Message from Integrated Taxonomic Information System Tea

[Gladys Cotter]

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)  <www.itis.usda.gov/itis>
team appreciates the comments and critiques provided in the recent exchanges
on TAXACOM about the project and the proposal before the Federal Geographic
Data Committee (FGDC)to develop a biological nomenclature and taxonomy data
standard.  We view ITIS as an ongoing partnership between the taxonomic
community and users of taxonomic information and encourage you to consider
joining the participants listed at the end of this message.  If you would
like to respond to the FGDC about the proposal to establish the standard,
please direct your comments to: gdc-taxpro at www.fgdc.gov.

The ITIS project grew out of a need to coordinate and reconcile many
different U.S. government species databases each of which had their own
coding and classification schemes.  The situation existed where one agency
had data on a particular insect species, and another agency had data on the
same species, but it was impossible to share and compare data because each
agency was using a different scientific name for the same species.  To
document biological data sets and to be able to locate, retrieve, share and
combine data sets through an integrated network, it is necessary to have a
standard reference for the species names.

The goal of ITIS is to provide a single, easily-accessible, source for
current nomenclature.  A consensus view of scientifically credible and
valid nomenclature facilitates the management and exchange of information
about organisms.  The project has enhanced coordination, saved money, eased
data collection, simplified data exchange, and encouraged partnerships
among natural resource managers, conservationists, and the systematics
community.  ITIS not only is a valuable information resource, but also it
serves the systematics community by providing scientifically credible
information to applied and general users in a timely and efficient manner.

The ITIS database includes scientific and vernacular names, a statement about
the current acceptability of each name, its authority(s) and source
information, and an indication of global distributions.  Among its other
attributes, the ITIS model retains paths to older, invalid names and synonyms
and adheres to the international codes of botanical and zoological
nomenclature. Perhaps its most significant feature is the opportunity that
ITIS provides the user to communicate directly with the individuals
responsible for maintaining the database and its content.  Corrections,
additions, updates, and comments can be submitted by anyone and are reviewed
for incorporation into the database.

Taxonomists are now and will continue to be involved in ITIS. We are not
attempting to impose a single view of the biota.  Rather, we are
recommending a list of names as an entry point for automation and exchange
among biological databases.  There is a long history of scientific
societies forming committees to produce standardized checklists of taxa.
For example the American Ornithological Union (AOU) produces a bird
checklist, the American Fisheries Society (AFS) with the American Society
of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists committee on fish names produces a
list of common and scientific names of fishes from the U.S. and Canada (now
in its 5th edition, 6th in preparation), the U.S. herpetological societies
have a joint committee on amphibian and reptile names, the American Society
of Mammalogists published the mammals of the world, and the AFS also has
published lists of mollusc and crustacean names with guidance from the
respective societies, etc.

ITIS does not develop standards of taxonomy or acceptable nomenclatures; the
nomenclatural codes and the community of taxonomists do that. Rather,
project staff work with systematists to ensure that current taxonomic views
are incorporated into ITIS. Classifications evolve, and the ITIS database is
being continually updated as they do.  Peer review is and will continue to
be an integral part of this effort.

One positive outcome of the recent discussion on TAXACOM is the recognition
that the ITIS view is one among many views, and that strong evidence will
produce change.  As the project continues to evolve, we expect to present
multiple or competing taxonomies. The ITIS participants from the taxonomic
and computer communities currently are working to develop software capable
of handling multiple taxonomic views.

The ITIS database is being improved and as classifications and concepts
change, the data are updated to reflect the current thinking of
systematists.  The ITIS architecture also is evolving to accommodate
functions that currently are not part of the database, and we expect this
to continue.  Additionally, government, university, institutional, and
private cooperators are exploring additional ways to assist in the
development and dissemination of taxonomic information.  We hope that you
will agree that ease of access to current and credible taxonomic
information should speed acceptance.

We invite and encourage you to participate and thereby ensure that
scientific credibility, currency, and accuracy remain an integral part of
the ITIS effort.  Our goal of providing taxonomic information in an
understandable way to the broadest possible audience will only be
successful with your active cooperation. If you would like to contribute
your taxonomic expertise or become involved with other aspects of the ITIS
project, do not hesitate to contact us through the ITIS web site.  We look
forward to your participation.


For the ITIS Team,

Gladys Cotter
Acting ITIS Program Manager and
Assistant Chief Biologist for Informatics and Outreach
U.S. Geological Survey


Attachment:

Although incomplete, the following list of individuals and institutions are
actively participating in or providing data to the ITIS project.

American Fisheries Society: Molluscs of North America
Ross Arnett: Groups of Coleoptera not covered by others
Steve Ashe: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae
Richard Banks: Birds
Bill Barr: Cleridae
Richard Bejsak: Tenebrionidae
Chuck Bellamy: Buprestidae (with others)
Lois Blaine: Bacteria
Yves Bousquet: Carabidae (incl. Cicindelidae), Rhysodidae, Trachypachidae,
   Monotomidae
Allison Brigham: Algae
Harley P. Brown: aquatic Byrrhoidea (Dryopidae, Elmidae, and related groups)
Rick Brusca: Invertebrates
Malcolm Campbell: Lucanidae
David Carlson: Ochodaeidae and Glaphyridae
Don Chandler: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae, Anthicidae, and Aderidae
Linda Cole: Sea Squirts
Bruce Collette: Fishes
Bill Eschmeyer: Fishes
Art Evans: reviewing Scarabaeidae
Kristian Fauchald: Polychaetes
Bob Fogel: Fungi
Alfred Gardner: North American Mammals
Rosser Garrision: Dragonflies
Gene Gerberg: Bostrichidae/Lyctidae
Edmund Giesbert: Cerambycidae
Michael Goodrich: Erotylidae, Byturidae, and Biphyllidae
Gene Hall: Ptiliidae
Tom Henry: Insects
Dick Hoffman: Millipeds
Frank Hovore: Pleocomidae and Cerambycidae
Paul J. Johnson: Elateriformia, Artematopodidae, Byrrhidae, Cerophytidae,
       Elateridae, Eucnemidae, and Throscidae
Brian Kensley: Isopods
John Jackman: Mordellidae
John Kingsolver: Chrysomelidae and Bruchinae
Don Klemm: Leeches
Pat Kociolek: Freshwater North American Diatoms
Rich Leschen: Cryptophagidae and Languriidae; reviewing Staphylinidae and
  Scaphidiinae
Jonathan Mawdsley: Trogossitidae and part of Melyridae;reviewing Cleridae
Pat McCafferty: Mayflies
Roy McDiarmid: Amphibians, Reptiles
Joe McHugh: Sphindidae
John Morse: Caddisflies
Bill Moser: Leeches
Al Newton: Staphylinidae and Histeridae
Gordon Nishida: Hawaiian Coleoptera (all families)
Charles O'Brien: Curculionidae s. l. (Except Scolytinae and Platypodinae)
Sean O'Keefe: Scydmaenidae
Barry O'Conner: Mites and ticks
Stewart Peck: Leiodidae
Alan Peterson: Birds of the World
Scott Peterson: U.S. Plants
Darren Pollock: Tenebrionoidea, Melandryidae, Prostomidae, Synchroidae,
   Stenotrachelidae,Mycteridae, Boridae, Pythidae, Salpingidae, Polypria
Scott Redhead: Fungi
Ed Riley: (with others) Chrysomelidae (except Bruchinae), Megalopodidae,
    Orsodacnidae
Clyde Roper: Cephalopods
Amy Rossman: Fungi
Rob Roughley: Amphizoidae, Dytiscidae, Gyrinidae, Haliplidae, Noteridae
Klaus Ruetzler: Sponges
Marilyn Schotte: Isopods
Paul Scott: Molluscs
Rowland Shelley: Chilopoda
Bill Shepard: Dryopidae, Elmidae, and Mycetophagidae; reviewing Derodontidae
Paul Skelley: Erotylidae
Adam Slipinski: Passandridae, Bothrideridae, Cerylonidae, and Colydiidae
Charles Springer: Byturidae and Biphyllidae
Wayne Starnes: North American Fishes
Manya Stoetzel: Insects
Mike Sweeney: Cephalopods
Seth Tyler: Planarians
Margaret Thayer: Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Histeridae,and unclaimed subgroups
Chris Thompson: Diptera
Natalia Vandenberg: Coccinellidae
Mike Vecchione: Cephalopods
Bob Waltz: Ptiliidae
Suzanne Warwick: Canadian Plants
Mark Wetzel: Annelids
Austin Williams: Decapods
White Point BioMarine Lab: Sponges and Tunicates