Ecobase

EcoBase is a database system that assists with the storage of ecological data, and provides tools to assist with the importing, validation, and reporting and analysis of such data.

EcoBase was originally written for storing the results of Freshwater and Marine Ecology studies, and to be able to monitor the long term changes in the environments that those studies monitor.

These studies consist of having a number of monitoring sites, where samples are taken, and information recorded of what was contained within these samples.

The information collected includes the nature of the sites (habitat), the method used to take the samples, and the analytical results.  Results can be counts of the various species found in each sample, individual weight and size of species found, through to the pH of the water, temperature, substrate parameters such as grain size, Chl a levels, riparian vegetation, channel shade, bank stability, etc...

Because of the number of people involved with this process, EcoBase assists in the QA process by providing a sense of workspaces, in which data is loaded into, validated, and then put forward for publishing into an archive. Access control and auditing ensures that only verified information is published.