NatureServe Canada is a network of conservation data centres across Canada that work to collect, manage, analyze, and share biodiversity information. This information is used to support conservation action and decision making. The network develops and applies consistent scientific methods and standards to aggregate biodiversity data on a national level. This includes information on over 48,000 species elements and 100,000 element occurrences. NatureServe Canada data is valuable for activities like species assessments, identification of critical habitat under SARA, and to inform natural resource management decisions.

1. Providing the
scientific basis
for effective
conservation
action
An Introduction to NatureServe
Canada
Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity January 20th.. 2013
Doug Hyde
Hans Herrmann
Monday, 25 March, 13

2. Who We Are
NatureServe Canada is a network of
conservation data centres and natural
heritage programs across the country
‣Experts committed to a consistent set of
science-based methods and standards
‣These support the collection, processing
and sharing of biodiversity information
‣This information supports conservation NatureServe Canada
supports international
action vegetation classification
standards.
Monday, 25 March, 13

3. Nine conservation data centres (CDCs)
NatureServe • Atlantic Canada CDC (PEI, NS, NB and
Newfoundland and Labrador)
Canada • Centre de données sur le patrimoine
naturel du Québec
• Ontario Natural Heritage Information
Centre
• Manitoba CDC
• Saskatchewan CDC
• Alberta CIMS
• British Columbia CDC
• Yukon CDC
• NWT CDC
Invest $6 million annually
Standards and consistent methods
Data aggregated on a national basis
Membership expanding
Monday, 25 March, 13

4. Mission and Goals
GOAL 2
GOAL 1 Build Conservation
Advance Scientific Capacity
Understanding
Providing the
scientific basis
for effective
conservation
action
GOAL 3
Inform Natural Resource
Decisions
Monday, 25 March, 13

5. Conservation Data
Centre Activities
‣ Coordinate and conduct field surveys and
inventories for rare and threatened species and
ecological communities
‣ Collect, manage, analyze and distribute detailed
locality and status data
‣ Some programs directly manage natural areas
information, invasive alien species information
‣ Act as primary data custodians
‣ Provide data access at provincial/territorial
level
‣ Support environmental reviews, assessments
(COSEWIC and General Status) and planning
Monday, 25 March, 13

6. How does NatureServe Canada
add value?
Monday, 25 March, 13

7. Develop and consistently
apply methods and standards
‣ Science-based methods and standards allow
data to aggregated, compared and shared
‣ Standardized “elements” - based on
common taxonomy (species, ecological)
‣ Standardized “occurrences” - based on
processing of primary observational data
‣ Standardized “ranks” - based on
assessments using consistent criteria
‣ The only comprehensive national database on
species at risk in Canada
‣ Access to primary data is fundamental to
NatureServe and the CDCs
Monday, 25 March, 13

8. Natural Heritage
Methodology
Monday, 25 March, 13

9. NatureServe’s Business
Processes and Tools
Monday, 25 March, 13

10. NatureServe’s Business
Processes and Tools
Monday, 25 March, 13

11. NatureServe’s Business
Processes and Tools
Refine Core Promote Conduct data Identify user Connect
Heritage Observational processing needs, build Apply data to zoologists,
Methods; Data steps, data web and modelling, and botanists,
Conduct Standards; enhancements other other multi- ecologists,
Natural Develop data and information variate data
Heritage sharing apply mapping sharing analysis managers,
Training agreements standards services developers
Monday, 25 March, 13

12. NatureServe’s Business
Processes and Tools
Refine Core Promote Conduct data Identify user Connect
Heritage Observational processing needs, build Apply data to zoologists,
Methods; Data steps, data web and modelling, and botanists,
Conduct Standards; enhancements other other multi- ecologists,
Natural Develop data and information variate data
Heritage sharing apply mapping sharing analysis managers,
Training agreements standards services developers
Monday, 25 March, 13

13. NatureServe’s Business
Processes and Tools
Kestrel Biotics Explorer Vista
Hand Web Land-
Taxi Services
Held Scope
Monday, 25 March, 13

14. Resources & Tools
Monday, 25 March, 13

15. Monday, 25 March, 13

16. Tracker
Supports tabular data management, including efforts to rank
elements, occurrences
Mapper
Supports basic digital mapping, spatial analyses, and data
visualization
Exchanger
Supports data exchange efforts, and will be enhanced
through the development of Taxi, a system to manage
taxonomic information
Monday, 25 March, 13

17. Kestrel - Observational
Data Management System
Monday, 25 March, 13

18. Kestrel - Observational
Data Management System
Monday, 25 March, 13

19. Our Focus
‣ Add value to “primary” source data
(observations)
‣ Access directly and through
partnerships
‣ Review quality and process data
into “element occurrences” (EOs)
‣ Update ranks, and inform a range of
decisions that affect conservation
‣The processing into EO’s,
promotes data access and sharing
Monday, 25 March, 13

20. How much data do we
have?
‣ Canadian dataset includes more than
48,000 elements (species) and 1,500
elements (communities), including all
COSEWIC-assessed species
‣ Of these, 10,500 are actively tracked
‣ Approximately 100,000 EOs
nationally
‣ Adding new data each year
Monday, 25 March, 13

21. What is the value of NatureServe
data?
Monday, 25 March, 13

22. Types of data
Taxonomy
Element occurrences
Ranks
Monday, 25 March, 13

23. Taxonomy
NatureServe Canada not focused on creating taxonomy
Consumer of taxonomic information (list of elements)
Aims to compare and reconcile taxonomic differences
Act as a facilitator of common taxonomy within the
network
Taxonomic data and expertise used to inform
Species assessments (General Status WG,
COSEWIC)
Data exchange
Other networks (VasCan, ITIS)
Monday, 25 March, 13

24. Value in context of SARA
implementation
Monday, 25 March, 13

25. Value in context of SARA
implementation
‣ SARA requires ‣ The value of an EO
‣ an identification of the ‣ A basic unit of information to
species’ critical habitat, to the identify critical habitat, to be
extent possible, based on the complemented by knowledge
best available information, of the biology of a species,
including the information e.g. an assessment report or
provided by COSEWIC recovery planner
‣ a schedule of studies to ‣ Where this basic unit of
identify critical habitat, where information is not in place or
available information is is incomplete, survey and
inadequate inventory work needed
Monday, 25 March, 13

26. Value in context of SARA
implementation
‣ SARA requires ‣ The value of an EO
‣ an identification of the ‣ A basic unit of information to
species’ critical habitat, to the identify critical habitat, to be
extent possible, based on thenetwork (all provincesby knowledge
The NatureServe Canada complemented and one
territory) collects and manages EO’s the a consistentspecies,
best available information, of on biology of a basis,
includingcovering 85% of the species listed in SARA report or
the information e.g. an assessment
provided by COSEWIC recovery planner
‣ a schedule of studies to ‣ Where this basic unit of
identify critical habitat, where information is not in place or
available information is is incomplete, survey and
inadequate inventory work needed
Monday, 25 March, 13

27. Example
Identifying regulatory habitat
Monday, 25 March, 13

28. A process for protecting
habitat based on EOs
EO
Species Habitat Buffered Species
(unrefined,
Habitat
refined) Regulatory
Species Habitat Mapping
Habitat Guidelines
Guidelines
Clipped Species
Habitat
Monday, 25 March, 13

29. ‣Habitat ‣ Needed for every listed species
‣ Must include at least one EO
(refined)
Guidelines? ‣ Should not be based on historic
observational records (>25 years
old)
‣ Reflect a specific understanding of
the biology of the species, in
particular dissemination patterns/
behaviour
‣ Do not include habitat areas with
poor habitat quality and context (i.e.
dense development)
‣ Habitat of certain listed species may
not be best addressed through
regulation (eg. Peregrine falcon)
‣ In Canada, connected to vegetation
classification efforts
Monday, 25 March, 13

30. Integrated Conservation
Planning
‣ Having spatially defined habitats
in a single system allows for
integrated planning - taking
action for multiple species
‣ Protect habitats for multiple
species simultaneously
‣ Focus also on controlling key Assisting to find lands of high
activities likely to affect these conservation priority
habitats, these species
‣ Refined EO basis for identifying
individual species habitats
Monday, 25 March, 13

31. NatureServe Ranks
‣ Use a suite of factors to assess the
extinction or extirpation risk
‣ Rarity (6 factors)
‣ Trends (2 factors)
‣ Threats (2 factors)
‣ NatureServe Canada develops S-
ranks (provincial ranks), N-ranks
(national ranks) and some G-ranks
(for endemics and some cross-
boundary species)
Monday, 25 March, 13

32. Who is using network data and
how?
Monday, 25 March, 13

33. NatureServe Canada data
requests
‣BC CDC tracks
Total Data Requests
Consultants
Government
Academic
client requests ~
ENGO
Public
Industry
900 per year
Press
USA
CAN
Requests: Government Breakdown
‣Response time from
Int
Unknown
6.5 to 2.7 days since
Gov't Local 2004
‣Time to process
Requests: Consultant Breakdown Gov't Provincial
Gov't Federal
First Nations
requests from 0.5
Consultant - Industry
Consultant - Gov't
hours in 2004 to
Consultant - ENGO
Consultant - unknown
0.25 hours in 2008
Consultant - Gov't Federal
Consultant - First Nations
Consultant - Gov't Local
Consultant - Gov't Provincial
Monday, 25 March, 13

34. How is our data being used?
‣ Assessment and conservation ‣ Program planning
‣ General Status program ‣ HSP
‣ COSEWIC ‣ Provincial Naturalists
‣ National Ranking Scheme ‣ Land use planning and
environmental assessment
‣ Recovery Teams/RENEW
(Sage Grouse) ‣ Suncor
‣ Agency planning and ‣ BC Hydro, Manitoba Hydro
implementation ‣ Many other
‣ PCA, CWS ‣ Property management
‣ NRCan ‣ NRC
‣ CFIA ‣ NCC
‣ These partners and many ‣ No one else in Canada offers
more contribute data this data
Monday, 25 March, 13

35. What is the status of biodiversity
data in Canada?
Monday, 25 March, 13

36. Canada’s Biodiversity Fragmented,
Data Deficit Well Inaccessible,
Documented Incomplete
Gaps in key areas of Canada,
for many species/ecosystems
More records are accessible
from institutions outside
Canada about Canada than
from Canada
Cost of data access has been
higher than acquisition of new
data
Data can be of suspect
quality; taxonomic capacity
eroded, reference collections
need investment
Monday, 25 March, 13

37. Monday, 25 March, 13

38. NatureServe Data:
Taxonomic Gaps
Identification difficult, field work inaccurate,
traditional taxonomic capacity eroding in time
Monday, 25 March, 13

39. Data are not effective in
supporting decision making
Example: Environmental Assessment
Implication? 3500 federal screenings per year.
The costs of obtaining data generally
outweigh the benefits to decision
making.
Adaptations?
Sufficing:
• Aggregate trusted data in the time
available - hit known focal points
Do it yourself data
• Reinforces fragmentation
• Solves short term problem,
introduces new issues
• Accuracy of identification
• Parataxonomy
Monday, 25 March, 13

40. How can we improve access to
biodiversity data?
Monday, 25 March, 13

41. A Vision: National institute
for biodiversity data
True cooperation:
Ensures access, catalyzes programs and
funds efforts at a national scale
Lean & efficient:
Enhances flow of data from critical
sectors and data providers
Cost effective:
Shared systems and services to
support individual efforts, allow broad
scale queries of data
Measurable and verifiable:
Evaluated and recognized as meeting
national need, avoid “whose data”
HAS TO BE UNIQUELY CANADIAN
Monday, 25 March, 13

42. - Join fragmented efforts (FBIP,
NatureServe, Canadensys, BSC, CMoN,
CWS, DFO, BIO...)
Focus? - Promote a Canadian
biodiversity data standards (based
on DwC), creates spatial data products
(range maps, predictive maps...)
- Build on and invest in Canadian
innovations (DNA Barcoding, +) to
rapidly address data gaps
- Set priorities every 3 years for a
national biological survey, based on (1) an
understanding of demand, (2) a synthesis
of existing data (identification of gaps);
updates the dynamic layer
- Ensure data is accessible to
conservation data centres (regulators),
researchers, land use planners, private
companies...
- Produce reports based on expert
input to address issues of the day
Monday, 25 March, 13