Title: US data sharing reveals new pathways for risk analysis
The USA's National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is a broad, collaborative program to provide increased access to data and information on the USA's biological resources. The NBII links diverse, high-quality biological databases, information products, and analytical tools maintained by NBII partners and other contributors in government agencies, academic institutions, non-government organisations, and private industry. This data sharing can reveal new pathways for risk analysis. For example, the NBII's Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Program (NAS) recently responded to two requests for information last week. One request was from The Nature Conservancy who wanted to know what invasive species are in rivers in the northeast where dams are being considered for removal. They wanted to know what species may move upstream or downstream if the barrier is removed. This risk is being used as one of the criteria in considering dam removal.
The second request was from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. They reported that throughout Pennsylvania, natural gas companies are withdrawing millions of gallons of water from surface waters to use in hydrofracturing gas wells in the Marcellus Shale Formation. They are concerned that the equipment being moved from other states to Pennsylvania and among watersheds in the Commonwealth are coming into contact with invasive species and are acting as a new vector. They want to be able to enact restrictions on which waters can be used in this operation and areas where equipment needs to be disinfected. (Contact: Pam Fuller, USGS-Gainesville, 352-264-3481, pfuller@usgs.gov)
Article: wra4476 (permalink) Date: 16 November 2009; 12:12:05 PM AEDT