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Update and Maintain Database-driven Information Resources

The Center has the capacity and ability to host and support database-driven resources, and is willing to work to related projects to continue their availability. The Center staff can work to integrate other resources such as our Bugwood IDS or EDDMapS to improve upon existing applications.

Examples:

Bugwood Image Database System

The Bugwood Network web sites are database and “taxonomically” driven and encompass images and information about a wide array of biological, management and discipline-oriented special terms. There are a number of web sites that “pull” information “on-the-fly” from our sites as well as a lot of individual users. In particular, the computer-to-computer accesses require that there be common or at least “look-up-table” coding that enables the correct information to be found. There are a number of web systems and databases that are “taxonomically-based” … however, in reality most only focus on a relatively limited group of taxa or taxon, and are relatively incomplete or do not contain current taxonomy, especially for organisms that are not native to North America.

We have incorporated over 50 lists from other noted and widely used databases into ours including: the International Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), Entomological Society of America’s Common Names of Insects, The US Forest Service’s PTIPS and FSVEG systems, USDA-APHIS-PPQ’s Global Pest and Disease Database and The US Regulated Pest Lists, The USDA-APHIS-PPQ National Agricultural Pest Information System (NAPIS), the Plant Diagnostics Information System (PDIS) of the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN) as well List of Pests maintained by the European and Mediterranean Pest Plant Organization (EPPO) based in Paris, France. After we merged these lists into ours, we have reviewed, updated as possible, documented and have had to “create” taxonomy for information in our systems for those not available elsewhere. Additionally our systems contain images and information about a large number of “operational” and management issues and practices, for which there is no accepted names or lists. This is especially true for terms and practices that transcend specific professions or disciplines and we have found it necessary to merge, adapt, incorporated, and “create” certain terms to enable us to classify and allow users to find and located images and information of interest.