis Program (GAP) Releases Updated Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US)

PAD-US version 1.1 is a national geodatabase, hosted by USGS-GAP, that represents public land ownership and conservation lands, including voluntarily-provided privately protected areas. The lands included in PAD-US are assigned conservation status codes that both denote the level of biodiversity preservation and indicate other natural, recreational and cultural uses. This version of PAD-US contains updates to the Northeast, Northwest, California, and voluntarily-provided private preserves and conservation easements across the United States. In conjunction with the updated database, a new version of the Protected Areas online viewer has been released and can be accessed at http://gapanalysis.nbii.gov/padus. This new data source is built upon more than two decades of effort by the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) and Gap Analysis Program (GAP) to facilitate access to and use of biological and stewardship information.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Updates from the Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA) Now Available for the Southwest

Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA) is an interactive, searchable, and updateable Web-enabled database of butterfly and moth records. The database houses over 270,000 records and more than 4,500 species. The Live Maps and Data page of Southwest Information Node (SWIN) now provides updates for the southwest region via RSS feed.







(Photo: Viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus) on goldenrod flower. © 2009 Bruce Avera Hunter, , from the NBII LIFE gallery).

Monday, March 29, 2010

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).

Friday, March 26, 2010

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.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

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

Thursday, February 4, 2010

NBII Designated Home for National Fish Habitat Action Plan Data System

The USGS-NBII was designated by the National Fish Habitat Board to house the data delivery system supporting the National Fish Habitat Action Plan. The first phase of the data system will be completed by the end of 2010 to facilitate the transfer of data between and among the Fish Habitat Partnerships and the Board. This accomplishment will further the progress of development to enable visualization of these data and Web mapping capabilities, which will support the states, non-governmental organizations, industry, and federal agencies within and external to DOI that are working to improve the Nation’s fish habitat.

The National Fish Habitat Action Plan (PDF 2.2 MB) is an unprecedented attempt to address an unseen crisis for fish nationwide: loss and degradation of their watery homes.




(Photo: courtesy of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan website)

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Global Invasive Species Database Becomes GISIN Data Provider

The Global Invasive Species Database (GISD) of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which is mirrored by the NBII database, is now searchable through the Global Invasive Species Information Network (GISIN). GISIN is a distributed database system that provides a cross-search capability for invasive species status and occurrences, as well as a way to search for URLs of species resources. Data providers can now connect to the GISIN using Web services or via a flat file upload option. There are now more than a million records cached in the GISIN system. See the GISIN web site for more information.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Web-enabling the Pacific Northwest Habitat Classification Systems Database

The Pacific Northwest Habitat Classification Systems database (PHaCS) is currently available as a desktop version based in Access format, which can be downloaded at no cost to interested entities across the Pacific Northwest. In 2010, the NBII's Pacific Northwest Information Node (PNWIN) will provide support to Web-enable this database to provide interactive online access. The Northwest Habitat Institute, the PNWIN partner leading this effort, has already compiled over 60 different habitat classification systems into a single database. Habitat classification systems differ greatly throughout the Pacific Northwest depending on agency, organization, or monitoring group, often complicating data-sharing and collaboration. Additionally, some classifications use similar terminology but further challenge collaboration and sharing of information because the definitions are different. The PHaCS database can help address these questions about habitat classification and the systems used in the Pacific Northwest region and will be available as a Web-based resource improving availability and efficiency for users. Eventually, California will be included in the system.

Transition of the Density Management and Riparian Buffer Study Database

In August 2009, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) met with the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) Partners at Oregon State University, Northwest Alliance for Computational Science and Engineering (NACSE) to discuss further enhancements to the Density Management and Riparian Buffer Study (DMS) site that was originally developed with support from the NBII Program. The data, publications, and spatial information will be enhanced and the DMS site will fully come back online by the end of 2009. The BLM will continue using the recently developed Web entry form to enter their new publications. The DMS develops and tests options for young stand management to create and maintain late-successional forest characteristics in western Oregon. Originally launched in 2003 in collaboration with BLM as part of Pacific Northwest Information Node (PNWIN), the DMS database will transition to BLM for long-term maintenance and support.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Hawaii Early Detection Network

The Maui County Early Detection Program, now called the Hawaii Early Detection Network, has expanded to support invasive species early detection outreach and community engagement throughout the state. This program supports community involvement in the search for incipient invasive plants and animals by means of outreach materials and technical reporting components. During the first half of 2009, the project Web site has been redesigned and updated; reporting system database components were implemented and tested; and outreach programs were initiated on the island of Hawaii and continued on the island of Maui.
View the Maui County Pest List of invasive species.

Get your own copy of the "eyes and ears" manual by becoming a certified pest buster. You can also download a copy of the Maui "Eyes and Ears" early detection manual (2 MB PDF) to get started.

Also, access the following reporting tools from the website:
- Early Detection Reporting Tool Information Flow Chart
- Online Reporting Tool Assessor Log-on.

If you are interested in participating in this project as an Eyes and Ears volunteer, or simply for more information, please contact reportapest-maui@hawaii.edu.

(Photo: Common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) has been eradicated from Maui, but is going wild in high elevation areas of the Big Island.)

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

California Partners in Flight Study Areas Database Now Hosted by Point Reyes Bird Observatory (PRBO)


In collaboration with the University of California (UC)-Davis through the California Information Node (CAIN), the California Partners in Flight (CalPIF) Study Areas Database provides bird monitoring sites and serves as a repository for species breeding status information for the entire state. The database provides an interactive map that shows all CalPIF collaborators’ study areas contributed to date, an interactive focal species breeding status map that show all study areas and detailed information for each focal species, and habitat maps for California. Originally launched in 2005 in collaboration with UC-Davis and Point Reyes Bird Observatory (PRBO) as part of CAIN, the database has moved to PRBO for long-term maintenance and hosting.

(Image: screen shot of the California Partners in Flight Study Areas Database)

Friday, September 4, 2009

Dynamic Maps For Bald Eagle Count Site

NBII – in collaboration with Oregon State University, Northwest Alliance for Computational Science and Engineering (NACSE) – hosts the Mid-Winter Bald Eagle Count Database, a long-term national data set on bald eagle observations. Previously, the site used basic image map tools to help users perform map-based queries by route. Although effective, this approach lacked the more immersive experience of a dynamic Web-based mapping interface, in which the user can zoom in or out and load in different base layers while viewing the overlaid data. Also, multiple adjacent routes were hard to discern from one another on a national scale. NACSE designed a custom mapping interface based on Google Maps that allows users to dynamically display and query route information from the Bald Eagle database as well as take advantage of the standard Google Maps features and controls, such as full satellite map coverage at multiple scales for the entire country. The ability to zoom and pan enables users to locate site and route information even when the locations are densely clustered. See the main site at Midwinter Bald Eagle Count Web Site and the “Query by Route” page that has the new mapping tool.