HEAR Monitoring Database
Additional Information
A product of the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk (HEAR) Project
University of Hawaii Department of Botany/CPSU (webmaster@hear.org)
Room 409 St. John Building, 3190 Maile Way, Honolulu, HI
96822
Monitoring Database Table Relationship Diagram and Table Descriptions
An online table relationship diagram is available for the Monitoring Database. This diagram includes "clickable" buttons which allow you to go directly to a description of the table. (A nongraphical list of tables is also available in case your browser doesn't support client-side image mapping.)
Changes/Additions to Monitoring Database documentation
Monitoring Database: Standard taxon codes
- The current standard Taxon Codes for the Monitoring Database
(and related systems) are provided here (see link below) as a
dBase file (for compatibility with various systems). PLEASE READ
ALL DOCUMENTATION & INFO ON THIS SITE and become familiar
with the concept of standard Taxon Codes (as the term is used
RE: the Monitoring Database) before using these codes!
- Refer to the online Taxon Code information
for information about how standard Taxon Codes are created.
- Refer to the Monitoring Database documentation
for additional relevant information.
- A word about FERNS/etc.: At the moment, the standard Taxon
Codes have only been devised for flowering plants (although there
is no reason they couldn't be used for ANY organism). The Taxon
Codes-and nomenclature altogether, for that matter-for FERNS should
NOT be construed to be "gospel." The problem is (obviously
to those who are intimately involved in this area) that there
is NO RECENT COMPREHENSIVE PUBLICATION to which we can refer to
resolve nomenclatural conflicts. The state of fern taxonomy is
in disarray for the state of Hawaii (all the way to genus &
family level); "soon" (="hopefully
")
there will be a publication on which we can base standard taxonomy
for ferns. Until then, we solicit input
on how to resolve the issues currently, and/or volunteers to provide
us with some (any!) comprehensive fern database that we can at
least cite as a temporary standard.
- DISCLAIMER: The "original" set of species names
and taxon codes from which these are derived was based on an evolutionary
database (over 3 years) and information from multiple sources.
I have tried to ensure accuracy, consistency, and completeness;
if I have failed, (kindly, please!) let me know what should be changed.
Your feedback is an integral part of the quality of these standards,
and is greatly appreciated!
- More information is available about Monitoring Database (PDOXWIN) table structures,
including the TAXONCOD.DB table.
- If you wish, you may download the standard Taxon Codes (STDTCODS.DBF) [PKZIP'd]: download STD_TCS.ZIP (NOTE: this file was last uploaded 24 Mar 1998.)
- Also, you may get a copy of the PDOXWIN QBE (Query By Example) file that created STD_TCS.DBF: download STD_TCS.TXT (=.QBE*) (*saved with .TXT extension for automatic viewing with your browser's text viewer; rename to .QBE for use as query in PDOXWIN) (NOTE: this file was last uploaded 05 Nov 1997)
Monitoring Database: Organization codes
- Refer to the online Taxon Code information
for information about how Organization Codes are used when creating
user-defined Taxon Codes.
- If you wish, you may get a copy of the Organization Codes
[for creation of unique Taxon Codes] in dBase format [PKZIP'd]:
download TCORGCOD.ZIP
- Normally users should create "loc." species names/Taxon
Codes for unidentified organisms (see Monitoring Database documentation
and Taxon Code information). However,
there may be cases where specific location/occurrence differentiation
information is not important (be careful of this!) or simply not
known. In these cases, it may be desireable to use STANDARD Taxon
Codes to designate "unidentified species." The proposed
standard is simple: the naming convention is the Genus (assuming
that the specimen can be identified to genus), "sp."
as the Species, "alt." as Rank1, and "unidentified
species" as the Infraspecific epithet (see Table structure information
for details about field names). Since there are so many potential
conflicts at the Taxon Code level, all standard "unidentified
species" have been preassigned unique Taxon Codes; all will
have a 3-digit number as the last three characters (no "unidentified
species" Taxon Code will be of the format "GenSp.Uni"-even
if there are no conflicts, there will always be a number, e.g.
"GenSp.Uni020"). Numbering of all current genera started
with 20; would-be duplicates were created using increments of
20. Numbering is alphabetical by Genus + Species + Infraspecific
epithet; subsequent additions will be inserted alphabetically/numerically
by this same scheme.
- The standard will be optional; if a particular organization
doesn't choose to use these designators, it simply does not have
to include these designators in its database. (No conflicts among
users of standard data should arise, since no nonstandard (user-defined) taxa should ever be created with the "alt." rank
anyway.)
- There are a few potential drawbacks to using these species/codes.
- The addition of many "non-real" species entries
in the TAXA (and TAXONCOD) table(s) This problem may be addressed
by adding the unidentified species to your database only on as
as-needed basis (but then using the standard nomenclature instead
of freestyle, incompatible-among-organizations formats), and/or
using a workaround (such as a "N/A" designation in USFWS
Status Code field of the TAXA table [or something similar]) to
be able to eliminate these entries via a query when doing a "species
count"/etc.
- The possibility that users will "lazily" (or
due to lack of understanding) use these designators when they
should, in fact, create a new "loc." taxon designator
This is basically a system administration/training/quality control
issue which must be handled on a case-by-case basis.
- If the idea is accepted by the Monitoring Database user community,
this (optional) standard will be formalized in the next Monitoring
Database documentation update.
- If you wish, you may get a copy of the proposed unidentified
species Taxon Codes in dBase format [PKZIP'd]: download UNIDDSPP.ZIP
Information is available on the structures of selected tables
in the Monitoring Database. Eventually, all tables' structures
(as well as a data relationship diagram) will be available at
this site.
Monitoring Database: User registry
Current users of the Monitoring Database (and/or other databases
using the standard Taxon Codes) include:
- The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii (Maui, Molokai, and Oahu
offices)
- State of Hawaii Natural Area Reserves System (Big Island baseyard)
- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Endangered species tracking
[Honolulu])
- Maui Pineapple Co. (Pu'u Kukui Watershed Management Area [West
Maui])
- Haleakala National Park Vegetation Management (Haleakala National
Park [East Maui])
Monitoring Database: e-mail lists
Two e-mail lists have been created to facilitate information exchange
among Monitoring Database users (and others who currently or potentially
use the standard Taxon Codes).
- HIMONDB-L is a general discussion list RE: the Monitoring
Database (and other standard Taxon Code-based data systems). All
current and potential users of the Monitoring Database (or any
other standard Taxon Code-based data systems)-as well as any other
interested parties-are encouraged to join this list. Its purpose
is to field questions to other users, discuss concepts related
to the Monitoring Database, and to disseminate general information
to all Monitoring Database users. To subscribe to the HIMONDB-L
list, send to LISTPROC@HAWAII.EDU
an e-mail message with a BLANK subject and the following text
(don't include the brackets ["<>"]):
SUBSCRIBE HIMONDB-L <youremailaddress> <your
name>
- HIMONDBA-L is a list reserved for Monitoring Database
System Administrators. This is the "official" means
of communicating to Monitoring Database sites updates to standard
data. Changes/corrections/additions to standard data/codes, software
updates, and other system administration information are distributed
on this list. Typically, only one person per site/organization
is subscribed to this list. The information is typically technical,
and large attachments are sometimes sent. To subscribe to the
HIMONDBA-L list, send to LISTPROC@HAWAII.EDU
an e-mail message with a BLANK subject and the following text
(don't include the brackets ["<>"]):
SUBSCRIBE HIMONDBA-L <youremailaddress> <your
name>
[Monitoring Database] [Alien Species In Hawaii] [Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk]
Comments, questions, feedback about this
website or its contents? e-mail the HEAR project
(This document was last updated
15 April 2005
by LF.)