NBII-Info

NBII Program Termination

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:28:00 +0000

In the 2012 President's Budget Request, the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is terminated. As a result, the official NBII web site (www.nbii.gov) will be removed and all of the NBII social media accounts closed by January 15, 2012. For more information, please refer to the NBII Program Termination page.

This community will be closed on November 1. To stay abreast of new tools and research from the U.S. Geological Survey on the topic of natural resources, we encourage you to join the UGSG community on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GeologicalSurvey.

You may also visit the USGS social media page, which lists other social media channels you can follow to stay tuned.

Please note: This will be the final post for NBII-Info blog. The NBII Program was terminated effective October 1, 2011, the beginning of the 2012 fiscal year. Thank you for your interest and participation.

Vegetation Characterization Products Now Available for Gauley River National Recreation Area

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:55:00 +0000

Gauley River
National Recreation Area

USGS-National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Characterization Program (VCP) documentation for Gauley River National Recreation Area has been completed and is available on the VCP Web site. Gauley River National Recreation Area products include aerial photography - graphic of orthophoto mosaic,spatial orthophoto data, and flight line index; project report - photointerpretation key, vegetation descriptions, vegetation key, photos of map class, and accuracy assessment; field data - graphic of field plots, field database, physical descriptive for plots, species list for plots, and plot photos; geospatial vegetation information - graphic of vegetation communities and geodatabase; accuracy assessment information - graphic of accuracy assessment points, contingency matrix, and AA photos; metadata, and a link to NPS information about Gauley River National Recreation Area. The goal of the VCP is to classify and map the vegetation communities of National Parks that have a natural resource component. Complete documentation is currently available for one hundred eighteen park units and two U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuge units. The VCP is managed by theUSGS Center for Biological Informatics in cooperation with the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The USGS Vegetation Characterization effort includes the management and upkeep of the VCP protocols, Web-based access to the standards, and the Web-based access to NPS Vegetation Characterization program finished products.

Vegetation Characterization Products Now Available for Cedar Breaks National Monument

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:33:00 +0000

Photo: Cedar Breaks
National Monument

USGS-National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Characterization Program (VCP) documentation for Cedar Breaks National Monument has been completed and is available on the VCP Web site. Cedar Breaks National Monument products include aerial photography - graphic of orthophoto mosaic, spatial orthophoto data, and flightline index; project report - photointerpretation key, vegetation descriptions, vegetation key, photos of map class, and accuracy assessment; field data - graphic of field plots, field database, physical descriptive for plots, species list for plots, and plot and AA photos; geospatial vegetation information - graphic of vegetation communities and geodatabase; accuracy assessment information - graphic of accuracy assessment points, and contingency matrix; metadata, and a link to NPS information about Cedar Breaks National Monument. The goal of the VCP is to classify and map the vegetation communities of National Parks that have a natural resource component. Complete documentation is currently available for one hundred seventeen park units and two U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuge units. The VCP is managed by the USGS Center for Biological Informatics in cooperation with the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The USGS Vegetation Characterization effort includes the management and upkeep of the VCP protocols, Web-based access to the standards, and the Web-based access to NPS Vegetation Characterization program finished products.

Vegetation Characterization Products Now Available for Bandelier National Park

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:42:00 +0000

Photo:

Bandelier National Park

USGS-National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Characterization Program (VCP) documentation for Bandelier National Park has been completed and is available on the VCP Web site. Bandelier National Park products include aerial photography - graphic of orthophoto mosaic, and spatial orthophoto data; project report - photointerpretation key, vegetation descriptions, vegetation key, photos of map class, and accuracy assessment; field data - graphic of field plots, field database, physical descriptive for plots, species list for plots, and plot photos; geospatial vegetation information - graphic of vegetation communities and geodatabase; accuracy assessment information - graphic of accuracy assessment points, contingency matrix, and AA photos; metadata, and a link to NPS information about Bandelier National Park. The goal of the VCP is to classify and map the vegetation communities of National Parks that have a natural resource component. Complete documentation is currently available for one hundred sixteen park units and two U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuge units. The VCP is managed by the USGS Center for Biological Informatics in cooperation with the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The USGS Vegetation Characterization effort includes the management and upkeep of the VCP protocols, Web-based access to the standards, and the Web-based access to NPS Vegetation Characterization program finished products.

FGDC Vegetation Subcommittee to be Represented at ESA Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 14:07:00 +0000

The Vegetation Subcommittee of the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) will be well represented at this year’s Ecological Society of America (ESA) meeting. The subcommittee responsible for the implementation of the National Vegetation Classification (NVC) is actively engaged in a variety of activities at this year’s annual meeting, which will be held in Austin, TX, from August 6-12. A diversity of partners work together to implement the NVC, including the U.S. Forest Service, USGS, NatureServe, the Vegetation Classification Panel of the Ecological Society, and all the member agencies represented on the subcommittee. The meeting will include an NVC related field trip to Pedernales Falls State Park, a vegetation classification workshop, an organized oral session specific to use of the NVC in assessments, and an NVC booth sponsored by the ESA Vegetation Classification Panel. Dr. Alexa McKerrow, NVC implementation manager, as well as FGDC and ESA representatives will be available throughout the week to discuss the new standard and the work of the subcommittee.

Vegetation Characterization Products Now Available for Mammoth Cave National Park

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 15:41:00 +0000

Mammoth Cave
National Park

USGS-National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Characterization Program (VCP) documentation for Mammoth Cave National Park has been completed and is available on the VCP Web site. Mammoth Cave National Park products include aerial photography - graphic of orthophoto mosaic, and flight line index; project report - vegetation description and key, Cumberland-Piedmont network report - photointerpretation, GIS operations; accuracy assessment report - accuracy assessment methods and results; field data - graphic of field plots, field plots database, physical descriptive for plots, species list for plots, and plot and AA photos; geospatial vegetation information - graphics of vegetation communities, geodatabase ; accuracy assessment information - graphic of accuracy assessment points, and contingency matrix; metadata, and a link to NPS information about Mammoth Cave National Park. The goal of the VCP is to classify and map the vegetation communities of National Parks that have a natural resource component. Complete documentation is currently available for one hundred fifteen park units and two U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuge units. The VCP is managed by the USGS Center for Biological Informatics in cooperation with the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The USGS Vegetation Characterization effort includes the management and upkeep of the VCP protocols, Web-based access to the standards, and the Web-based access to NPS Vegetation Characterization program finished products.

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) to be Featured in The Wildlife Professional

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 15:37:00 +0000

On July 22, Dr. Gerald “Stinger” Guala, Director of Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), was interviewed by a writer-reporter from The Wildlife Professional about ITIS and its relevance to wildlife professionals. ITIS provides authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world. The article will also feature others who can comment on the value of ITIS to their work. ITIS is one of the core components of the USGS Biological Informatics Program. The Wildlife Professional is distributed to all members of The Wildlife Society, whose members specialize in the management, conservation, and study of wildlife populations and habitats.

Access Newsletter Goes Electronic

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:37:00 +0000

The USGS Biological Informatics Program published its final print issue of the Access newsletter for Spring 2011 and created its first electronic edition, now emanating from USGS Core Science Systems. Starting this summer, Access will be exclusively electronic. To subscribe to the new Access, send your e-mail address to ron_sepic@usgs.gov.

To see the new Access newsletter, go to www.usgs.gov/core_science_systems/access. The online version contains the full-text for all of the Spring 2011 issue's articles.

Benefits of the new Access include: broader coverage (addresses data management issues for biology and many other disciplines); more in-depth articles; four-color graphics; issues to be searchable through the award-winning search engine, Raptor. Access articles are now available through Facebook, Twitter, and via RSS feed; and have only a tiny carbon footprint. Don't miss an issue of the new Access newsletter!

GAP Helps Promote Great Outdoors

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:02:00 +0000

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.

Dan Ashe Sworn In as New Director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:13:00 +0000

Photo Caption: Dan Ashe
swearing in ceremony.
Credit: Tami Heilemann/USFWS

The USGS Biological Informatics Program (BIP) extends its congratulations and welcome to Daniel M. Ashe, the new director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Mr. Ashe was formally nominated by President Obama, and was just recently confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the 16th Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Sec. Salazar praised Mr. Ashe on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website, saying:

"Dan has served with distinction and integrity in the Fish and Wildlife Service for more than 15 years. He has worked tirelessly to prepare the Service to meet the resource challenges of the 21st century, and his leadership and vision have never been more necessary," said Salazar. "I’m excited to work with him to foster innovative science-driven conservation programs and policies to benefit our nation’s fish and wildlife and its habitat."

Mr. Ashe's previous experience includes serving as the chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System, where he directed operation and management of the 150 million-acre system, and serving as the Fish and Wildlife Service’s assistant director for external affairs, where he directed the agency’s programs in legislative, public, and Native American affairs, research coordination, and state grants-in-aid. Prior to joining the Service, Ashe served as a member of the professional staff of the former Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Biological Informatics Program (BIP) has a number of partnerships and collaborative efforts with the Fish and Wildlife Service, including the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England (IPANE), species pages for the USFWS Migratory Bird Programs Focal Birds Species, the Tricolored Blackbird Portal, and regional and national syntheses of Species of Greatest Conservation Need identified in the State Wildlife Action Plans, and many others. We look forward to continuing these and other collaborations in the future.

Read the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Press Release >>
Watch the YouTube video of Dan Ashe being sworn in >>

Vegetation Characterization Products Now Available for Cowpens National Battlefield and Ninety Six National Historic Site

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 16:50:00 +0000

Ninety Six National
Historic Site

USGS-National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Characterization Program (VCP) documentation for Cowpens National Battlefield and Ninety Six National Historic Site has been completed and is available on the VCP Web site h and . Cowpens National Battlefield and Ninety Six National Historic Site products include aerial photography - graphic of orthophoto mosaic, and flight line index; project report - vegetation description and key, Cumberland-Piedmont network report - photointerpretation, GIS operations; accuracy assessment report - accuracy assessment methods and results; field data - graphic of field plots, field plots database, physical descriptive for plots, and species list for plots; geospatial vegetation information - graphics of vegetation communities, geodatabase, and plot and AA photos; accuracy assessment information - graphic of accuracy assessment points, and contingency matrix; metadata, and a link to NPS information about Cowpens National Battlefield and Ninety Six National Historic Site. The goal of the VCP is to classify and map the vegetation communities of National Parks that have a natural resource component. Complete documentation is currently available for one hundred fourteen park units and two U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuge units. The VCP is managed by the USGS Center for Biological Informatics in cooperation with the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The USGS Vegetation Characterization effort includes the management and upkeep of the VCP protocols, Web-based access to the standards, and the Web-based access to NPS Vegetation Characterization program finished products.

Butterflies and Moths Of North America (BAMONA) Receives MARS Award

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:43:00 +0000

The Butterflies and Moths Of North America (BAMONA) Web site was recently selected as one of 25 recipients of the MARS Best Free Reference Web Sites award for 2011. Other noteworthy recipients include Google Translator, WikiLeaks, The ICUN Red List of Threatened Species, and the Public Library of Science (PLOS).

Voted for by member librarians from around the United States, the BAMONA site is to be recognized by MARS this year as an outstanding site for reference information and is included in the list of MARS Best Free Reference Web Sites of 2011. MARS is the "MARS: Emerging Technologies in Reference" section of the Reference and User Services Association of the American Library Association (ALA).

Celebrate Pollinator Week!

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:22:00 +0000

The Senate passed Resolution 580 "Recognizing the importance of pollinators to ecosystem health and agriculture in the United States and the value of partnership efforts to increase awareness about pollinators and support for protecting and sustaining pollinators by designating June 24 though June 30, 2007 as 'Pollinator Week'." Read Resolution 580.

Additionally, Mike Johans, Secretary of Agriculture at the United States Department of Agriculture, issued a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to join in celebrating the vital significance of pollinators to agriculture and to public lands as well as the Department's conservation assistance to farmers and ranchers and its management of ecosystems providing valuable pollinator habitats through the Nation, and recognizing Pollinator Week. Read the Proclamation (University of Arizona Press).

Pollinator Week is June 20 through June 26, 2011. To learn more about this year's events, click here.

The declaration of Pollinator Week was brought about largely through the efforts of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC).

Bee Identification Guide Project Receives Funding to Cover Western Species

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 21:17:00 +0000

Labeled bee specimen
collected
in Lovettsville, VA.
Photo: Elizabeth
Sellers, USGS.

The Polistes Foundation, with oversight by Sam Droege and Michael Orr from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), received $50,000 in funds to create extended identification guides for bees to include the Western United States and Canada from the Vetlesen Foundation. Identification of the United State's 4000 species of native bees is unusually tricky. Approximately 400 species haven't been described by science and many are so poorly known that identification is problematic. Furthermore, no field guide or uniform technical guide exists for bees, thus for researchers, naturalists, and biologists, identification of the bees they study is their most difficult task. These funds will make their jobs just a bit easier. To learn more about this project visit the Pollinator Project Web site.

USGS Scientist to participate in 26th Session of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) Assembly

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 14:07:00 +0000

On June 28, Mark Fornwall, Manager USGS OBIS-USA, will participate as a member of the U.S. delegation to the Twenty-sixth Session of Assembly of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). As chair of the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) ad hoc Steering Group, he is needed to participate in consideration of the Group’s recommendations adopted this past March to integrate the OBIS project office within the IOC’s International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) program. Dr. Fornwall manages OBIS-USA, the US component to the international OBIS effort. OBIS serves as the global focal point for the management and integration of marine biogeographic. The OBIS data schema (extension of Darwin Core) is an international standard for sharing and integrating marine biological data (e.g. presence-absence-abundance). OBIS-USA and partners are building a national data resource that will help to address important ocean science and societal issues (climate change, minerals and energy, ecosystems, hazards, health, coastal marine spatial planning are a few examples). USGS; Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE); U.S. Navy; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); and National Science Foundation (NSF) are key contributors and have supported the program with both data and funding.

Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database wins USGS Best Tool Award for Map Features

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:50:00 +0000

Screenshot,
NAS Point Distribution Map
of the Yellowfin Goby
(Acanthogobius flavimanus)

The Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database team, led by Pam Fuller and supported by Amy Benson and Dr. Pam Schofield, all from the USGS Southeast Ecological Science Center (SESC), was selected to receive the 2011 USGS Best Tool Award. The award specifically cites the development of the NAS Point Distribution Maps, a feature which shows spatial locations and links to population status and specimen records. Maps produced from the database are frequently accessed by database users and widely appear in television, internet, and printed news outlets as well as scientific talks, publications, and web pages.

The Inouye Database: An Interactive Bibliography of Pollination Publications

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Mon, 23 May 2011 15:12:00 +0000

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.

USGS Scientist Participates in Loudoun County, VA, Board of Supervisors Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Fri, 20 May 2011 17:15:00 +0000

On June 6, Elizabeth Sellers, Manager – USGS Pollinator Project, will represent the group informally known as the “Bee Team” at a Loudoun County Board of Supervisors meeting. The meeting will be dedicated to recognizing the importance of pollinators (which include bees) as well as noting the state of Virginia’s declaration of National Pollinator Week (June 20-26). Ms. Sellers and the “Bee Team” are currently carrying out the Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve Bee Inventory. Objectives of the inventory include: (1) assess species diversity of this Loudoun County preserve; (2) evaluate the effectiveness of the sampling methodology; and (3) evaluate the feasibility of conducting this type of survey as a citizen science project. The survey was initiated in 2010 with help from Sam Droege of the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Native Bee Lab. The survey will be completed in October 2011.

(Photo: A male Agapostomen splendens: A bee of sandy areas also known as the "sweat bee." Photographer: Natalie Allen and Stephanie Kolski, U.S. Geological Survey)

Cactus Moth Detection and Monitoring Network Grows in Size

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:58:00 +0000

Cactus moth is best known as a biocontrol species used in Australia and Africa. It entered the United States in the early 1990s and now poses a serious ecological threat to all 63 native flat pad prickly pear cacti (Opuntia spp.) in North America. It is also an economic threat to Mexico, where prickly pear cacti are grown as a fresh vegetable and livestock feed. The cactus moth is spreading westward in the southern United States naturally at a rate of about 100 miles annually. Invasive Species Information Node (ISIN) partners at Mississippi State University (MSU) cooperating with U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have established a National Cactus Moth Early Detection and Monitoring Network with an online presence. Victor Maddox (MSU) spent more than two weeks in June and July mapping cactus moth (Cactoblastis cactorum) host plants between Los Angeles, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, and southern Louisiana.

(Photo: comparison between the native moth Melitara and Cactoblastis cactus moth. Courtesy of the National Cactus Moth Early Detection and Monitoring Network website; right: map displaying prickly pear locations and cactus Moth locations).

Invasive Species Information Node (ISIN) Partners at Mississippi State University Geosystems Research Institute, Study the Control of Invasive Parrotfeather (Myriophyllum aquaticum)

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Tue, 10 May 2011 17:24:00 +0000

Parrotfeather (Myriophyllum aquaticum) is an invasive aquatic plant in the United States that has become a popular plant in the water garden industry. Parrotfeather is often overlooked as a nuisance until sizable populations are present which have proven themselves to be difficult to control using a variety of management techniques. The USGS-NBII Program Invasive Species Information Node (ISIN) Partners at Mississippi State University Geosystems Research Institute John Madsen and his graduate student Ryan Wersal from Mississippi State University Geosystems Research Institute performed experiments which found that the most effective herbicides for parrotfeather control are diquat, 2,4-D, and triclopyr, with repeated applications. Their findings were published in the journal Invasive Plant Science and Management.

(Photo: Parrotfeather is a native of the Amazon River in South America, but it has naturalized worldwide, especially in warmer climates. In the United States, the plant is found throughout the southern United States and northward along both coasts.Courtesy of Washington State Department of Ecology, Non-native Invasive Freshwater Plants website).

USGS to Host Inter-Agency Scientific & Technical Information Managers Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Fri, 06 May 2011 19:42:00 +0000

On May 12, the USGS Biological Informatics Program, Core Science Systems Mission Area, will host a bimonthly meeting of the Inter-Agency Scientific and Technical Information (STI) Managers Group, CENDI. The meeting will take place in the Visitors' Center at USGS Headquarters in Reston, VA. CENDI consists of STI representatives from the major federal science agencies, the national libraries, and agencies involved in STI dissemination. CENDI members discuss common topics that stimulate more effective inter-agency cooperation. The morning session of the May 12 meeting will include a USGS Agency Showcase of information projects, as well as presentations from Data.gov, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development. Contact Annie Simpson for more information.

(Image: CENDI logo, from cendi.gov)

USGS Celebrates Earth Day 2011

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:55:00 +0000

Earth Day was conceived more than 40 years ago in the wake of the horrific Santa Barbara oil spill. On the one year anniversary of yet another major marine oil-spill disaster, it is important for us to remember why paying attention to our planet is so important. See what USGS Director Marcia McNutt has to say about how the USGS celebrates Earth Day every day: Studying What Matters: Director Marcia McNutt’s 2011 Earth Day Message

Vegetation Characterization Products Now Available for Bryce Canyon National Park

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 20:02:00 +0000

USGS-National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Characterization Program (VCP) documentation for Bryce Canyon National Park has been completed and is available on the VCP Web site. Bryce Canyon National Park products include aerial photography - graphic of orthophoto mosaic, spatial orthophoto data, and flightline index; project report - photointerpretation key, vegetation descriptions, vegetation key, photos of map class, and accuracy assessment; field data - graphic of field plots, field database, physical descriptive for plots, species list for plots, and plot and AA photos; geospatial vegetation information - graphic of vegetation communities and geodatabase; accuracy assessment information - graphic of accuracy assessment points, and contingency matrix; metadata, and a link to NPS information about Bryce Canyon National Park. The goal of the VCP is to classify and map the vegetation communities of National Parks that have a natural resource component. Complete documentation is currently available for one hundred nine park units and two U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuge units. The VCP is managed by the USGS Center for Biological Informatics in cooperation with the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The USGS Vegetation Characterization effort includes the management and upkeep of the VCP protocols, Web-based access to the standards, and the Web-based access to NPS Vegetation Characterization program finished products.

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

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:31:00 +0000

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.

WDIN To Demo Citizen Science Application

noreply@blogger.com (NBII) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 18:31:00 +0000

The USGS-National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) Wildlife Disease Information Node (WDIN) will host a Science Station at the upcoming University of Wisconsin Madison Science Expeditions event at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery on Saturday, April 2, 2011. The WDIN Science Station will demonstrate the citizen science application, the Wildlife Health Event Reporter (WHER), and give the WDIN an opportunity to engage the general public on the importance of efforts to track and report wildlife morbidity or mortality events during their everyday activities. (For more information, contact Josh Dein, UW Madison, Wildlife Disease Information Node).