STRUCTURE
OF THE CARINET BIOSYSTEMATIC INFORMATION NETWORK
For sometime now CARINET
has been trying to design and develop a database that would be both reliable
and user friendly in providing identification of arthropods,
microorganisms, nemas,
non-vascular and vascular
plants. In recognition of the needs of the CARINET database several
taxonomic software packages were tested. Finally the Ecoport system was
adopted. |
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What is EcoPort?
EcoPort is a relatively
new computer system developed by FAO,
Smithsonian
Institute and The
University of Florida. It is designed for biosystematic programmes
and offers a flexible and reliable format to store and share scientific
information as a whole ecosystem.
Click
here to see EcoPort definition.
Why EcoPort?
EcoPort apart from being
a complete datafile system also "hosts the webpages of several strategic
partners, who wish to:
(i) manage the data that interest them as a virtual database witin EcoPort;
and,
(ii) who want to avail themselves of EcoPort as a conventional Internet
Service Provider (ISP).
As ISP, EcoPort hosts
websites/pages for partners while simultaneously making available the standard
format and capabilities of the EcoPort database engine and suite of Internet
technologies."(T.
Putter, EcoPort Supervisor)
What are the
Caribbean Taxonomic needs?
The main taxonomic needs
in of wider Caribbean were identified in the user survey undertaken in
1996. It was decided that a website should be constructed, and that multiple
relational databases and files are required to effectively organise the
information, rather than a single database. All databases would be organized
on a computer network and made available on Internet via linkage to the
web page. Three databases were identified as major components of the system
namely:
Species
Database:
A complete record of each
species is stored as a file called Entity
and this would include the Name, Authority, Clasification, Description,
Morphology, Ecology, Distribution, Management and other information such
as the location for each museum collection in the CARINET system.
Directory
of Experts Database:
Ecoport has included a record
for each expert in the various taxonomic areas as well as in all other
areas of Ecology. Each data and knowledge volunteer contributer is referrred
to as the Editor
and has the privilege of being the author of the entities
in his or her specialisation and is at liberty as well to update his or
her own Expert record.
The data in the Expert database
is linked to the Entities of work and to the Institution to which the Expert
is affiliated.
Plant
Health and other Institutions Database:
This database included a
list of records of institutions related to the areas to plant health in
the Caribbean as well as other institutions involved in taxonomy and ecology.
Here we will refer to them as Contact
EcoPort
as an online filling cabinet
stored much more interesting information. This other information is also
available in this Webpage and could be accessed using the EcoPort Logo
at the front page.

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