Mosquitoes Distribution Map

The following new database has been added:

The Mosquitoes of Ireland.    This contains 253  records of 18 species of mosquitoe recorded in Ireland between 1823 and 1991.

The following databases have been updated to include new data:

Bees of Ireland
Central Fisheries Board data on freshwater fish in Irish lakes
National Invasive Species Database

The National Biodiversity Data Centre is pleased to announce that it is one of nine data centres worldwide who have been awarded grants by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) for development work to assist the automatic flow of data between the Data Centre and GBIF network.

The recipients are:

• National Biodiversity Data Centre, Ireland

• Finnish Museum of Natural History, Finland

• DanBIF, Denmark

• ETI BioInformatics / NLBIF, Netherlands

• Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment, Austria

• Ocean Biogeographic Information System, USA

• Secrétariat Permanent du Conseil National pour l’Environnement et le Développement Durable, Burkina Faso

• Instituto de Investigaciones Ambientales del Pacifico, Colombia

• Endangered Wildlife Trust, South Africa

The work done as part of this GBIF initiative is a major step in linking biodiversity metadata catalogues from around the world to build a truly integrated global biodiversity data network. Being one of nine centres involved in the first tranche of this initiative will ensure that the Data Centre and Ireland will be to the forefront of developments on global biodiversity informatics.

The National Biodiversity Data Centre is the national node of GBIF – the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. More information on GBIF is available from their web site at http://www.gbif.org/.

]]> http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/data-centre-to-the-forefront-on-building-global-data-network/feed/ 0 http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/annual-meeting-of-irish-freshwater-biologists/ http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/annual-meeting-of-irish-freshwater-biologists/#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:26:01 +0000 llysaght http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/?p=878 When: Friday, 12^th of March 2010

Where: School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin

Organising committee: Pascal Sweeney (Sweeney Consultancy), Dr. Mary Kelly-Quinn (UCD), Dr. Ken Irvine (TCD), Dr. Eugenie Regan (National Biodiversity Data Centre), Maria Walsh (National Biodiversity Data Centre)

A recommendation of the National Biodiversity Data Centre’s Recorders’ Event 2009 was the reinstatement of the annual meeting of Irish freshwater biologists. The first reinstated meeting will focus on ‘Building Irish taxonomic expertise’ and will also be an opportunity to get an overview of freshwater research currently taking place in Ireland from various institutes.

The closing date for registration will be Friday 12^th of February.  Bookings to info@biodiversityireland.ie. There will be a €15 fee to cover lunch and refreshments.

Please see programme for further information. Freshwater Biologists Meeting 12 03 2010 Programme

The Environmental Protection  Agency has published a Biodiversity Action Plan to coincide with World Wetland Day on 2 February. It is the first State Agency in Ireland to produce its own Biodiversity Action Plan to mark International Year of Biodiversity 2010.

The Biodiversity Action Plan presents a clear plan for the      implementation of the EPA’s role in the protection of biodiversity. In particular, this relates to its work on monitoring, research, assessment and reporting, environmental regulation, climate change and management and communications.

The Plan sets out specific actions that will be undertaken by the EPA, working in collaboration with its key partners, to assist in the conservation of Ireland’s biological diversity. The production of this Action Plan should make a significant contribution to highlighting the importance of biodiversity for public policy during International Year of Biodiversity 2010.

The report can be downloaded from the EPA’s website at http://www.epa.ie/.

Please see our brochure for further information Workshops 2010

The website is a national resource presenting data and information on all aspects of Ireland’s rich biological diversity.  It also serves as a link between our expanding knowledge base and the need to provide high quality information to improve decision-making.

Some of the main features of the website include:

• Easy access to 1.07 million observations of Ireland’s wildlife,
• Provisional distribution maps of 8,545 Irish species, presented on a national GIS mapping system Biodiversity Maps http://maps.biodiversityireland.ie/
• An online submission form to enable observers submit sightings of Ireland’s wildlife to the National Biodiversity Database;
• An internet data portal linking the Data Centre with the other key national sighting schemes,
• A latest news feature to highlight any new developments in wildlife recording and surveying in Ireland,
• The Centre’s calendar of events for 2010,
• An on-line library of digital images of some of Ireland’s species freely available to download for use in publications, presentations and other uses.

Photo credit: Jim Mitchell/ISSG Global Invasive Species Database, USDA

As the environment has greatly changed since the Wild Boar became extinct they would now be considered an invasive/pest species and it is illegal to release them to the ‘wild’. Visit the National Invasive Species Database website for all species alerts http://invasivespecies.biodiversityireland.ie

Ireland’s non-marine mollusc fauna is of international importance. There are 150 species in Ireland, ten of which have most of their global populations in Ireland. This Red List is an important document in assessing the conservation status of our fauna and providing a guideline for future conservation work. For the full publication, see Red List.

Common Snapper (Chelydra serpentina)

Common Snapper (Chelydra serpentina)

Photographs of Chelydra serpentina in River Dodder (Photos by Fintan Ryan)