Contact David Bowne (drb9d@virginia.edu) for further information.

24 September 1997

This tutorial is intended to be a guide for data entry into the VCR-LTER biodiversity database. It gives step by step instructions on how to enter data for a previously undocumented organism and for adding additional observations and data for documented organisms. As this database is based on the observation of a particular organism, let us begin by determining if the organism is within the database.

1. Determine if your organism is in the database. There are two ways to do this. Instructions in outline heading 1.A allow you to both determine if the organism is registered and to access all of the observations of that organism. The method from outline heading 1.B informs you if the species is registered but does not show observations.
1. Click on the link entitled PROTOTYPE BIODIVERSITY DATABASE. This brings you to the database. Scroll down to global searches in which you can search for an organism by type, family, species, genus, and common name. I recommend searching by genus, it is less error prone than common name.
1. Click on or scroll down to by genus. Scroll through the genera listings for your organism.
1. If you find the correct genera, highlight it then click on SUBMIT GENUS QUERY. This opens a table of all species within that genera. If your organism is in the table, write down and then click on its species ID. This brings you to the complete database record for that organism. Check to see if your reference has already been entered in the Observations table. If your observation has not been entered, you are ready to go to PROTOTYPE DIVERSITY DATABASE - ADD DATA, on the biodiversity home page. (Outline heading 2)
2. If you cannot find the correct genera, then you have discovered an undocumented genus. Go to the PROTOTYPE DIVERSITY DATABASE - ADD DATA, on the biodiversity home page (Outline heading 2).

If you find your species, it is still a good idea to check the database for your particular observation (outline heading 1.A).

1. Entering data into the database. Before any information can be inputted for an observation, the species ID code and a location code must be registered in the database.
1. Entering a new species or a new location into the database. Click on PROTOTYPE DIVERSITY DATABASE - ADD DATA on the biodiversity home page. When prompted, input the username "biod" and the password "mycritters". Then enter your email address, read the user notes, and then click on EDIT OR ADD TAXA AND OBSERVATIONS. A page appears with a taxa table and a location table.
1. If you established that your species is not in the database, click ADD NEW SPECIES. This opens the insert entry page. Create a species ID code for your organism by using the first letter and next two consonants of the genus and the first letter and next two consonants of the genus. If three consonants are not available, you may use the vowels present. Examples: Lespedeza bicolor becomes LSPBCL; Homo sapiens becomes HMOSPN; Rosa multiflora becomes RSAMLT; Asimina tetramer becomes ASMTTR. The species ID must be CAPITALIZED or else the alphabetical order is adversely affected. Enter the remaining fields in the following manner: type: enter from the choices given; order, genus, family, and common name: capitalize first letter of first word only; and species: use all lower-case letters. Failure to follow these instructions will also cause the alphabetical order to be wrong and thus compromise the integrity of the database. Enter the authority and an URL for a picture if applicable. Click on SUBMIT.
2. If you established that your location is not in the database (by searching the location ID codes and the supplied listing of each location's full name), click ADD NEW LOCATION. Follow the instructions on the location insert entry page. Here again, the location code must be in capital letters. The coordinates are the upper left and lower right coordinates for an imaginary bounding box. To get the coordinates, consult the Virginia Geographical Names Information Service (Virginia GNIS), to which there is a link from the VCRLTER homepage. If known, enter the habitat type, location description, and a URL. When finished click on SUBMIT.
3. After the species ID and location code have been registered, the database is ready to receive detailed information about the species.

1. Adding additional information on a organism. Click on PROTOTYPE DIVERSITY DATABASE - ADD DATA to get to the main menu.
1. To add information for a particular organism, highlight its species ID code and click on EDIT SELECTED SPECIES. On this page you can EDIT BASIC DATA (family name, common name, authority, etc.), ADD WWW LINK (if you find interesting information on the Web), or can edit/enter information on PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION, BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS, NATURAL HISTORY, HABITAT, and ECONOMIC USES AND HUMAN INTERACTIONS. Click on the INSTRUCTIONS link to obtain more detailed instructions on completing this section. This section is the "meat" of the database. Try to fill in all fields as completely as possible. When finished, press SUBMIT.
2. To add information on a location, highlight the location ID code and click on EDIT SELECTED LOCATION. The format is the same as the above form for editing species information. Again, click the INSTRUCTIONS link for more detailed information.
3. To add information for a new observation for an already documented species, click on ADD NEW OBSERVATION. Then highlight the species ID and location ID. Next fill out the citation and observer fields as described by the example on the page. For the observation data (obs_date), do not state the year the paper was published. The actual observation was probably several years prior. Use the year that the authors state in the Material and Methods section or if that is not included, put the year the paper was submitted (usually found at the end of the paper). Finally, fill out the habitat and abundance fields as indicated. Then press SUBMIT.
4. Observations can be edited by clicking on EDIT EXISTING OBSERVATIONS. To edit an observation, you must know the species ID and location ID.