IABIN Invasives Information Network Biodiversity Informatics Symposium, Indaiatuba, October 22, 2002 Andrea Grosse, US Geological Survey, USA Creating an Inter-American Network for Invasive Species Information I3NI3N

Ultimate Objectives Metadata on invasive species information Web-accessible Distributed –Local ownership Integrated –Common standards Pilot project – Single entry point – Search across nodes

I3N Pilot Project Seed grants from US State Department –$12,000 ( x 11 countries) –ICE/UC Davis –NBII –CABS/CI –NatureServe Additional funding from NBII and organizations in countries Technical collaboration

Planning to joinParticipantsParticipants 11+ Countries New countries joining without seed funding

Objectives of Pilot Project Develop standard catalogs in each country Make catalogs Web-accessible Build capacity Species ProjectsData sets Experts

Microsoft Access 2000 Three languages Freely available I3N Cataloguer Start entering metadata

I3N Cataloguer

Preliminary Results

I3N Report Collected specimens in the field… Discovered possible invasive events… Reported Benefits

I3N Report First digital data base on invasive species… First data base of taxonomists… National biodiversity database will incorporate I3N catalogs … Reported Benefits

I3N Report Created educational material… Provided list of game and fish species annexed to a national biodiversity law… Reported Benefits

Will guide national legislation process by creating legal bases for bio-security regulations Will contribute to development of national invasive species strategy I3N Report Reported Benefits Created photo collection Provides access to unpublished or scattered data Developed relationship between institutions within country Trained persons directly involved in data management Contributed to list of species for a resolution on controlling entry of exotic species Benefited biodiversity enabling activities under the CBD Increased knowledge about invasive species management Enabled identification of gaps in knowledge and institutional capacity Country’s scientific community became interested in invasive species

Insufficient information No documentation of presence and impact of invasives in natural ecosystems Difficulty in identifying species Not enough taxonomists and other scientists specializing in invasive species Local Challenges

Data Access Collections not cataloged, updated, or digitized Information dispersed Access denied Local Challenges

Technical Challenges Terminology –“especie invasiva, invasora, alien, inmigrante, no nativa, aclimatizada, no indígena, extraña, extranjera, exótica, naturalizada, xenobiota” Cataloging tool –User-friendliness –Multi-lingual versions –Compatibility with local system –Cost & availability of application

Coordination Challenges Differences in co-financing Collaboration –Native language of project leaders –Translation cost & effort –Listserv

Review metadata fields & controlled vocabulary –Trilingual invasive species management thesaurus Improve Cataloguer Encourage XML output Establish virtual community Next Steps

Outstanding Issues Updating catalogs Integrating new countries Harvesting and search tool –Integrate all XML records –Single search interface

Ideas Tools Participate ! Web page Metadata

Click on “I3N Project”

Results Listserv