produced by
with support from
Brookfield Zoo
International Species Information System
Riverbanks Zoological Park and Botanical Gardens
Toledo Zoological Gardens
American Zoo and Aquarium Association
Phoenix Zoo
John Ball Zoological Garden
St. Louis Zoological Park
project support to Lincoln Park Zoo from
an Institute of Museum Services Conservation
Project Support Grant (#IC-50044)
the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
United Airlines
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Thanks to those who assisted in the preparation of this document:
Robert Lacy, Ph.D., Brookfield Zoo
Nate Flesness, international Species Information System
Steph Porter, International Species Information System
Paul Scobie, international Species Information System
R. Andrew Odum, Toledo Zoological Gardens
Bruce Bohmke, Phoenix Zoo
Alan Shoemaker, Riverbanks Zoo/ogical Park and Botanical
Garden
John Lewis, John Ball Zoological Garden
Bruce Carr, Ph.D., St. Louis Zoological Park
Robert Wiese, Ph.D., American Zoo and Aquarium Association
Kevin Willis, American Zoo and Aquarium Association
Ginny Turner-Erfort, Lincoln Park Zoo
Project Leaders
Steven D, Thompson, Ph.D., Lincoln Park
Zoo
Joanne Earnhardt, Lincoln Perk Zoo
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Zoos and aquariums offer their various constituencies a unique opportunity to observe and appreciate the behavior arid biology of wild animals. For many visitors, it is their only opportunity to observe and compare a diverse array of living organisms; for researchers and educators, zoos and aquariums offer unique opportunities for controlled scientific study and science education. Zoo and aquarium animal populations also contribute to conservation efforts through reintroduction programs, conservation research, and as ambassadors on behalf of natural habitats; Unfortunately, the number of species that is extinct, or, nearly extinct, in the wild increases every clay Many of these species will soon, or already do, exist only in captive breeding fealties, for these species, zoos and aquariums are the last bastions against extinction.
Development and maintenance of self-sustaining animal populations are essential to the realization of institutional and regional goals, Few institutions have the space to house self-sustaining populations of vertebrates so there is great reliance on cooperative breeding and, management programs, such as the American Zoo and Aquarium Association's Species Survival Plans (SSP©) These cooperative programs provide the resources necessary to develop and maintain self-sustaining populations. Scientifically sound genetic and demographic management is essential to the development and maintenance of self-sustaining captive populations; this scientific approach to management underlies most cooperative, and many institutional, management programs. Cooperative programs, such as SSP©s, must have accurate and reliable databases from which to formulate scientific management plans.
This document is designed to promote standardization of studbook databases used to manage those species that are most threatened, endangered, and important to zoos and aquariums -
Steven D. Thompson
5 May 1996
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Forward - i
Table of Contents - ii
Introduction - 1
Why Studbooks? - 1
Why Guidelines for Studbooks? - 1
How To Use This Manual - 3
COMMON PROBLEMS DURING DATA ENTRY
SPARKS and Other Software - 4
GENES - 5
DEMOG - 5
Data Quality in SPARKS - 6
Why Use Data Quality Regularly? - 6
What Is A Studbook? - 7
What Is A Studbook Keeper? - 8
How To Apply For A Studbook - 10
How To Start A Studbook - 11
Data Acquisition and Verification - 11
Data Coliation and Compilation - 13
Publication - 13
Subsequent Editions of the Studbook - 15
What Data Are Included in a Studbook? - 16
Taxonomic Scope - 16
Geographic Scope - 17
Temporal Scope - 17
Institutional Scope - 18
Assumptions and Conventions - 19
Analytical Studbooks - 20
Hypothetical Ancestors - 21
How Studbooks Are Used - 22
Population Management - 22
Legal - 24
Scientific - 24
How Subsets of a Studbook Are Selected - 26
Views for Reports - 26
Views for Export of Data to GENES - 26
Views for Export of Data to DEMOG - 28
Ownership - 29
What To Do With A SPARKS Dataset From ISIS - 30
ISIS Data Collection - 30
ISIS Database Structure - 30
ISIS Reports - 31
ISIS Data Quality - 31
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Recommended Uses of ISIS Data - 32
Resolving Data Conflicts - 34
What To Do When The Registrar, Curator, or ISIS Says "Unknown" - 36
What Does "Unknown' Mean? - 36
How To Resolve Data Reported As Unknown» - 36
When Is An Origin Truly Unknown? - 39
Why Use Species Notes? - 40
DATA ENTRY USING SPARKS 1 - 4
How To Enter A Studbook Number - 41
How To Enter A Wild-Bom Specimen - 43
How To Enter A Captive-Born Specimen - 47
How To Enter A Specimen of Unknown Origin - 49
How To Enter Sex of A Specimen - 51
How to Enter Birth Date - 52
Estimated Birth Dates - 52
How To Enter Dam And Sire - 55
Dam and Sire Known - 55
Wild-Caught Specimens - 55
Dam and/or Sire Are Uncertain - 55
Dam and Sire Are Unknown - 56
Dam and Sire Are Almost Known - 57
How To Enter Rearing Type - 60
How To Enter Events (Transactions) - 62
Management Plans - 63
Social In and Out - 64
Thefts and Escapes - 64
How To Enter Location - 65
How To Enter Local ID - 67
General Procedure - 67
Out-of-the-Ordinary Procedure - 67
How To Enter Ownership - 68
General Procedure - 68
Out-of-the-Ordinary Procedure - 68
How To Enter Event {Transaction) and Removal Dates - 69
How to Estimate Dates - 70
The Sequence of Transactions - 71
Removal Dates - 71
How to Estimate Death Dates - 72
How To Enter Specimens As Lost-To-Follow-Up - 74
How To Enter Birth Type - 77
How To Enter Special Data - 79
How To Create and Use User Defined Fields (UDFs) - 80
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ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE AND ERROR MESSAGES
Who To Call For Help - 82
List of SPARKS Data Validation Error Codes - 84
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