Table 4-1 1 . Information management requirements 



Time to Validate and Analyze Data 



Six-twelve months: Will be reduced with experience in the region and development of 

 automated check routines. 



Hardware and Software Requirements 



Hardware: High-end personal computer (PC) 



Capable of performing all calculations required for indicator development and 

 evaluation and resource population estimates. 



Measurement data files (species ID and abundance data) can become large; 

 sufficient storage capacity is required. 



Software: Data management 



• Relational database software useful, but not required 



• Spreadsheets can be used to perform calculations and manage data files, 

 but may be cumbersome 



Statistical analysis software, graphics software 



• SAS has been used to develop indicator in MAHA 

 Spreadsheet capable of computing basic statistics, regressions 

 Multivariate analyses can be beneficial in evaluating metrics and IBI, 

 but not required 



Critical Data Sets 



Validated species ID and count data for each site visit 



Autecological data for each species, including taxonomic information, habitat, tolerance class, 



feeding class and reproductive strategy 

 Individual metric values, scores, and IBI value for each site visit 

 File containing locational information for each site, site classification information 



(e.g., ecoregion, drainage), and inclusion probability values to calculate resource population 



estimates 

 Ancillary databases to allow metric and indicator evaluation of response to disturbance (chemistry, 



physical habitat, watershed stressors, landscape-level data) 



Metadata Requirements 



Methods documentation 



Sources of autecological information 



Documentation for how individual metrics are computed from basic count and ID data, and 



how a final score is assigned for each metric 

 Database documentation regarding files and variables 



Data and Sample Archival 



Field data forms (paper or electronic) 



Voucher specimens cataloged into permanent museum collection 



4-21 



