Seabird Information Network (SIN)

Project Title: Seabird Information Network

 

Partners: CAFF Circumpolar Seabird Group (CBIRD), US Fish and Wildlife Service, UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Norwegian Directorate of Nature Management, Finland Ministry of Environment, Environment Canada

 

Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Project Summary

 

Seabirds are abundant, conspicuous and diverse members of the Arctic’s birdlife that play a key role in the function of the Arctic marine ecosystem. Seabirds are top predators, occupying critical ecological niches and acting as indicators for the health of the entire marine ecosystem. Seabirds are also important to many indigenous people for subsistence hunting and as an economic resource.

 

Arctic countries share both seabird populations and the environmental stressors that threaten these populations; accordingly, there is a joint responsibility for the conservation of these animals. The management of transboundary species poses a daunting challenge, with technical solutions and support often lacking.sin

 

Given its global nature, the Internet is the ideal tool for countries to utilize in managing transboundary species. However, biological data presents one of the greatest challenges for developing an inter-operable, web-based data management system.

The Seabird Information Network focuses on the development of a data entry and analysis portal system that will allow for circumpolar seabird colony information to be contributed, mapped, and shared by scientists and monitoring programs around the Arctic. Data will be compiled to generate a circumpolar seabird colony assessment.

 

This project is an important first step towards enhanced data sharing among scientists studying seabird populations; furthermore, the data portal and assessment technology models it will create could have applications for many other facets of circumpolar biodiversity research and monitoring.

 

Find out more:

 

• Circumpolar Seabird Group (CBird)
• SIN concept paper
• Demo SIN portal