User's
Guide to the Database
ABOUT
THE DATABASE
Literature references, representing mostly published papers and unpublished
reports, for 11 fish species which are considered important and representative
of the fish community of the Hudson River estuary, have been assembled
into a database. The 11 fish species are: Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser
oxyrhynchus; shortnose sturgeon, A. brevirostrum; American
shad, Alosa sapidissima; alewife, A. pseudoharengus;
blueback herring, A. aestivalis; bay anchovy, Anchoa mitchilli;
bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix; Atlantic tomcod, Microgadus
tomcod; striped bass, Morone saxatilis; white perch, M.
americana; and largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides. The
record of each literature reference in the database includes 18 fields,
among which are fields for "fish species," "geography," and "(other)
keywords" (Table C-1). The 62 "other
keywords" which were most often used in the database to describe
the habitat use and requirements of the 11 species are listed in Table
C-2.
DATABASE
ACCESS AND USE
The database currently exists in three formats to enable public access
and use, and will eventually exist in a fourth format for such purposes.
The first format of the database is an annotated bibliography of the
literature references which is presented in a paper printing of this
report. Each entry in that bibliography is annotated with keywords
on fish species, geography, and "other" keywords. That annotated
bibliography is Appendix D ("List of
Published and Unpublished Works Containing Information That May Be
Relevant to Habitat Requirements and Use by the Selected Fish Species
Inhabiting the Hudson River Estuary") of this report.
The second format of the database is the same annotated bibliography
as presented in the paper printing, but is one which has been electronically
posted. The electronic posting is part of the HTML and PDF publishing
of this report on the Northeast Fisheries Science Center's (NEFSC's)
Internet webpage on "Reports and Publications" (http://www.nefsc.nmfs.gov/nefsc/publications/).
The HTML version can be searched with the search engine associated
with the user's Internet access software (e.g., Netscape Navigator,
Microsoft Internet Explorer).
The third format of the database is one prepared with FileMaker® database
software (FileMaker, Inc., 5201 Patrick Henry Dr., P.O. Box 58168,
Santa Clara, CA 95054-8168). To access and use this format, one must
have either FileMaker 4 or 5 software installed on his/her computer,
and must request the actual data to be sent as an e-mail attachment
from the NEFSC's Editorial Office (Jon.Gibson@noaa.gov).
The FileMaker database contains complete instructions -- through its "Help" menu
-- for the user, and permits searches on either single or multiple
items (i.e., fish species, "other" keywords, and authors).
The fourth format of the database, which will not be available until
several years after the first three formats have been prepared, will
be the tagging of the annotated bibliography with XML. The XML-tagged
bibliography will be part of an XML-based system for searching and
retrieving a wide array of information from an extensive collection
of NEFSC-produced scientific works.
