Figure 4. The fish and wildlife species information is retrieved by computer in a cross- 

 index manner to facilitate aggregation of information to aid in planning and 

 management decisions. 



how changes in habitats affect species distribution, abundance, and diversity. They 

 will be able to simulate, a priori, the impacts of alternative land use and management 

 decisions on an entire animal community. Research organizations will be able to 

 identify major gaps in the state of knowledge of specific animals or groups of animals. 

 Additional applications will include: providing baseline data for environmental 

 impact assessments, land use planning, and species inventories; mining and water 

 permit preparation and evaluation; and environmental education and extension 

 summaries. Species data bases will be coupled with geographic information systems 

 and other computer graphics packages to generate species distribution maps, 

 diversity indices maps, and the like. 



During the 1980s, fish and wildlife species data bases will be used to enhance our 

 knowledge and expertise in ecological analyses such as food webs and ecosystem 

 effects due to changing land use practices. Site-specific management objectives for 

 fish and wildlife will be aided by the use of both computerized species data bases and 

 graphic capabilities. The next decade we should see the development of more 

 advanced, efficient data bases and information systems that will expedite our natural 

 resource planning and management functions. 



To facilitate data exchange and cost-effectiveness, we need to concentrate efforts 

 during the 1980s on coordinating state and federal efforts to establish data bases, 

 standardize data element classifications, definitions, and habitat classification 

 schemes used in data bases, and to evaluate and updafe existing systems. These are 

 some of the exciting challenges of the next decade. 



44 



