Avifaunal Database

The Namibian Avifaunal Database: User Manual
by
A. Robertson & A.M. Jarvis
Directorate of Environmental Affairs
Ministry of Environment and Tourism
Private Bag 13306
Windhoek, Namibia

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW *

Aims and contents of this document *
Data sets held in the Avifaunal Database *

Section 1: Using the menus to do things quickly and easily *

Opening the database *
The Main Menu *
Extract data (display or export results) *
Extract data (as a formatted report to print) *
Enter data *
Check / edit data *
Open bibliography *
Open the on-line manual for this database *
Exit this screen and go to the database window *
Exit from the database *

Section 2: Structure and design of the Avifaunal Database *

The Relational Database concept *
Organisation and naming of data sets *
Central tables *
SABAP Data *
Raptor Road Count Data *
Wetland Data *
Museum Data *
Nest Record Card Data *
Damara Tern Nest Record Data *
Endemics Data *
Database Maintenance *

Section 3: Practical uses of the database and how to design new queries and reports to achieve them *

Example queries *

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Avifaunal database project was funded under the Namibia National Biodiversity Programme, by GTZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Technische Zusammenarbeit). The Biodiversity programme was initiated by Dr Chris Brown, and is co-ordinated from the Directorate of Environmental Affairs (DEA) by Dr Phoebe Barnard. In addition to their valuable input, much additional help and support throughout the duration of the project was received from Drs Rob Simmons and John Mendelsohn.

The majority of the data now stored in the database were collected by members of the public over the last 20 years or so, including many MET staff, Bird Club members and private individuals. Without such enthusiastic support from the public, Namibias birds would be less well known and these data would be much less valuable.

We are grateful to a number of people including Aletta Platt, Chrizelda Ruhl, Letitia Britz and Fiona Trewby for undertaking the task of converting huge piles of paper and old record cards into computerised data.

We also thank the head, and staff, of the DEA for their help and support during this project and for providing a stimulating and enjoyable work environment..

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

Many more data have been collected on birds in Namibia than any other group of species. These data represent an extremely valuable source of information on a variety of aspects such as recent and historical distributions, density, breeding characteristics and habitat use and can potentially be used for numerous purposes such as conservation and management planning, ecological or behavioural studies. This database contains data from many sources. By using data from several sources, it is often possible to derive an 'overall picture' which is not provided by using just one data set alone. When used in conjunction with comparable data on other taxa e.g. plants, mammals and reptiles, these data will provide a unique and invaluable management and planning tool. Some potential uses of the bird data are:

Identification of indicator species of habitat quality and change, particularly species at the top of the food chain e.g. raptors

Identification of key habitats and sites for targeted groups of birds e.g. wetlands used by >1% of one or more species' population, which thus qualify as potential Ramsar sites

Comparative assessments of changes in raptor densities across the country in relation to factors such as changes in land use, habitat degradation, rainfall

Identification of Important Bird Areas based on congruence of bird groups such as Red Data species, Wetland bird, Raptors

The database also includes an extensive bibliography of references relating to birds in Namibia and southern Africa as well as an on-line version of this manual.

The Avifaunal Database Project started in January 1997, with the aim of entering all of Namibia's bird data onto a database, developing a user-friendly interface to facilitate the easy use of these data by people with an interest in biodiversity and conservation and doing some preliminary data analyses. A key objective of the project was to produce a database that could be used as a model system for other taxa, demonstrating the benefits of compiling data onto a powerful, yet user-friendly, system. This document describes the Namibian Avifaunal Database (which is housed at the Directorate of Environmental Affairs in Windhoek) and explains how to use it.

Aims and contents of this document

This document aims to summarise and describe the information held within the database, giving sufficient information to enable the continuing input and extraction of data.

In order to facilitate maximum use of the database, a menu system and user interface has been developed to allow easy data entry and the extraction of many commonly requested data summaries. The menus are run by clicking on buttons to select options and do not require the user to have any knowledge of how the database works. Section 1 (page *) describes all the options of the menus and gives step-by-step instructions for entering data, extracting and saving data and producing formatted reports.

People wishing to use the database to carry out tasks that are not possible through the customised menus will need to have an understanding of the database structure, tables and relationships (as well as a basic knowledge of Access) in order to design new queries and reports. These aspects of the database are described in Section 2 (page *).

Section 3 (page *) describes some example uses, and potential uses, of the database, and illustrates these using existing example queries set up for these types of analyses.

Data sets held in the Avifaunal Database

The database contains six substantial data sets with related species and geographical information. The data sets are:

Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP) data

Raptor Road Count data

Wetland data

Museum data

Nest Record data

Damara Tern Nest record data

To give an impression of the complexity of the database, an overview of the database structure and design is presented in Figure 1 in the printed version of this manual. Tables making up the seven datasets above have been colour-coded for clarity.

Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP) data

The SABAP was a huge public participation project covering the southern African region; the results of the project were published in the two-volume Atlas of Southern African Birds in 1997. Bird Atlas data were collected in Namibia between 1970 and 1993; some historical data were also incorporated. Data were collected in the form of species lists at the resolution of quarter degree squares (QDS; c. 27 x 27 km) and calendar month. Proven or suspected breeding activity was also recorded. The Namibian dataset contains over half a million records of 605 species.

Uses of these data include

mapping of bird distributions and relative abundance

identification of breeding localities

assessing seasonality of bird distributions and movements

obtaining species lists and reporting rates for areas such as National Parks and selected QDS

diversity analyses to identify areas of particular importance for selected species or groups of species

Raptor Road Count data

The Raptor Road Count project was launched in 1977 and data collection has continued since then, though in recent years interest has tailed off. This is a public participation project whereby raptors and storks are recorded whilst driving along roads and tracks throughout the country. For each observation, the time of day, species, number of birds and odometer is recorded, with additional information on activity and age often being recorded. The amount of data collected by this project is impressive: by 1997 over 300 people had been involved, recording 116 551 birds, of 63 species of raptors during 1.2 million km of driving throughout the whole country.

Uses of these data include

assessing changes in density of raptor species over time to provide a baseline for future monitoring

assessing effects of factors such as land use change on raptor densities

assessing breeding success and population dynamics of raptor populations over time

monitoring the health of species at the top of the food chain, as indicators of environmental health

Wetland data

Regular bird counts at selected wetlands and coastal sites throughout the country have been undertaken since 1991, with some earlier information also available for a few sites e.g. Walvis Bay and Sandwich. Data are recorded on IWRB (Wetlands International) forms. Counts have generally been made during the months of January, April and/or July, though few sites have been counted at every count date and many new sites have been added since 1991.

Although a lot is already known about the local and international importance of some of Namibia's wetlands, there are many aspects we still don't know enough about. Many of the wetlands in Caprivi are poorly known, for example, and information on the importance of Namibia's wetlands to migratory birds is limited. With regular counts over many years it will be possible to identify trends in wetlands use by different groups of birds, and thus identify particularly important wetlands. Some wetlands may qualify as Ramsar sites on the basis of regularly supporting >1% of a species population. Recognition of the importance of Namibia's wetlands to resident and migratory birds as well as other animals and plants may enhance their perceived conservation value and protection status.

Uses of these data include

identification of Namibia's most important wetland sites in terms of overall number of birds, number of Red Data species, number of migratory birds etc

monitoring of these key sites, many of which are threatened or endangered in Namibia

using birds as indicators of 'health' of wetland sites

Museum data

Many museums around the world hold ornithological specimens that were originally collected in Namibia, some dating back to expeditions made in the early 1800s and before. By January 1999, the database contained information on over 24 000 specimens. For many species, particularly larks, weavers and finches there are several hundred specimens, with Sabota lark topping the list with almost 500 specimens. Most specimens have associated information on the collection date and locality, although for some this is simply "Damaraland" or "Kaokoveld".

Uses of these data include

comparison of historical bird distributions with those of SABAP, for example, to produce an insight into changes over time and factors influencing birds

Nest Record data

Nest record data have been collected on nest record cards for many years, with some additional data going back to the 1800's. Nests are recorded either as single nests or breeding colonies. By January 1999, several species had over 100 nest records, particularly those which have been the focus of research projects, with lappetfaced vulture topping the list at over 300 cards. Others with over 100 cards include ostrich, whitefronted plover and African marsh warbler.

Uses of these data include

identifying species which regularly breed in Namibia

identifying important breeding sites in Namibia

providing baseline data on e.g. egg size, clutch size, seasonality, breeding success

assessing effects of factors such as geographical location, rainfall and human disturbance on breeding attempts

Damara Tern Nest record data

The Damara Tern is near-endemic to Namibia and recent population estimates put its population size at around 13 500 birds. In addition to data collected under the Nest Record scheme, detailed data on Damara Tern breeding have been collected systematically throughout its range. In addition to date and locality information, data are collected on nest contents, chick activity, predation and habitat.

Uses of these data include

identification of key Damara Tern breeding areas

assessment of breeding success throughout its range

assessment of habitat preference

identification of factors leading to breeding failure

Endemics data

The database also contains data on 10 of Namibia's inland endemic species, based on fieldwork carried out during 7 months in 1996. These data represent predicted numbers of each species in each QDS in Namibia, and a diversity ranking (Shannon Index) based on these predictions.

Uses of these data include

assessment of population sizes and distributions of Namibia's endemics

identification of key areas for these species and assessment of their protection status

Section 1: Using the menus to do things quickly and easily

Opening the database

The database is opened by clicking on the Avifaunal Database icon on the desktop screen that appears when the computer is switched on. When the database is opened a main menu appears which gives you several options. Clicking on any of the options takes you to another menu, and so on. Items listed on the menus allow you to extract data such as lists of species for a quarter degree square (QDS), museum specimens for a particular species or all species in Namibia. In most cases, when you select one of these options you will be prompted to choose, for example, the species or QDS for which you want data. Depending on the menu item you choose, a spreadsheet or report will open which can then be exported, mapped or printed.

The Main Menu

The Main menu presents a set of options which, when selected, open sub-menus with further options for data entry, extraction etc. Each of these sub-menus has an option Return to previous menu, allowing easy navigation within the menu system. The Main Menu is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 Main menu which appears on opening the database.

There are 9 options which are described in the following sections.

Extract data (display or export results) (see page *)

Extract data (as a formatted report to print) (see page *)

Enter data (see page *)

Check / edit data (see page *)

Open bibliography (see page *)

Open the on-line manual for this database (see page *)

Exit this screen and go to the database window (see page *)

Exit from the database (see page *)

The Main menu opens automatically when the database is opened and you are returned to it after selecting options from the menu. However, if you have left the menu system using the Exit this screen... option and the Main Menu is not showing, you can return to it at any time by clicking on the Forms tab and then on Switchboard.

Extract data (display or export results)

This menu option is designed to facilitate the extraction of data from the database in a format which can easily be exported into other software packages, for example, word processing, spreadsheet or mapping packages.

There are seven options which are described in the following sections:

General species information (see page *)

SABAP data (see page *)

Raptor road count data (see page *)

Wetland data (see page *)

Museum specimen data (see page *)

Nest record data (see page *)

Damara tern nest record data (see page *)

After choosing one of the data extraction options, you may be prompted to select one or more species, QDS or locations from a list. To select one item, just highlight it by clicking on it with the left hand mouse button. To select several consecutive items, click on the top one with the left-hand mouse button, hold the button down and drag down to the last desired item (or hold the Shift button and click on the last desired item). To select more than one non-consecutive items, select the first item and then select subsequent items by holding down the Control key and clicking on the desired items. To deselect a highlighted item, hold down the Control key and click the item. Once all the required items in the list are highlighted, click the OK button to continue. The data extraction process will then proceed and a spreadsheet-type output will appear on the screen. A menu will also appear providing several choices for saving, printing and mapping the extracted data. This is described on page *.

General species information

The following four queries access all data sets to extract the required data.

Extract a data summary for one or more species (all data sets)

This option first prompts you to choose one or more species from a list and then produces a list of all records in the following format:

Roberts'	Species	Latin name	SABAP (no records)	SABAP (no QDS)	Museum specimens	Nest records	Road count records	Wetland records
1	Ostrich	Struthio camelus	4509	588	11	149		2
3	Jackass Penguin	Spheniscus demersus	123	29	13	15		27
6	Great Crested Grebe	Podiceps cristatus	131	17	3	7		30
7	Blacknecked Grebe	Podiceps nigricollis	624	73	30	35		134
8	Dabchick	Tachybaptus ruficollis	2013	232	36	67		268
10	Wandering Albatross	Diomedea exulans	1	1

Extract a species list for selected parks (all data sets)

This option first prompts you to choose one or more parks from a list and then produces a list of all species reported in the selected park(s), in the following format. Parks are listed below each other.

Protected Area Name	Roberts'	Species	Latin name	SABAP records	SABAP no QDS	Museum specimens	Nest records	Road count obs	Wetland records
Mahango Game Reserve	1	Ostrich	Struthio camelus	48	2		2
Mahango Game Reserve	8	Dabchick	Tachybaptus ruficollis	13	2				1
Mahango Game Reserve	49	White Pelican	Pelecanus onocrotalus	3	1				1
Mahango Game Reserve	50	Pinkbacked Pelican	Pelecanus rufescens	3	1				1
Mahango Game Reserve	55	Whitebreasted Cormorant	Phalacrocorax carbo	19	1				3
Mahango Game Reserve	57	Bank Cormorant	Phalacrocorax neglectus						1

Extract a species list for selected QDS (all data sets)

This option first prompts you to choose one or more QDS from a list and then produces a list of all species reported in the selected QDS(s), in the following format. QDS are listed below each other.

QDS	Roberts'	Species	Latin name	SABAP records	Museum specimens	Nest records	Road count obs	Wetland records
2217CA	1	Ostrich	Struthio camelus	4	3	1
2217CA	6	Great Crested Grebe	Podiceps cristatus					2
2217CA	7	Blacknecked Grebe	Podiceps nigricollis	19				27
2217CA	8	Dabchick	Tachybaptus ruficollis	203	7	1		47
2217CA	49	White Pelican	Pelecanus onocrotalus	104				7
2217CA	55	Whitebreasted Cormorant	Phalacrocorax carbo	168	10			10

Calculate the number of species for selected QDS (all data sets)

This option prompts you to choose one or more QDS and then displays the number of species reported in the selected QDS(s), in the following format.

QDS	No of species
1714AC	241
1714AD	171
1714BC	82
1714BD	113
1714CA	20
1714CB	33

Extract a list of Namibian Red Data species

This lists all species classed as Red Data species in Namibia. Species are classified as Critically endangered (in danger of extinction in Namibia if causal factors limiting populations continue to apply); endangered (likely to become critically endangered if limiting factors still apply) or Vulnerable (those with small, localised or declining populations, but which are not yet endangered). Output is in the following format:

Roberts' no	Species name	Latin name	Red data status
3	Jackass Penguin	Spheniscus demersus	critically endangered
6	Great Crested Grebe	Podiceps cristatus	critically endangered
49	White Pelican	Pelecanus onocrotalus	endangered
50	Pinkbacked Pelican	Pelecanus rufescens	endangered
53	Cape Gannet	Morus capensis	endangered
59	Crowned Cormorant	Phalacrocorax coronatus	endangered
70	Slaty Egret	Egretta vinaceigula	endangered

Extract names and numbers of all southern African species

Lists all species listed in Robert's Birds of Southern Africa , in the following format.

Roberts' no	Species name	Latin name
1	Ostrich	Struthio camelus
2	King Penguin	Aptenodytes patagonicus
3	Jackass Penguin	Spheniscus demersus
4	Rockhopper Penguin	Eudyptes chrysocome
5	Macaroni Penguin	Eudyptes chrysolophus
6	Great Crested Grebe	Podiceps cristatus

SABAP data

There are three options:

Extract SABAP data by QDS (see page *)

Extract SABAP data by HDS (see page *)

Extract SABAP data by parks/regions (see page *)

Extract SABAP data by QDS:

List QDS and reporting rates for selected species

This option first prompts you to choose one or more species from a list and then produces summary data in the following format. Species are listed below each other.

Roberts	Species	QDS	Total records	Total cards	Rep Rate
3	Jackass Penguin	1812CD	1	41	0.02
3	Jackass Penguin	1912BA	1	61	0.02
3	Jackass Penguin	2013AC	1	42	0.02
3	Jackass Penguin	2013CD	1	92	0.01
3	Jackass Penguin	2113BA	2	242	0.01
3	Jackass Penguin	2113DB	1	70	0.01

If only one species is selected, results from this query can be mapped by selecting Map results from the menu (see page * for details on how to map results). The resulting mapped output will look similar to Figure 3.

Figure 3 Sample map from "List QDS and reporting rates for selected species" from the Extract SABAP data by QDS menu, when only one species is selected.

List species and reporting rates for selected QDS

This option first prompts you to choose one or more QDS from a list and then produces summary data in the following format. QDS are listed below each other.

QDS	Roberts	Species	No of SABAP records	No of SABAP cards	Rep rate
1712AB	1	Ostrich	2	5	0.40
1712AB	60	Darter	3	5	0.60
1712AB	64	Goliath Heron	1	5	0.20
1712AB	67	Little Egret	1	5	0.20
1712AB	74	Greenbacked Heron	2	5	0.40
1712AB	81	Hamerkop	2	5	0.40

List species and reporting rates for combined QDS

This option prompts you to choose one or more QDS from a list. SABAP data from the selected QDS are then amalgamated and one reporting rate per species is calculated for the combined QDS. This summary is presented in the following format.

Robert's no	Species	SABAP records	No SABAP cards	Rep rate for selected QDS
1	Ostrich	2.00	7	0.29
8	Dabchick	2.00	7	0.29
49	White Pelican	1.00	7	0.14
55	Whitebreasted Cormorant	2.00	7	0.29
58	Reed Cormorant	1.00	7	0.14
60	Darter	1.00	7	0.14

Extract records by month for selected species

This option first prompts you to choose one or more species from a list and then produces summary data in the following format. All records for e.g. January are combined. Species are listed below each other.

Roberts	Species	Month	QDS	No of SABAP records	No of SABAP cards
62	Grey Heron	Apr	1711BC	1	1
62	Grey Heron	Apr	1711BD	1	2
62	Grey Heron	Apr	1712AA	1	3
62	Grey Heron	Apr	1714AC	1	5
62	Grey Heron	Apr	1714DB	1	1
62	Grey Heron	Apr	1714DD	1	3

If only one species is selected, results from this query can be mapped (see page *). If you choose Map results, you will be prompted to indicate which month you want to map by typing in the first three letters of the month e.g. Jan. the mapped output will look similar to Figure 4.

Figure 4 Sample map obtained by selecting "Extract records by month for selected species" from the Extract SABAP data by QDS menu, and selecting one month for one species.

Extract records by month and year for selected species

This option prompts you to choose one or more species from a list. It then prompts you to choose the start and stop months of the period for which you want data and then produces summary data in the following format. Species are listed below each other.

Roberts	Species	Month/Year	QDS	No of SABAP records	No of SABAP cards
7	Blacknecked Grebe	Jan/1983	1912BD	1	1
7	Blacknecked Grebe	Jan/1983	2214DC	1	1
7	Blacknecked Grebe	Jan/1983	2314AD	1	1
7	Blacknecked Grebe	Feb/1983	1816DD	1	2
7	Blacknecked Grebe	Feb/1983	2417BD	1	1
7	Blacknecked Grebe	Feb/1983	2615CA	1	1

Summarise range information for selected species

This option summarises the range of the selected species, according to land tenure, in the following format.

Roberts	Species	No of SABAP records	No of QDS	Area of QDS (km2)	Communal (km2)	Farms Communal (km2)	Mining Area (km2)	Protected Area (km2)	Tourist Area (km2)	Commercial Area (km2)
96	Greater Flamingo	1226	104	61290	11663	3845	1153	22297	3111	19744
97	Lesser Flamingo	1111	87	49082	11677	1944	1588	19509	4143	10061
99	Whitefaced Duck	222	72	41092	16427	2651	154	8016	0	13963
100	Fulvous Duck	79	33	19838	13541	1180	154	2979	0	2147
101	Whitebacked Duck	108	33	21362	7169	6	0	3494	344	11243
102	Egyptian Goose	3185	358	230889	43632	16726	2478	37261	1558	129843

List number of species per QDS

This option lists the number of species reported by SABAP in every QDS in Namibia in the following format.

QDS	No of species
1613CC	90
1613CD	184
1711BB	109
1711BC	110
1711BD	122
1711DA	14

These results can be mapped by selecting Map results from the menu (see page *).

List number of cards per QDS

This option lists the number of SABAP cards returned for every QDS in Namibia in the following format.

QDS	No of cards
1613CC	5
1613CD	10
1711BB	6
1711BC	15
1711BD	13
1711DA	4

These results can be mapped by selecting Map results from the menu (see page *).

Extract a list of breeding records for selected QDS

This option first prompts you to choose one or more QDS from a list and then produces summary data in the following format. QDS are listed below each other.

QDS	No of cards	Roberts	Species	non breeding	suspected breeding	proven breeding	eggs	chicks	eggs and chicks	dependent fledgling
2216DB	252	1	Ostrich	27
2216DB	252	7	Blacknecked Grebe	2
2216DB	252	8	Dabchick	167	1		1	1
2216DB	252	49	White Pelican	12
2216DB	252	55	Whitebreasted Cormorant	108
2216DB	252	58	Reed Cormorant	96

Extract SABAP data by HDS:

List reporting rates for selected species

This option first prompts you to choose one or more species from a list and then produces summary data in the following format. Species are listed below each other.

HDS	Roberts'	Species	SABAP records	No of SABAP cards	Rep rate
1613C	148	African Fish Eagle	6	15	0.40
1711B	148	African Fish Eagle	3	34	0.09
1712A	148	African Fish Eagle	1	31	0.03
1713A	148	African Fish Eagle	7	41	0.17
1713B	148	African Fish Eagle	7	25	0.28
1714A	148	African Fish Eagle	22	44	0.50

If only one species is selected, these results can be mapped by selecting Map results from the menu (see page *). The resulting mapped output will look similar to Figure 5.

Figure 5 Sample map obtained by selecting "List reporting rates for selected species" from the Extract SABAP data by HDS menu, when only one species is selected.

List number of species per HDS

This option lists the number of species reported by SABAP in every HDS in Namibia in the following format.

HDS	No of species
1613C	193
1711B	150
1711D	30
1712A	161
1712B	83
1712C	61

These results can be mapped by selecting Map results from the menu (see page *).

List number of cards per HDS

This option lists the number of SABAP cards returned for every HDS in Namibia in the following format.

HDS	No of cards
1613C	15
1711B	34
1711D	16
1712A	31
1712B	11
1712C	24

These results can be mapped by selecting Map results from the menu (see page *). The resulting mapped output will look similar to Figure 6.

Figure 6 Sample map obtained by selecting "List number of cards per HDS" from the Extract SABAP data by HDS menu.

Extract SABAP data by parks/regions:

Extract a species list with reporting rates for selected parks

This option first prompts you to choose one or more parks from a list and then produces summary data in the following format. Parks are listed below each other.

Protected Area	Robert's no	Species	SABAP records	No SABAP cards	Park rep rate	No QDS included
Etosha National Park	1	Ostrich	1370	2026	0.68	41
Etosha National Park	6	Great Crested Grebe	5	2026	0.00	41
Etosha National Park	7	Blacknecked Grebe	47	2026	0.02	41
Etosha National Park	8	Dabchick	273	2026	0.13	41
Etosha National Park	49	White Pelican	91	2026	0.04	41
Etosha National Park	55	Whitebreasted Cormorant	7	2026	0.00	41

List QDS in/partly within parks

This option lists, for each park, the QDS which fall within, or partly within, each park. It also provides the latitude and longitude of the centre of each QDS.

Park	QDS	Longitude	Latitude
Skeleton Coast Park	1711BB	11.875	-17.125
Skeleton Coast Park	1711BC	11.625	-17.375
Skeleton Coast Park	1711BD	11.875	-17.375
Skeleton Coast Park	1711DA	11.625	-17.625
Skeleton Coast Park	1711DB	11.875	-17.625
Skeleton Coast Park	1711DD	11.875	-17.875

List QDS in/partly within regions

This option produces output in the same format as the previous query, for each region. Note that the regions used are the pre-1998 regions.

Region	QDS	Longitude	Latitude
Caprivi	1721CC	21.125	-17.875
Caprivi	1721CD	21.375	-17.875
Caprivi	1721DC	21.625	-17.875
Caprivi	1721DD	21.875	-17.875
Caprivi	1722CC	22.125	-17.875
Caprivi	1722CD	22.375	-17.875

Raptor road count data

Summarise QDS within raptor road count zones

This lists all QDS in every road count zone in the following format.

Zone	Zone description	Quarter degree square
1	Northern Namib	1711BB
1	Northern Namib	1711BC
1	Northern Namib	1711BD
1	Northern Namib	1711DA
1	Northern Namib	1711DB
1	Northern Namib	1711DD

Summarise raptor density by zone and year for selected raptors (all data)

This option prompts you to choose one or more species from a list and then summarises road count data from each zone in the following format.

Zone	Season	Species	No birds	km	birds/100km
1	84-wet	Whitebacked vulture	1	3804	0.03
1	85-dry	Whitebacked vulture	1	4556	0.02
1	87-wet	Whitebacked vulture	5	2668	0.19
1	88-wet	Whitebacked vulture	5	1656	0.30
2	83-dry	Whitebacked vulture	16	11243	0.14
2	83-wet	Whitebacked vulture	2	9444	0.02

Summarise raptor activity by hour for selected raptors

This option prompts you to select one or more species and then summarises raptor activity by hour in the following format.

Species	Hour	Activity	Count	Total count	Proportion
Tawny Eagle	06	P	4	4	1.00
Tawny Eagle	07	F	4	33	0.12
Tawny Eagle	07	G	1	33	0.03
Tawny Eagle	07	P	28	33	0.85
Tawny Eagle	08	F	19	65	0.29
Tawny Eagle	08	G	1	65	0.02

(F = flying; P = perched; G = on ground).

Summarise use of substrates for selected raptors

This option prompts you to choose one or more species and then summarises substrate use in the following format.

Species	Zone	Natural/Artificial	Substrate	no obs art/nat	total no obs	prop use
Blackbreasted Snake Eagle	1	Artificial	Telephone pole	1	22	4.55
Blackbreasted Snake Eagle	1	Natural	Dead tree	1	22	4.55
Blackbreasted Snake Eagle	1	Natural	Green tree	17	22	77.27
Blackbreasted Snake Eagle	1	Natural	Rocks/boulders	2	22	9.09
Blackbreasted Snake Eagle	1	Natural	Short vegetation	1	22	4.55
Blackbreasted Snake Eagle	2	Artificial	Fence post	1	61	1.64

Summarise ratio of adults:immatures for selected raptors

This option prompts you to choose one or more species from a list and then produces data in the following format.

Species	Season	No birds	Prop ad	Prop imm
Bateleur	77-dry	1	0.00	100.00
Bateleur	77-wet	2	50.00	50.00
Bateleur	78-dry	5	40.00	60.00
Bateleur	78-wet	1	100.00	0.00
Bateleur	79-wet	2	50.00	50.00
Bateleur	80-dry	1	100.00	0.00

Summarise all raptor observations per selected route sections (Month/Year)

Here you are first prompted for the route you require.

Month/Year	Route	1km Section	Longitude	Latitude	Times travelled	Observations
Apr-84	4	1	16.13948	-20.09468	1	0
Apr-84	4	2	16.14803	-20.09878	1	1
Apr-84	4	3	16.15237	-20.10651	1	1
Apr-84	4	4	16.1549	-20.11511	1	0
Apr-84	4	5	16.15528	-20.12397	1	0
Apr-84	4	6	16.15789	-20.1325	1	0

Summarise all raptor observations per selected route sections (Month only)

Here you are first prompted for the route you require.

Month	Route	1km Section	Longitude	Latitude	Times travelled	Observations
Apr	14	1	18.09906	-19.56707	6	1
Apr	14	2	18.09012	-19.56994	6	0
Apr	14	3	18.08144	-19.57362	6	0
Apr	14	4	18.07275	-19.57738	6	0
Apr	14	5	18.06387	-19.5806	6	0
Apr	14	6	18.05461	-19.58205	6	0

Summarise all raptor observations per selected route sections (Overall)

Again you are first prompted for the route you require.

Route	1km Section	Longitude	Latitude	Times travelled	Observations
13	1	14.50045	-19.25039	6	0
13	2	14.50769	-19.24507	6	0
13	3	14.51459	-19.2389	6	0
13	4	14.5176	-19.23046	6	1
13	5	14.51908	-19.22142	6	0
13	6	14.52091	-19.21256	6	0

Summarise for 1 species, no. of birds per selected route sections (Month/Year)

You are first prompted to select the route you require, and then the species.

Month/Year	Route	1km Section	Longitude	Latitude	Times travelled	Species	No birds
Sep-84	4	2	16.14803	-20.09878	2
Sep-84	4	3	16.15237	-20.10651	2
Sep-84	4	4	16.1549	-20.11511	2
Sep-84	4	5	16.15528	-20.12397	2	Tawny Eagle	1
Sep-84	4	6	16.15789	-20.1325	2
Sep-84	4	7	16.1633	-20.13985	2

Summarise for 1 species, no. of birds per selected route sections (Month only)

You are first prompted to select the route you require, and then the species.

Month	Route	1km Section	Longitude	Latitude	Times travelled	Species	No birds
Jan	19	1	24.30856	-17.53769	3
Jan	19	2	24.30536	-17.54473	3	Black Kite/Yellowbilled Kite	2
Jan	19	3	24.30634	-17.55318	3
Jan	19	4	24.30775	-17.56201	3
Jan	19	5	24.30689	-17.5708	3	Black Kite/Yellowbilled Kite	1
Jan	19	6	24.30487	-17.57971	3

Summarise for 1 species, no. of birds per selected route sections (Overall)

You are first prompted to select the route you require, and then the species.

Route	1km Section	Longitude	Latitude	Times travelled	Species	No of birds
5	0	15.89626	-19.14647	1	Pale Chanting Goshawk	1
5	1	15.90588	-19.14693	1	Pale Chanting Goshawk	4
5	2	15.90842	-19.15576	1	Pale Chanting Goshawk	1
5	3	15.90981	-19.1648	1	Pale Chanting Goshawk	2
5	4	15.91541	-19.17218	1
5	5	15.91472	-19.18032	1	Pale Chanting Goshawk	4

Wetland data

Summarise wetland counts by month/year

This option prompts you to select a start month and stop month from a list, and then produces summary output of all species recorded at every wetland counted between the selected months.

Date	WC no	WC site	Roberts	Species	No of birds
09/May/98	748	Orange River Wetlands	8	Dabchick	49
09/May/98	748	Orange River Wetlands	49	White Pelican	27
09/May/98	748	Orange River Wetlands	55	Whitebreasted Cormorant	19
09/May/98	748	Orange River Wetlands	56	Cape Cormorant	2
09/May/98	748	Orange River Wetlands	58	Reed Cormorant	8
09/May/98	748	Orange River Wetlands	60	Darter	17

List wetland sites with >1% of population (Ramsar)

This option lists all dates when more than 1% of the population of any wetland species has been recorded at any wetland site. The 1% level defined by Rose for use in implementing the Ramsar Convention is used.

Site no	Site name	Date	Roberts' no	Species name	No of birds	1% Ramsar level	Ramsar population name	% of population
6	Cape Cross Saltworks	22-Jan-92	56	Cape Cormorant	15235	5500	Southern Africa	2.77
6	Cape Cross Saltworks	22-Jan-92	96	Greater Flamingo	1238	500	Southern Africa	2.48
6	Cape Cross Saltworks	09-Jul-92	96	Greater Flamingo	552	500	Southern Africa	1.10
6	Cape Cross Saltworks	10-Feb-93	96	Greater Flamingo	1380	500	Southern Africa	2.76
6	Cape Cross Saltworks	20-Jul-93	96	Greater Flamingo	1263	500	Southern Africa	2.53
6	Cape Cross Saltworks	15-Dec-93	96	Greater Flamingo	1423	500	Southern Africa	2.85

Summarise number of species and birds for selected wetlands by month-year

This option first prompts you to select one or more wetlands from a list. You are then prompted to enter the year for which you want data as e.g. 1995*, or to enter * for all years. Output is then produced in the following format. Dates are listed in columns, so the spreadsheet may have very many columns if all years are selected.

Robert's	Species recorded	Site	1994 01 15	1994 03 10	1994 06 03
55	Whitebreasted Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)	Agate Beach			3
56	Cape Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis)	Agate Beach	8	30
244	African Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus moquini)	Agate Beach	14	23	26
246	Whitefronted Plover (Charadrius marginatus)	Agate Beach	2	4
262	Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)	Agate Beach			3
274	Little Stint (Calidris minuta)	Agate Beach			13

Summarise bird species and numbers for selected wetlands by date

This option first prompts you to select one or more wetlands from a list. It then lists the numbers of birds and species for every month-year when counts were made. Where a site was counted more than once in any calendar month, the maximum count for each species is used to calculate the no of species and birds. So, for example, if 3 counts were made in a month, the no of species represents all species counted in that month (irrespective of whether they were all present on any one date) and the number of birds represents the total of the maximums recorded for each species.

Site no	Site	Year-Month	No of species	No of birds
1	Cunene River Mouth	1991-06	32	322
1	Cunene River Mouth	1992-02	19	1757
1	Cunene River Mouth	1993-04	8	14
1	Cunene River Mouth	1993-05	4	19
1	Cunene River Mouth	1994-04	8	18
1	Cunene River Mouth	1994-05	21	752

Summarise number of counts and first and last count date per site

This option lists the number of counts for every wetland site, with information on the year of the first and last counts.

Site code	WC site	No of wetland counts	Year of first count	Year of last count
1	Cunene River Mouth	6	1991	1996
1	Cunene River Ruacana	2	1993	1994
2	Hoarusib River - Little Oasis	1	1995	1995
2	Hoarusib River Mouth	3	1991	1996
3	Hoanib River Mouth	7	1991	1996
4	Huab River Mouth	6	1990	1996

Museum specimen data

Summarise museum data

This option summarises the number of specimens of each species, the number of these which are referenced to a quarter degree square location (at least) and the years between which the specimens were collected.

Roberts' no	Species name	Latin name	No of specimens	No with QDS	First year	Last year
1	Ostrich	Struthio camelus	11	10	1923	1994
3	Jackass Penguin	Spheniscus demersus	13	12	1910	1994
6	Great Crested Grebe	Podiceps cristatus	3	3	1968	1968
7	Blacknecked Grebe	Podiceps nigricollis	30	24	1880	1994
8	Dabchick	Tachybaptus ruficollis	36	31	1880	1995
12	Blackbrowed Albatross	Diomedea melanophris	2	1	1986	1989

Summarise museum specimen data for selected species

This option first prompts you to select one or more species for which you want data. Output is produced in the following format. Location info lists the best location information available, either a sixteenth degree square (SDS), QDS, district or region (or, where the location cannot be determined, the location as recorded on the specimen label e.g. Damaraland), whilst QDS lists the QDS where known (for mapping).

Roberts' no	Species name	Museum name	Accession no	Sex	Age	Year	Location info	QDS	Collector	Notes
53	Cape Gannet (Morus capensis)	Tring	1911.12.18.8			1910			Lowe
53	Cape Gannet (Morus capensis)	Tring	1911.12.18.7	F	A	1910			Lowe
53	Cape Gannet (Morus capensis)	Tring	1911.12.18.9	M	I	1911	2214CD	2214CD	Lowe
53	Cape Gannet (Morus capensis)	Tring	1911.12.18.6	M	A	1920	2614BD	2614BD	Lowe
53	Cape Gannet (Morus capensis)	Transvaal	16716			1931	2214DAC	2214DA	Bradfield
53	Cape Gannet (Morus capensis)	Namibian		f		1963	1811bb	1811BB	Buys

Summarise no of specimens per QDS for selected species

This option prompts you to select one or more species for which you want data. Output is produced in the following format. Species are listed below each other in taxonomic order.

Roberts'	Species	QDS	No of specimens
194	Redbilled Francolin	1713BD	3
194	Redbilled Francolin	1715CB	1
194	Redbilled Francolin	1715DD	1
194	Redbilled Francolin	1719DC	3
194	Redbilled Francolin	1724CC	2
194	Redbilled Francolin	1813BA	2

If only one species is selected, these results can be mapped by selecting Map results from the menu (see page *). The resulting mapped output will look similar to Figure 7.

Summarise no of specimens per QDS for selected museums

This option prompts you to select one or more museums for which you want data. Output is produced in the following format.

QDS	Museum	No of specimens
1711BD	Namibian	8
1712AB	Namibian	14
1712BB	Namibian	11
1712BC	Namibian	1
1712BD	Namibian	13
1713AB	Namibian	5

If only one museum is selected, the results can be mapped by selecting Map results from the menu (see page *).

Figure 7 Sample map obtained by selecting "Summarise no of specimens per QDS for selected species".

Nest record data

Calculate numbers of nest records per species (non-colonial nests)

This option lists the number of nest record cards of non-colonial nests for each species.

Roberts' no	Species name	Latin name	No nest records
1	Ostrich	Struthio camelus	149
3	Jackass Penguin	Spheniscus demersus	10
6	Great Crested Grebe	Podiceps cristatus	7
7	Blacknecked Grebe	Podiceps nigricollis	14
8	Dabchick	Tachybaptus ruficollis	62
49	White Pelican	Pelecanus onocrotalus	1

Calculate numbers of nest records per species (colonial nests)

This option produces the same format output as above, but includes only records of colonies of nests. In this case the No nest records column thus refers to the number of colonies, rather than the number of nests.

Roberts' no	Species name	Latin name	No nest records
3	Jackass Penguin	Spheniscus demersus	5
7	Blacknecked Grebe	Podiceps nigricollis	21
8	Dabchick	Tachybaptus ruficollis	5
49	White Pelican	Pelecanus onocrotalus	18
55	Whitebreasted Cormorant	Phalacrocorax carbo	142
56	Cape Cormorant	Phalacrocorax capensis	16

List nest records for selected species (non-colonial nests)

This option prompts you to select one or more species and then produces output on nest records in the following format. Note that lines with the same NRC no represent observations of the same nest on different days. Location represents the best information on nest location, where QDS or SDS is not known.

Roberts'	Species	QDS or SDS	Location	NRC no	Date	Parental activity	Eggs present?	No eggs	Young present?	No young
297	Spotted Dikkop	1914ADD		148	28/11/1993		Y	2
297	Spotted Dikkop	1914ADD		148	08/12/1993		Y	2
297	Spotted Dikkop	1914ADD		148	11/12/1993		Y	2
297	Spotted Dikkop	1914ADD		148	16/12/1993		Y	1	Y	1
297	Spotted Dikkop	1914ADD		148	18/12/1993
297	Spotted Dikkop	2020ad		149	05/02/1994		Y	3

List nest records for selected species (colonial nests)

This option produces output as below for colonies of nests. Nests in each colony are classed according to the number of eggs (E) and young (Y) they contain.

Roberts	Species	Location	NRC no	Date	Nests in colony	Pairs in colony	No nests examined	Empty
7	Blacknecked Grebe	1920CB	17	09/02/1994			22	0
7	Blacknecked Grebe	1920CD	1857	13/03/1988	4		0	0
7	Blacknecked Grebe		1863	11/03/1988	5		3	0
7	Blacknecked Grebe	1920CD	4610	19/03/1989	10		10	0
7	Blacknecked Grebe	1920CD	4611	25/03/1989	7		7	0
7	Blacknecked Grebe	1920CD	4612	25/03/1989	6		6	0

1Y ONLY	2Y ONLY	3Y ONLY	4Y ONLY	5Y ONLY	6Y ONLY	1E ONLY	1E+1Y	1E+2Y	1E+3Y	1E+4Y	1E+5Y	2E ONLY	2E+1Y	2E+2Y
0	0	0	0	0	0	14	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0

2E+3Y	2E+4Y	3E ONLY	3E+1Y	3E+2Y	3E+3Y	4E ONLY	4E+1Y	4E+2Y	5E ONLY	5E+1Y	6E ONLY	Notes
0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	09-02-94 COLONY IN SAME PLACE AS WHISKERED etc
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
0	0	2	0	0	0	4	0	0	2	0	0
0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0
0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0

Summarise nest contents by month for selected species (non-colonial nests)

This option prompts you to select one or more species and then summarises data on nest contents as follows.

Roberts	Species	Month	No of nests with eggs	No of nests with young
63	Blackheaded Heron	04	1	0
64	Goliath Heron	03	0	1
64	Goliath Heron	07	1	1
64	Goliath Heron	08	2	0
64	Goliath Heron	09	3	1
64	Goliath Heron	12	1	0

List nest records for selected QDS (non-colonial nests)

This option prompts you to select one or more QDS and then produces output on nest records in the same format as the 'List nest records for selected species (non-colonial nests)' option.

List nest records for selected QDS (colonial nests)

This option prompts you to select one or more QDS and then produces output on nest records in the same format as the 'List nest records for selected species (colonial nests)' option.

Calculate number of species per QDS with nest records

This option calculates the number of species which have been recorded on nest record cards in every QDS.

QDS	No of species
1711BC	1
1711BD	3
1712AA	1
1712AC	2
1712AD	2
1712BC	1

These results can be mapped by selecting Map results from the menu (see page *), producing an output similar to Figure 8.

Calculate number of nest record cards per QDS

This option calculates the number of nest record cards returned for every QDS.

QDS	No of cards
1711BC	1
1711BD	3
1712AA	1
1712AC	2
1712AD	2
1712BC	1

These results can be mapped by selecting Map results from the menu (see page *).

Damara tern nest record data

Calculate number of Damara Tern nest records per QDS

This option calculates the number of Damara Tern nest record cards returned for every QDS and produces output in the following format.

QDS	No of DT nest records
1711BD	1
1711DB	2
1811BB	2
1812AC	3
1812CD	3
1912BA	1

These results can be mapped by selecting Map results from the menu (see page *).

Figure 8 Sample map obtained by selecting "Calculate number of species per QDS with nest records".

Options available after choosing Extract data (display or export results)

Choosing one of the data extraction options will produce results in a spreadsheet format on the screen. A menu will also appear which provides the following choices:

Close this query and return to menu: this will simply close the spreadsheet without saving or exporting the data and return you to the main menu.

Export data to Excel to save in any format: selecting this option opens Excel and allows you to save your results in the desired format. Once Excel has opened, select Save as from the File menu and then specify the directory, file name and file type to save the data to. Note that when saving a file in .dbf format, it may be necessary to specify the format of columns to retain decimal places. Close Excel by selecting Exit from the File menu to return to the database.

Map results: This option will appear if the results can be mapped using the automated mapping template (for example the query extracts the number of species per QDS, or distribution range of a single species). Clicking this option will open ArcView and produce a map of the results which can then be saved, exported or printed. The screen which appears will be similar to the screen shown in Figure 9.

Options in ArcView are:

File: selecting Exit will close the map and return to the database. If the menu is no longer visible, click anywhere in the screen to make it appear.

Edit map: choose Edit the legend to change the colours or values of mapped data. Click on the colour you want to change, and the Symbol Pallette will appear. Click on the paint brush icon to select a new colour. Alternatively, select a colour ramp from the bottom of the legend editor window. To change the increments of the data displayed, click in the value column and type in the new value range you require. Adjust the label column similarly. Click Apply to activate your changes. To retain your customised legend for future use, click on Save. You will then be prompted for a filename; enter an appropriate directory/disk and filename. To retrieve the legend later, use the Load button and specify the location. DO NOT USE the Default or Classify buttons (we intend to disable these in future).

Print or Export Map: select this option to open a formatted layout which you can then print or export to another file. The map will be displayed with a north arrow, scale, legend and details of the data presented, similar to that shown in Figure 10. Selecting Print or Export again will allow you to select:

Go back to map view: to return to the previous screen

Print: to open the print window. Click on Setup to make sure that the page orientation selected is Landscape and the paper size is A4.

Export: to specify a filename, directory and file type to export the map to. The map can be exported in several formats including bitmap (.bmp), Windows metafile (.wmf) and encapsulated postscript file (.eps).

IMPORTANT

Do not use the Default or Classify buttons in the Edit the Legend option.

To protect the layout for future use, these maps are read-only and cannot be saved as ArcView files. If you have edited the legend as described above, you may be prompted to save. Select No. (Even if you select Yes to save the map with a new name, it will not be possible to retrieve the map as it will not be linked to the database correctly). Use the Export option to keep a copy of your maps.

For further information on ArcView, consult the ArcView manual. Users familiar with ArcView can generate their own maps by opening ArcView separately and connecting directly to the database using the SQL connect option, and choosing Avian database, or by mapping outputs previously saved in .dbf format. The following additional themes are available for use in the c:\database\maps directory: roads, rainfall, land tenure, vegetation.

Print preview (to check format): shows the output as it will be printed with current settings.

Page setup (to change format): allows you to change the current print settings.

Print the query results: opens the print window where you can specify the pages to print, printer etc.

Figure 9 Screen which appears on selecting Map results option

Figure 10 Screen which appears on selecting Export from the Map results option

Extract data (as a formatted report to print)

This menu option facilitates the extraction of data from the database as an Access report i.e. in a formatted output which is easily readable and comprehensible.

There are seven options which are described in the following sections:

General species information (see page *)

SABAP data (see page *)

Raptor road count data (see page *)

Wetland data (see page *)

Museum specimen data (see page *)

Nest record data (see page *)

Damara tern nest record data (see page *)

After choosing one of the data extraction options, the report will appear on the screen. The menu which appears, providing options for formatting and printing the report, is described on page *.

General species information

Extract a data summary for one or more species (all data sets)

This report summarises the number of records contained in each data set for the species selected. See Figure 11 in the printed version of this manual.

Extract a species list for selected parks (all data sets)

This report first prompts you to select one or more parks and then produces output in the same format as the previous report, for the selected parks. See Figure 12 in the printed version of this manual.

Extract a species list for selected QDS (all data sets)

This report first prompts you to select one or more QDS and then produces output in the same format as the previous reports, for the selected QDS See Figure 13 in the printed version of this manual.

Extract a list of Namibian Red Data species

This produces a printout of species classified under the three Red Data categories. See Figure 14 in the printed version of this manual.

Extract names and numbers of all southern African species

This report simply provides a printout of all species occurring within the southern African subregion i.e. all species listed in Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. See Figure 15 in the printed version of this manual.

SABAP data

There are two options:

Extract SABAP data by QDS
Extract SABAP data by parks/regions

Extract SABAP data by QDS:

Extract SABAP reporting rates for selected species

Produces output listing every quarter degree square in which the selected species was reported, together with reporting rates. See Figure 16 in the printed version of this manual.

Summarise range information for selected species

This option first prompts you to select one or more species. It then produces output summarising the number of SABAP records, no of QDS with SABAP records and the area in (km²) of all the QDS and of each land tenure class. See Figure 17 in the printed version of this manual.

Extract a species list with reporting rate for combined QDS

This option first prompts you to select one or more QDS and then calculates a reporting rate for each species present in the selected QDS i.e. one reporting rate is calculated for the combined QDS. See Figure 18 in the printed version of this manual.

Extract a species list for selected QDS

Produces a species list for each of the selected quarter degree squares, with reporting rates. See Figure 19 in the printed version of this manual.

Extract a list of breeding records for selected QDS

Produces a list of species which were recorded breeding in each of the selected quarter degree squares, with reporting rates. See Figure 20 in the printed version of this manual.

Extract SABAP data by parks/regions:

Extract a species list with reporting rate for selected parks

This report calculates one reporting rate for each species present in each park(s) selected. See Figure 21 in the printed version of this manual.

List QDS included within/partly within parks

This report lists every QDS in, or partly within, each park. See Figure 22 in the printed version of this manual.

List QDS included within/partly within each region

This report lists every QDS in, or partly within, each region. Note that changes to regions in 1998 and later are not reflected. See Figure 23 in the printed version of this manual.

Summarise raptor road count routes used in analysis

Lists the start and stop places of the routes used for road count analyses. See Figure 24 in the printed version of this manual.

Summarise QDS within raptor road count zones

Presents a map of road count zones and a list of all quarter degree squares within each zone. See Figure 25 in the printed version of this manual.

Summarise raptor sightings and density by zone and year

Lists, for a selected species, the number of birds, number of kilometres and bird density, for each year in each zone. See Figure 26 in the printed version of this manual.

Summarise wetland counts by month/year

Here you are first prompted to enter the dates between which you want to extract data. Enter the start date as e.g. 01/Jan/90 and the stop date in the same format. Wetland data are then presented in the format shown in Figure 27 in the printed version of this manual

List wetland data for selected counts to allow data checking

With this option you are first prompted for the WC numbers of the counts for which you want to produce output. See Figure 28 in the printed version of this manual.

Summarise no of counts at each wetland site

This report lists, for every wetland site ever counted, the number of counts and the years between which the site was counted. See Figure 29 in the printed version of this manual.

Summarise sightings for a wetland site - wetland species only

For all counts at the selected site, this report lists the species observed, date and counter. See Figure 30 in the printed version of this manual.

Summarise no of species and birds for selected wetland sites

Lists, for all counts at every site, the date and number of birds and species recorded. See Figure 31 in the printed version of this manual.

List sites with >1% of any species' population

For each wetland site, lists the dates at which over 1% of any species population has been recorded, giving the number of birds recorded and the 1% level used by IWRB. See Figure 32 in the printed version of this manual.

Museum specimen data

Summarise museum data

Lists, for every species, the number of museum specimens catalogued in the database, and the number of these which are geo-referenced to quarter degree square level or better, and the years the first and last specimens were collected. See Figure 33 in the printed version of this manual.

Catalogue museum specimens for selected species

Lists the museum specimens catalogued in the database for the selected species, giving details of the museum, collection date, specimen age and sex and collector name. See Figure 34 in the printed version of this manual.

List details of all museums with specimen data in database

Lists all museums from which specimen data have been obtained, with full names and addresses and contact details of relevant person or department. See Figure 35 in the printed version of this manual.

Nest record data

Calculate numbers of nest records per species (non-colonial nests)

This report lists the number of nest record cards per species, for non-colonial nests. See Figure 36 in the printed version of this manual.

Calculate numbers of nest records per species (colonial nests)

This report lists the number of nest record cards per species, for colonial nests. See Figure 37 in the printed version of this manual.

List nest records for selected species (non-colonial nests)

This report prompts you to select one or more species. It then produces a list of all nest record card observations sorted by QDS, nest record card number and date. See Figure 38 in the printed version of this manual.

List nest records for selected species (colonial nests)

This report produces similar output to the previous one, for colonial nest records. See Figure 39 in the printed version of this manual.

List nest records for selected QDS (non-colonial nests)

This report prompts you to select one or more QDS. It then lists all nest record observations in the selected QDS, sorted by species, nest record number and date. See Figure 40 in the printed version of this manual.

List nest records for selected QDS (colonial nests)

This report produces similar output to the previous one, for colonial nest records. See Figure 41 in the printed version of this manual.

Damara tern nest record data

List Damara Tern data for selected counts to allow data checking

This report prompts you to enter the numbers of the Damara tern counts you want to check. It then produces output in the format shown in Figure 42 in the printed version of this manual.

Options available after choosing Extract data (as a formatted report to print)

Choosing one of the report options will produce results in a document-type format on the screen, displayed as it will print with the current settings. A menu will also appear which provides the following choices:

Close this report and return to menu: this will simply close the report without saving or exporting the data, and return you to the main menu.

Zoom: allows you to zoom in and out to check content, formatting etc.

Page setup (to change format): allows you to change the current print settings.

Print the report results: opens the print window where you can specify the pages to print, printer etc.

Enter data

This menu item provides a list of the datasets to which data can be added. Choosing a dataset from the list will open the appropriate on-screen form for data entry.

There are 5 options which are described in the following sections.

Raptor road count data (see page *)

Wetland data (see page *)

Museum specimen data (see page *)

Nest record data (see page *)

Damara tern nest record data (see page *)

Certain features are common to all on-screen data entry forms:

All forms open with a blank screen, ready for the next data entry session to begin. It is thus not possible to inadvertently make changes to data which have already been entered.

In every form, certain boxes MUST be filled in - these are indicated below by an * before the box name.

Some boxes are filled in automatically by the computer - these are displayed in the screen as grey boxes and are indicated below by being enclosed within square brackets e.g. [Road count no].

Once you have filled in a box, pressing <enter> or tab will take you to the next box. In some cases, you will automatically be taken to the next box, for example, when you have entered a complete date in the correct format.

Typing the first few letters of an item in a list will take you to the correct place in the list.

Raptor road count data

The on-screen data entry form is designed to enter data from Raptor Road Count data sheets shown in Figure 43 in the printed version of this manual.

The data entry form is opened by selecting Enter data from the main menu, then Raptor Road Count data. The data entry form is shown in Figure 44. Each piece of information recorded on the original data sheet is entered into the appropriate place in the on-screen form. Note that several routes may be recorded on one data sheet e.g. Windhoek to Okahandja, Okahandja to Otjiwarongo, Otjiwarongo to Outjo etc. Each of these must be entered as a separate route and thus will be given a separate Road count no.

Note that there are 125 defined routes, although only 107 appear on the Road Count Check Sheet. This is because routes 108 - 125 are very infrequently travelled. Before entering data which have not been assigned to a route, check that they do not match any of the routes 108 - 125.

Note also that for road counts which have been assigned to zones rather than routes, it may be necessary to split one count into several separate counts, if the route travelled crosses from one zone into another. In this case, the original road count should be split into separate counts for each zone, each with a start and stop time, odometer reading etc.

On selecting the option to enter road count data, a message will appear telling you the number of the last road count entered and saved.

Figure 44 Raptor road count data entry form.

Fill in the following boxes for every route completed:

[Road count no]: the road count number is assigned automatically by the computer when an entry is made in either the route or zone box. This number should be written on the road count data sheet next to the corresponding data. Because several routes may be recorded on one sheet, there may be several road count numbers for each data sheet.

Route no: select the appropriate route number in the Route no box. This is the route number listed on the back of the data sheet e.g. select 1 for Windhoek-Okahandja. If the road count was not along any of the defined routes, leave this blank.

Zone: select a zone from the list ONLY if the route no was not filled in. i.e. either Route no or Zone must be filled in, not both.

* Date: enter the date of the road count as e.g. 18-12-98

Counter: select the appropriate person from the drop-down list. If more than one person is listed on the data sheet, select the first name and then click on the Next counter icon to then select the next person. Continue this until every person listed has been added. If the person listed does not appear in the drop-down list, click on the Register a counter for the first time icon. This will open a form where you can enter the details of the new counter.

In this form you are prompted to enter:

First names

Last name

On entering these details, the new counter will be assigned a number - this is the counter number which they may then use on the data sheets instead of / as well as their name. Click on Add another new counter to continue registering new counters or Close this form to return to the main data entry form.

No of counters: enter the number of people who participated in the road count.

Temperature, Cloud cover, Wind: enter these codes as they appear on the data sheet i.e. 1, 2, 3 or 4. Leave blank if these details were not recorded.

At start - Place: select the start place from the drop-down list. If the road count was not along a defined route and no Route no was entered, no list will appear - in this case, type in the start place.

At start - odometer: enter the odometer reading as a four-figure digit.

At start - time: enter the time as e.g. 12:15.

At end - place: if a Route no and a Start place were selected this is filled in automatically. If these were not filled in, type in the end place.

At end - odometer: enter the odometer reading as a four-figure digit.

At end - time: enter the time as e.g. 12:15.

The next section should be filled in once for every observation of a raptor or stork i.e. if 12 groups of birds/observations were recorded for the route, 12 separate entries should be made here. Note that it is not possible to enter data for species which are not raptors or storks e.g. rollers.

Time: enter the time of the observation as e.g. 12:15.

Km: enter the odometer reading at the time of the observation as a four-figure digit.

Species: select the species from the drop-down list.

No of birds: enter the number of birds observed.

Adults: enter the number of adult birds.

Juvs: enter the number of juvenile birds.

Activity: select the activity code from the drop-down list.

Influenced?: enter a y (yes) or n (no) to indicate whether the bird's behaviour was influenced by the observer.

Substrate: select the substrate that the bird was using. Leave blank if the bird was flying.

Equivalent?: enter a y (yes) or n (no) to indicate whether there was an equivalent height natural substrate within 500m if the bird was using an artificial substrate, and vice versa.

Click on Next Obs to enter another observation, Cancel Obs to cancel the row just entered or Enter a new road count to enter data from a new route/zone.

To finish the data entry session:

If the data for the entered road count(s) are correct, click on the Finish or Cancel icon and then Add records and update tables. DO NOT select Add records... unless you are SURE that the entries are correct.

To quit without saving the data entered in the data entry session, click on the Finish or Cancel icon and then the Quit without saving anything icon.

To delete one or more road counts from the data just entered, select Delete selected counts and then choose the counts to delete from the list shown. This will delete all raptor observations entered for those road count numbers.

Wetland data

The on-screen data entry form is designed to enter data from Wetland Count data sheets (IWRB data sheets) shown in Figure 45 in the printed version of this manual.

The data entry form is opened by selecting Enter data from the main menu, then Wetland Count data. See Figure 46. On selecting this option, a message will appear telling you the number of the last wetland count entered.

Figure 46 Wetland count data entry form.

* Wetland Name: select the name of the wetland from the drop-down list. If the name of the wetland does not appear on the list, click on the Add a new wetland site icon. This will open a form where you can enter the details of the new wetland.

In this form you are prompted for:

Site Code: this should be the same number as other wetlands in the same area, or should be a new number if the new wetland is in a new area.

Site name: enter the name of the new wetland.

District: select the district from the drop-down list.

Nearest Town: select the nearest town from the drop-down list or type in the town name.

QDS: enter the quarter degree square within which the wetland falls. If it crosses several QDS, enter the QDS codes separated by a semi-colon e.g. 1816DB;1816DD;1817CA

Protection status: select the protection status from the drop-down list.

Threats: select the threat from the drop-down list.

Site category: select the site category from the drop-down list.

Select Add another new wetland site to enter details of further new wetlands or Finish adding wetland sites to return to the Wetland data entry form.

[Wetland Count Number]: the wetland count number is assigned automatically by the computer and should be written in the top right-hand corner of the wetland count data sheet.

* Date: enter the date of the wetland count as e.g. 10/12/98.

Count type: select the type of count from the drop-down list.

Coverage: select the code for the coverage achieved by the count from the drop-down list.

Observer's name: enter the name of the primary observer as e.g. Darwin CE

Condition of wetland: select the condition of the wetland at the time of the count e.g. wet, dry.

Waterfowl counts: for every species listed on the main part of the IWRB data sheet, select the species name from the drop-down list (this is in the same order as the data sheet) and, with the species name highlighted, type in the number of birds seen. When the correct species name and number of birds are shown, press the Enter this record icon to enter these into the database. Continue until all species are entered. Note that wetland species which occur in Namibia but which are not listed on the IWRB form appear at the end of the on-screen list i.e. after African skimmer, in alphabetical order.

Non-wetland species: to enter data on species not listed in the Wetland species list but recorded under 'Additional species' on the original data sheet, click on the Enter data on species not listed under 'Waterfowl counts'. This will reveal a list of all species not listed on the IWRB. All additional species can then be entered in the same way.

Click on Enter another wetland count to enter a new wetland count sheet, or Finish wetland count data entry to finish data entry, close the form and return to main menu.

Museum specimen data

This on-screen form is designed for the entry of data obtained from museums on bird specimens originally collected in Namibia. The form is opened by selecting Enter data from the main menu, then Museum data. See Figure 47. On selecting this option, a message will appear telling you the number of the last museum record entered and saved.

The level of detail available for each specimen will vary with the museum but typically includes species information, an Accession number and collection location.

Figure 47 Museum data entry form.

Museum name: select the museum name from the drop-down list. If the museum is not listed, select (add new museum) from the list. This will open a new form where you can enter the details of the new museum.

In the new form you are prompted to enter:

Museum code: assign a code to the museum, usually the museum name or location e.g. Durban.

Full name and address: enter the name and address of the museum.

Contact Person: enter the name of the curator of the ornithological collection.

Phone number, Fax number and email address: enter these details for the contact person.

To add details of another new museum, click Add another new museum. To close the form and return to the main museum data entry form, click Finish adding museums. You will then be returned to the main form. Select the newly added name from the Museum code list before proceeding.

Accession no: enter the accession number or original museum reference number for the specimen.

[Museum specimen no]: the museum specimen number is assigned automatically by the computer and should be recorded next to the original data source.

Day: fill this in as a two-digit number e.g. 06.

Month: fill this in as a two-digit number e.g. 12.

Year: fill this in as a four-digit number e.g. 1996.

Species name: select the species' name from the drop-down list. This list includes many synonyms/old names and is fairly comprehensive. If you cannot find the name of the species in the list click on the Species not listed icon. This will reveal a section where you can type or select from the drop-down list the appropriate Genus, Species and Subspecies.

Gazetteer location: select the collection location from the drop-down list. This list shows most farms in Namibia, and some townlands. If you cannot find the location in the list, leave this blank and click on the Location not listed icon. This will reveal a section where you can enter location information. Fill in as much information here as possible: enter the quarter degree square in the QDS box as e.g. 1916cb, select the appropriate District and Region from the drop-down lists and fill in the precise location details in the Location details box as e.g. on Etosha Pan.

Collector: choose the collector from the drop-down list. If the collectors name is not listed, type the name (surname only) into the box.

Sex: select or type F or M or leave blank if not known.

Age: select an age category from the drop-down list or leave blank if not known.

Preparation: choose the preparation type from the drop-down list. If the preparation type is not listed, or if there are several types, type the information into the box.

Prep notes: enter any notes regarding the preparation.

Weight: enter the weight of the specimen, with the appropriate units e.g. 225g.

Notes: enter any additional information provided by the museum for the current specimen. If the specimen is a type specimen, enter details of the published type name, author, and citation if known.

Click on Add new specimen to continue data entry for a new specimen, or Finish data entry to close the form and return to the main menu.

Nest record card data

This on-screen data entry form is designed to enter data from Nest record cards shown in Figure 48 in the printed version of this manual.

The data entry form is opened by selecting Enter data from the main menu, then Nest Record Card data. See Figure 49. On selecting this option, a message will appear telling you the number of the last nest record entered.

Note that people occasionally record details of more than one nest on a non-colonial card. In this case it is necessary to decide whether the records should be entered as one colonial record or as several separate non-colonial nests.

Figure 49 Nest record data entry form.

* Species: select the appropriate species from the drop-down list.

[NRC no]: the Nest Record Card number is assigned automatically by the computer and should be written in the top right-hand corner of the nest record card.

Observer(s): enter the name(s) of the observer as e.g. Darwin.

Location: select the nest location from the drop-down list. This list shows most farms in Namibia, and some townlands. If you cannot find the location in the list, click on the Location not listed icon. This will reveal a section where you can fill in the QDS as e.g. 19120D and enter location details in the Locality box as e.g. Nyae-Nyae pan, Tsumkwe Region.

Nest description: enter a description of the nest.

Nest site: enter a description of the nest site.

Height: enter the height above the ground of the nest in metres.

Habitat: enter a description of the habitat in which the nest is situated.

R/S/U: enter R, S or U to indicate whether the area is Rural, Suburban or Urban.

Notes: enter any additional information, such as the estimated age of young on a particular date.

Colonial: click in this box to enter a tick if this nest record is for a breeding colony.

Click on either the Non-colonial nest icon or the Colonial nest icon to go to the correct sub-form to enter information on the nest contents.

Non-colonial nests

The data entry sub-form for non-colonial nests is shown in Figure 50. This section should be filled in once for every observation of the nest. For example, if observations were made on three separate dates, three lines should be entered here.

Figure 50 Nest record data entry form: non-colonial nests sub-form.

Date: enter the date of the observation as e.g. 19-12-1998.

Parental activity: choose the parental activity from the drop-down list, or leave blank if not known.

Eggs: Present?: select Y (yes) or N (no) to indicate whether the nest contained eggs. Leave blank if not known.

Eggs: No: enter the number of eggs present if known.

Young: Present?: select Y (yes) or N (no) to indicate whether the nest contained young. Leave blank if not known.

Young: No: enter the number of young present if known.

Click Add a new record for this nest to enter another observation for this nest i.e. an observation on another date, or Enter data for a new nest to return to the main nest record data entry form to enter data from another nest record card. To finish data entry and return to the main menu click the Finish nest record data entry icon.

Colonial nests

The data entry sub-form for colonial nests is shown in Figure 51.

Figure 51 Nest record data entry form: colonial nests sub-form.

A grid of boxes ranging from Empty to 6E only and 6Y only is shown: for each box, enter the number of nests which had the contents indicated e.g. if 3 nests contained 1 young and 1 egg and 1 nest contained 2 young, enter the number 3 in the box labelled 1E + 1Y and the number 2 in the box 2Y only.

Date: enter the date of the observation as e.g. 19-12-1998.

Number of nests in colony: enter the total number of nests in the whole colony if known.

Pairs in colony: enter the number of pairs of adult birds in the whole colony if known.

Click on Enter data for a new nest to go back to the main Nest record card data entry form and enter data for a new nest. To finish data entry and return to the main menu click on the Finish nest record data entry icon

Damara tern nest record data

The on-screen data entry form is designed to enter data from Damara Tern nest record sheets shown in Figure 52 in the printed version of this manual.

The data entry form is opened by selecting Enter data from the main menu, then Damara Tern nest record data. See Figure 53. On selecting this option, a message will appear telling you the number of the last Damara Tern nest record entered.

Figure 53 Damara tern nest record data entry form.

* Year: enter the year as a four-digit number e.g. 1998.

[DT no]: the Damara Tern Nest Record Card number is assigned automatically by the computer and should be written in the top right-hand corner of the nest record data sheet.

Colony: select the colony name from the drop-down list, or type in a new name if the colony is not listed.

QDS: enter the quarter degree square as e.g. 1914dd.

Nest no: enter the reference number for the nest, if appropriate.

Nearest landmark: enter locality information of the nearest known landmark e.g. block M79

Distance (m): enter the distance in metres from the nearest landmark.

Distance (m) to/from sea: enter the distance in metres to the sea.

Distance (m) to/from road: enter the distance in metres to the road.

Distance (m) to/from nest: enter the distance in metres to the nearest nest.

E/W of road: choose E or W to indicate whether the nest is east or west of the road.

Date: enter the date of the observation as e.g. 19/12/98.

No eggs: enter the number of eggs in the nest/scrape.

Incubating: click in this box to make a tick if an adult was incubating the nest contents.

Chick: select the development stage of the chick from the drop-down list.

Adults mobbing: click in this box to make a tick if an adult(s) was mobbing the observer.

Mammal tracks: click in this box to make a tick if mammal tracks were present at the nest site.

Gulls, crows: click in this box to make a tick if gulls or crows were present at the nest site.

Click Add new record to enter details of the nest contents of this nest for another date. Continue to add records until all observations (dates) are entered.

Habitat: select the habitat category from the drop-down list.

Substrate(a): select the substrate type from the drop-down list.

(b): select a second substrate category from the drop-down list.

Colour: select the substrate colour from the drop-down list.

Grain size (mm): enter the mean substrate grain size in mm.

Coast: select the coast type from the drop-down list.

Feature?: click in this box to make a tick if the nest was within 5m of a prominent feature.

Feature type: if Feature was ticked, select the type of feature from the drop-down list.

Feature direction: choose N, E, S or W to indicate the direction of the feature from the nest.

Ring no: enter the number of the ring put on the chick, if appropriate.

Observer: enter the name of the observer.

Click Finish data entry to return to the main menu.

Check / edit data

This option is designed to allow the easy checking and editing of several of the data sets.

There are four options:

Wetland count data

Museum data

Nest record data

Damara tern nest record data

In all options, you are prompted for a password before you can proceed to data checking. If the correct password is entered, the appropriate form is opened to allow data checking, otherwise you are returned to the menu.

IMPORTANT

All changes made to data through forms are automatically written to the underlying data tables. It is not necessary to save changes as the data tables are updated as soon as edits/changes are made. Therefore, if you start to make changes and then decide not to keep these changes, you must go back and undo each change.

BE SURE OF WHAT YOU ARE DOING BEFORE YOU START EDITING DATA!

The forms for data checking and editing are essentially the same as the data entry forms and you should refer to the section on Data entry (page *) for further details on how to fill these in correctly. However, instead of opening with a blank screen ready for data entry, each form opens with data showing. This is the first data record that was entered. Use the navigation controls at the bottom left of the screen to move back and forwards between records, either by clicking on the arrows or by typing in the record number of the data record you want to view. To go to the last record, click on the second last symbol (with the arrow and the line). To go to the first record, click on the leftmost symbol. Clicking on the last symbol (the arrow and the *) will clear the form ready for data entry. The notes below give further information for each dataset.

Wetland count data

There are two options:

Check / edit Wetland count data

This form has two tabs. The first tab (Select wetland count) enables you to select the count you want to edit from a list of all counts. Use the buttons Sort by site name, Sort by date and Sort by WC no to find the count you want to edit. After selecting a count, you are taken to the second tab (Edit data). The top section is identical to the data entry form. The lower sections of the form ("Waterfowl counts' and 'Non-wetland species') where data on the species observed and bird numbers are presented, are different. In both sections, use the arrows to scroll through the records of species and birds observed. If there is an error in either the species or number, simply replace the incorrect data with the correct data. If there is an extra observation, such as a species entered twice, click on the icon marked Delete this record to delete the species and associated number of birds. A message will appear, confirming the details of the record you have just deleted.

Check / edit Wetland sites data

This form presents details on the wetland sites which have been entered to allow changes. It is essentially the same as the form which appears when Add a new wetland site is selected from the Wetland Data Entry form.

Museum data

This form has two tabs. The first (Select data) allows you to find the specimen record you want to edit. First select the museum from the list, then the species and then the specimen. You are then taken to the second tab (Edit data) where the details of the selected specimen are shown. This tab is basically the same as the data entry form. Note, however, that the species name displayed may not be the same as the name you entered, but may be a synonym for the species. As long as the species has the correct Roberts' number this is not a problem. Roberts' number can be checked by clicking on the arrow to the right of the species name.

Nest record data

The first tab of this form (Select data) allows you to select the nest record you want to edit or check. Select the appropriate species from the list and then select the nest record. You are then taken to the second tab (General info) which displays data from the nest record selected. The procedure for checking Nest record data is essentially the same as for data entry except for colonial nest data. However, there are a few minor differences as follows:

In the Non-colonial section, if you need to change the date, you must delete (rather than edit) the existing date, and enter the correct date as e.g. 31-12-1998. This will then be automatically converted to the correct date format i.e. 31/12/1998.

On clicking Colonial Nest, you will be taken to the screen to check data entered for Colonial nest record cards. Unlike the data entry form, there is no grid showing all the nest content options. Instead, there are two boxes labelled Nest contents and No of nests which contain this information. This displays only those Nest content combinations (e.g. empty, 1Y+1E) for which observations were made. Use the navigation arrows under the boxes to view all the records. Click on the Add a new record for this colony button to add a new combination and the associated number of nests.

Damara tern nest record data

This form has two tabs. The first (Select data) allows you to find the record you want to edit. Use the Sort by DT No, Sort by Year and Sort by QDS buttons to find the appropriate record. Selecting the record will take you to the second tab (Check damara tern data) where there are no significant differences between the data checking procedure and the data entry form.

Open bibliography

Selecting this option opens a bibliography of over 2000 references, most of which relate to birds in Namibia and southern Africa. Many references also relate to methodological or analytical aspects relevant to the datasets in the database. The bibliographic database contains references entered from numerous sources, including historical references, taxonomic papers, books, conference proceedings and journal articles.

The database has been compiled in EndNote software, version 3. EndNote is a comprehensive bibliographic database package which facilitates the easy input and output of references in customisable formats. It allows you to create reference lists, format and update papers and manuscripts automatically and is easily searchable.

IMPORTANT

All edits, additions and deletions made to references are automatically written to the bibliographic database. It is not necessary to save changes as the database is updated as soon as edits/changes are made. If you start to make changes and then decide not to keep these changes, you must go back and undo each change.

BE SURE OF WHAT YOU ARE DOING BEFORE YOU START EDITING REFERENCES!

When you select the Open Bibliography option you will be taken into EndNote into a screen similar to Figure 54.

Figure 54 Screen which appears on selecting Open Bibliography option.

Entering new references

References are entered using the New option in the References menu. When entering data into the Author or Journal field, pressing the Control key and the 1 key at the same time will open a list of authors (or journals) to choose from. Double-clicking on an item in this list will automatically enter it into the field. This procedure minimises typing and data entry errors and should be used at all times. If the correct name or journal is not listed, type the name into the field, using the same format as shown in the list. Be aware of the correct format for entering each field before you start entering new references.

Searching for references

The Search option in the References menu allows you to search for references on words in the title, keywords, authors etc. References can also be selected from the list on the screen using the mouse and the Control or Shift buttons. Once you have completed a search, or highlighted the desired references on the screen, you can then copy or export these references in the format of your choice.

Exporting references

To print or export a reference list first make sure a style is selected by selecting Style and choosing a style from the list. If no list appears, it may be necessary to first choose Set styles folder and then specify the EndNote3 directory and the Styles folder. (A good general-purpose style to use is IBA-RDP in the Biosciences folder). Make sure the references you want to export are highlighted and then choose Copy Formatted from the Edit menu. The selected references are then copied onto the clipboard in the chosen output style and can then be pasted into any other application. To preview the style, choose Show Clipboard from the Edit menu.

EndNote can do many other useful bibliographic tasks such as formatting and updating word processing documents with in-text citations and reference lists formatted to your specifications. For further details, use the online help or consult the EndNote Manual.

Open the on-line manual for this database

Clicking on this option will open an electronic html version of this manual for the database. The manual describes and explains all aspects of the database. Navigate through the manual using the hyperlinks and the scroll bars at the side of the screen.

Exit this screen and go to the database window

This allows the user to leave the menu system and work with the actual tables, queries and reports. If you choose this option you will be prompted to enter a password. Passwords will be provided to people authorised to work in the database: this is designed to prevent inexperienced users making changes to the structure of the database. If you do not enter the correct password you will be returned to the menu system. To return to the menu system from the Database window choose Switchboard from the Forms tab.

Exit from the database

This takes you to a menu where you have 3 options. Select Compact the database (recommended) if you have added or deleted a lot of data. Compacting a database recovers disk space allocated to non-existent data and optimises data storage. If not, choose Exit without compacting to close the database and Access. The third option returns you to previous menu.

Section 2: Structure and design of the Avifaunal Database

The preceding section describes how to use the menu system to carry out many straightforward procedures such as data entry, data checking and data extraction as spreadsheets and reports. This section provides the information required to understand the design and structure of the database and to enable you to design and run new queries and reports.

IMPORTANT

It is strongly recommended that you have at least a basic knowledge and level of familiarity with Access databases before you try to design new queries and reports - it is very easy to obtain results that are incorrect or incomplete if you are not aware of the correct way to do things. It is also possible to make irreversible changes to data in the data tables. Especially at the beginning, all results should be checked against the data tables to ensure that you really are getting the correct results. Section 3 provides several examples of how to structure queries to obtain the results you require.

The Relational Database concept

The Avifaunal Database has been designed in Microsoft Access, a relational database package within the Microsoft Office Professional software package. Office is user-friendly yet powerful, allowing the easy interchange and linking of data between the five Office components (Microsoft Access, Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook), as well as between other software packages.

Many people think of a database as, for example, one large spreadsheet containing all their data. A relational database is, in fact, made up of many tables, each containing parts of the whole dataset(s) and related to each other by defined relationships (see Figure 1 for a structural overview of this database). Duplication of information is minimised by careful planning of tables and relationships, so that information common to many data items is stored only once, rather than repeated for every data item. There are several advantages to using a relational database compared to, for example, a spreadsheet application:

relational databases deal efficiently with very large amounts of data - much more than spreadsheets can handle conveniently

relational databases minimise information duplication by requiring repetition of only those data items by which multiple tables are linked

relational databases easily link two or more tables so that they appear to the user as if they are one table. This is difficult or impossible to accomplish with spreadsheets

queries are updated automatically when data are added, deleted or edited.

Because relational databases eliminate the duplication of information, they minimise data storage and memory requirements. Updating or changing data is also simplified. Defining relationships between tables ensures that Access can manipulate the data contained within them correctly. A suitable database structure must be in place before queries based on the tables will produce correct results.

Figure 1 in the printed version of this manualgives an overview of the relationships between all tables incorporated in the database; in addition, relationships for the tables used in each dataset are presented at the end of each data set description. In database terminology, a column in a table is referred to as a 'field'. Relationships between tables are indicated by lines joining common fields and are defined in the Relationship window. Three main types of relationships are possible:

one to many

many to one

one to one

A 'one to many' relationship exists when a field containing unique values in one table is linked to the same field in a second table which has repeat occurrences of those values. For example, say all bird species present at Windhoek sewage works were counted on a particular day. These data might then be entered into two tables. One table would contain perhaps three fields (site code, date and weather) and the second would also contain perhaps three fields (site code, species name and number of birds). In the first table, each site code would appear only once, whilst in the second table this code would be present for each species recorded. In this case, for each single occurrence of a site code in the first table, there are many occurrences of that site code in the second table. This type of relationship is shown using "1" and "" where a line starting with 1 and leading to  represents the "one to many" relationship. The "1" field is defined as a primary key i.e. a field which can contain a piece of information only once. A "many to one" relationship is simply the same in reverse.

A "one to one" relationship is rarely used, and is not used in this database. It can be used, for example, to split a large table into two for easier manipulation or to ensure security of some sections of data.

Organisation and naming of data sets

Within the database the data are organised as follows:

SABAP data are in tables beginning SABAP_: In Figure 1 these are colour coded Pale blue

Raptor road count data RRC_: Brown

Wetland data WC_ : Dark blue

Museum data Museum_ : Red

Nest record card data Nest_Record: Green

Damara Tern nest record data Damara_Tern_: Orange

Endemics data Endemics_: Orange

Within all data sets, a unique number has been assigned to each entry in the database and this number is recorded on the original data sheets to facilitate cross-referencing. For example, the first wetland count entered is referenced in the database as WC1 and the number 1 has been written on the original data sheet.

There are also a few additional tables, referred to here as Central Tables. These contain species, location and protected area information; the majority of data tables are linked directly or indirectly to one or more of these tables. These are colour coded Black in Figure 1.

(Three further tables are present: Map_Data, Query_Data and Query_Route_Data. These are used by Access for some of the processes which operate when queries and reports are run, and should not be modified or deleted).

Primary key fields are indicated in the following pages with a # symbol.

Central tables

Roberts_Code

This table contains species information for all species which occur in southern Africa i.e. all species which have a Robert's number. This is a key table which is used by many of the forms/tables to provide user-friendly species names and data.

Field name Data type Meaning

#Roberts Number Roberts' number for the species.

Roberts_Name Text Common name, as in "Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa".

Afrikaans_Name Text Common Afrikaans name, as in "Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa".

Order Text Order name.

Family Text Family name.

Genus Text Genus name.

Species Text Species name.

Habitat Status Text Indicates whether the species is primarily found in wetlands or non-wetlands.

Red Data Status Text Indicates the Red Data Status, either critical, endangered or vulnerable.

Endemic Status Text Indicates whether the species is endemic to southern Africa or Namibia.

W_T_M Status Text Indicates whether the species is a wetland, marine or terrestrial species.

Location Text For Red Data species, indicates whether it occurs in Caprivi, Cunene or Orange River.

Roberts_Synonyms

This table contains information on alternative names for species which occur in Namibia. This was derived from a number of historical sources, primarily and is used mainly in conjunction with Museum data, which often includes old species names.

Field name Data type Meaning

Roberts No Number Roberts' number for the species, as in Roberts_Code.

Genus Text Genus name used previously.

Species Text Species name used previously.

Protected_Area_Codes

This table contains information on the codes used in many of the data tables for protected areas.

Field name Data type Meaning

#Protected_Area_Code Number Protected area code used in data tables.

Protected_Area_Name Text Meaning of protected area code.

QDS

The QDS table contains data on the location, vegetation, protection status and land tenure of every quarter degree square (QDS) in Namibia. It also contains location data for half degree squares (HDS) which are referred to as the first 5 characters of the QDS code e.g. 1914D.

Field name Data type Meaning

#QDS Text QDS code.

QDS_Name Text Name of the QDS as on the 1:50 000 topographical map sheets.

QDS_Long_DD Number Longitude (in decimal degrees) of the centroid of the QDS.

QDS_Lat_DD Number Latitude (in decimal degrees) of the centroid of the QDS.

HDS_Long_DD Number Longitude (in decimal degrees) of the centroid of the HDS.

HDS_Lat_DD Number Latitude (in decimal degrees) of the centroid of the HDS.

Avi-Veg_Code Number Avi-vegetational zone within which the QDS lies: 1 Namib, 2 Namibian escarpment, 3 Mopane, 4 Arid woodland, 5 Northern Kalahari, 6 Central Kalahari, 7 Southern Kalahari, 8 Nama Karoo, 9 Succulent Karoo.

Zone Number Raptor Road Count zone within which the QDS lies, as in RRC_Zone_Description.

Protected_Area_Code Number Protected area within which all or much of the QDS lies.

Region Text Region of Namibia within which the QDS's centroid falls.

QDS_Area_sq_km Number Area (km²) of the QDS.

Communal_sq_km Number Area (km²) of the QDS within Communal land.

Farmscomm_sq_km Number Area (km²) of the QDS within Communal farmland.

Mining_sq_km Number Area (km²) of the QDS within Mining area.

Protected_sq_km Number Area (km²) of the QDS within National Parks/Protected areas.

Tourist_sq_km Number Area (km²) of the QDS within West Coast Tourist Recreation Area.

Commercial_sq_km Number Area (km²) of the QDS within Commercial farmland.

The data on area of QDS falling within each land tenure category were derived using the map of Major Land Uses in Namibia produced by the National Remote Sensing Centre.

Gazetteer

The Gazetteer was obtained from the National Botanical Research Institute in Windhoek. It lists every farm in Namibia, together with some other localities (small towns etc.). The gazetteer contains co-ordinates for over 8600 specific locations within Namibia, to the level of sixteenth-degree square (SDS). Each farm/place has been assigned a unique gazetteer number. The associated latitude and longitude co-ordinates, District and Region (pre-1998 changes) are listed. The Gazetteer table is used by many of the datasets to provide consistent detailed location information for bird records.

Field name Data type Meaning

#Gazetteer_Number Number Unique number assigned to each location/farm.

Place Text Farm/location name.

Farm_Number Text Farm number.

Minor_Area Text Magisterial district e.g. Gobabis.

Major_Area Text Region e.g. Omaheke.

SDS Text Sixteenth degree square reference e.g. 1914ABD

Gaz_Lat_DD Number Latitude, in decimal degrees.

Gaz_Long_DD Number Longitude, in decimal degrees.

Gaz_Lat Number Latitude, in degrees and minutes.

Gaz_Long Number Longitude, in degrees and minutes.

SABAP Data

The Avian Demography Unit in Cape Town collated all SABAP records for southern Africa and provided computerised Namibian data to Namibia.

The relationships between SABAP tables are shown in Figure 55.

SABAP_Card_ID

This table contains details of all SABAP record cards completed for Namibia. Each card is for a maximum of one calendar month: start and finish days are indicated.

Field name Data type Meaning

#Card_ID Number Unique number assigned to each card.

QDS Text QDS code.

Day_Start Number First day of card recording period.

Day_Finish Number Last day of card recording period.

Mth/Year Date/Time Month of card recording period.

SABAP_Data

This table contains information on the species recorded, and their breeding status, for each SABAP record card completed for Namibia.

Field name Data type Meaning

Card_ID Number Card ID number, as in SABAP_Card_ID.

Roberts Number Species Robert's number.

Breeding_Code Number Breeding status code used in SABAP_Breeding_Code.

SABAP_Breeding_Code

This table details the breeding codes used in SABAP_Data.

Field name Data type Meaning

#Breeding_Code Number Breeding status code.

Short_Description Text Brief description of breeding status.

Description Text Full description of breeding status.

Figure 55 SABAP relationships

Raptor Road Count Data

The relationships between Raptor Road Count tables are shown in Figure 57.

Due to changes in the way data have been handled since the beginning of the raptor road count project, this dataset comprises data at two main levels of resolution:

Data collected between 1977 and 1984 were previously computerised in a partially summarised form whereby observations were attributed to one of eight vegetation/habitat zones (see Figure 25). As a consequence, although the majority of bird sightings were recorded at QDS level, data on the corresponding distances travelled are only available at zone level. Analysis of these data at a resolution finer than zone level is therefore not possible.

Data collected since 1984 have been treated in two ways: road sections travelled frequently have been designated as defined 'routes' e.g. Windhoek to Okahandja is Route 1. In total, 125 unique routes have been defined. The start and stop points of each route are listed by the report illustrated in Figure 24 and the geographical coverage of the routes is illustrated in Figure 56. Of these 125 routes, 110 have been divided into 1km sections each of which has an associated latitude and longitude position, and all observations of raptors along each route have been attributed to a particular 'route-section' i.e. a specific 1 km stretch. For the remaining 15 routes each 1km section has been attributed to a QDS i.e. the dots shown in Figure 56. These routes are mostly in the desert. Observations from off-road counts or counts along roads which have been travelled infrequently have (as with the 1977-1984 data) been attributed to a zone.

Two types of data can therefore be extracted and analysed depending on requirements:

summaries of observations at zone level for all years i.e. 1977 - present

summaries of observations at any scale from 1km sections upwards, for data from 1984 - present. This resolution obviously allows greater flexibility for analysis. For example, data can be extracted for any spatial location required, such as particular road sections, a protected area, district or QDS.

The Road Count dataset comprises many tables in the database, however the majority provide supplementary information and only four are crucial for data extraction. RRC_Info and RRC_Data comprise all the data recorded on road count forms, RRC_Locations contains the information used to link observations to route sections or zones and RRC_Distances contains a summary of the number of times each route-section/zone was travelled each month.

Data are entered through the RRC_Info form, which puts data into the RRC_Info and RRC_Data tables as appropriate. The RRC_Info form also calculates which route section (or zone) should be attributed to each observation and enters the appropriate distance information in RRC_Distances.

RRC_Info

RRC_Info contains information on the date, start/stop places, times and odometer readings, observer, weather conditions etc. of each road count and whether the count has been assigned to a route or a zone.

Field name Data type Meaning

#RRC_No Number Unique number which identifies every raptor road count, and is written on the data sheet.

Route/Zone Text Indicates whether the road count has been assigned by route or by zone

Month/Year Date/Time Date of road count as e.g. Dec-89.

Date Date/Time Date of road count as e.g. 31-Dec-89.

No_Counters Number Number of observers during the road count.

Temp Number Temperature category during the road count: 1 hot, 2 warm, 3 cool, 4 cold.

Cloud Number Cloud cover during the road count: 1 clear, 2 light cloud, 3 overcast, 4 rain.

Wind Number Wind category during the road count: 1 still, 2 breeze, 3 wind, 4 gale.

Start_Place Text Location at start of road count.

Start_Odometer Number Odometer reading at start of road count.

Start_Time Date/Time Time at start of road count.

Stop_Place Text Location at end of road count.

Stop Odometer Number Odometer reading at end of road count.

Stop_Time Date/Time Time at end of road count.

Figure 56 Routes defined for use in analyses of Raptor Road Count data. See Figure 24 for a listing of routes.

RRC_Data

This table contains data on the raptors observed during every road count including route-section, zone, odometer, time, species, number of birds (including adults and immatures), and activities.

The final field, Zone_QDS, is used to allow data to be extracted by QDS for all observations entered at the resolution of zone. Data extracted using this field cannot be used to determine raptor densities. It is provided so that analyses using relative measures can be undertaken, for example, determining proportions of adults:immatures within QDS, using both earlier (1977 - 1984) and later data (1984 onwards).

Field name Data type Meaning

RRC_No Number Unique number which identifies every raptor road count, and is written on the data sheet, as in RRC_Info.

Route-Code Text A code which identifies the zone or every 1 km section of road within a route.

Zone Number Zone ID for each observation

Odometer Number Odometer reading at every observation (recalculated to start at zero).

Time_of_Obs Date/Time Time of observation as e.g. 06:55.

RRC_Species Text Species code, as in RRC_Species.

No_of_Birds Number Total number of birds seen.

No_of_Adults Number Number of adult birds seen.

No_of_Imm Number Number of immature birds seen.

Activity_Code Text Activity of the bird, as in RRC_Activity.

Influenced Text Indicates whether the bird's behaviour was influenced by the observer: Y or N.

Substrate Text Substrate code, as in RRC_Substrate.

Nat_Equiv Text Indicates whether there was an equivalent natural substrate nearby: Y or N.

Zone_QDS Text Quarter degree square code. Only for those road counts which have been assigned only to a zone but with observations recorded at QDS level.

RRC_Locations

RRC_Locations contains the co-ordinates for every route section (i.e. points at 1 km intervals along the route). Each route section is attributed to a QDS and where appropriate, a code identifying the protected area within which it falls.

Field name Data type Meaning

#Route-Code Text A code which identifies the zone or every 1 km section of road within a route.

Route Number The route number as indicated on Road count data sheets.

Section Number The km section of the route.

Long_DD Number Longitude of the route section in decimal degrees.

Lat_DD Number Latitude of the route section in decimal degrees.

QDS Number QDS code for the route section.

Protected_Areas Number A code assigned to route sections falling within protected areas, as in Protected_Area_Codes.

QDS_only Number Indicates where route sections have only been assigned to QDS level and not 1km sections.

RRC_Distances

This table provides a summary of the number of times each route section has been travelled within each month/year. (For zones, the replicates column represents the number of km travelled in the month/year).

Field name Data type Meaning

#Month/Year Date/Time Date, as e.g. Dec-89.

#Route_Code Text A code which identifies the zone or every 1 km section of road within a route.

Replicates Number Number of times the route section or zone has been travelled in each month/year.

RRC_Zone Number Zone within which the route section falls.

Supplementary Tables:

Most of the supplementary tables provide descriptions of codes used in the main RRC tables. In most cases they are used to provide a drop-down list on the data entry forms to allow data to be entered by selecting options from a list rather than typing in codes.

RRC_Species

Lists the codes used for all raptor and stork species included in the study e.g. wbv, te.

Field name Data type Meaning

Roberts Number Roberts' number for the species, as in Roberts_Code.

#RRC_Species Text Species code, as in RRC_Data.

RRC_Activity

RRC_Activity lists the codes for the activities used in recording observations e.g. flying, perched.

Field name Data type Meaning

#Activity_Code Text Activity code used in RRC_Data.

Activity Text Meaning of the activity code.

RRC_Substrate

This table contains codes for all substrates recorded e.g. green tree, pylon.

Field name Data type Meaning

#Substrate Text Substrate code.

Substrate_Desc Text Description of substrate.

Natural/Artificial Text Type of substrate.

RRC_Routes

This table lists all routes and start and stop locations.

Field name Data type Meaning

#Route Number The route number as indicated on Road count data sheets

Place1 Text Beginning or end point of the route

Place2 Text Beginning or end point of the route

km Number Length of route.

RRC_Counters

This table lists the names of all people who have filled in road count forms, with their unique counter number.

Field name Data type Meaning

RRC_Counter_No Number Counter number used in RRC_Info.

Last_Name Text Counter's last name.

First_Names Text Counter's first name.

RRC_Info_Counters

This table stores data on all counters participating in each road count. As more than one registered counter may participate in any one count, these data were not incorporated directly into the RRC_Info table. Providing this information in a linked table allows the user to easily extract data for a particular counter.

Field name Data type Meaning

RRC_No Number Unique number which identifies every raptor road count, as in RRC_Info.

RRC_Counter_No Number Counter number, as in RRC_Counters.

RRC_Season

This table provides the information needed to run queries based on rainfall/season. Each month is assigned to the wet or dry season. The table is updated automatically when data from new month/years are added.

Field name Data type Meaning

#Month/Year Date/Time Date as e.g. Dec-89.

Season Text Assigns months to wet or dry seasons. Dry = May to Oct; Wet = Nov to April.

RRC_Zone_Description

This table provides information on the RRC_Zones used in RRC_Info and related tables.

Field name Data type Meaning

#Zone Number Number of RRC zone.

Description Text Description of RRC zone.

IMPORTANT

All road count data are spatially referenced and any subset based on geographical location can be extracted. Note, however, that distance data are summarised by month and are not linked to individual road counts. There are five cases when the extraction of a subset of data from RRC_Info/RRC_Data tables will not be reflected in the RRC_Distances data i.e. when a subset of data is required based on 1) Counter ID, 2) temperature, 3) cloud, 4) wind or 5) time. If calculation of raptor density is not required then this presents no problem. However, if the purpose of extracting these subsets of data is to derive densities, then an alternative method is required. In order to extract distances for such subsets of data, the user would need to use the start and stop odometer fields in the RRC_Info table. This has its limitations however as it is not possible to extract these data in any spatially referenced form. Distances would be calculated for the whole journey travelled and in many cases would include counts which pass through several zones.

Figure 57 Raptor Road Count relationships

Wetland Data

The relationships between Wetland tables are shown in Figure 58.

Data are entered through the WC_Info form containing two sub-forms which automatically enter the count details into WC_Info and the bird count data into the WC_Data_Wets and WC_Data_Nonwets tables. These three tables represent the main data tables for wetland data; all other WC tables contain supplementary data used to facilitate data entry etc.

Data can be queried by site, date, species etc. Note that a query which provides information on, for example, every date a species was counted at a particular site, will only produce information for those dates when the species was observed unless the join type is set so that all records from WC_INFO are used.

WC_Info

WC_Info contains information on the date, site name, count type code, coverage code, condition code and observer for each wetland count.

Field name Data type Meaning

#WC_No Number Unique number identifying every wetland count, written on the data sheet.

Count_Date Date/Time Date of wetland count, as e.g. 17-Jan-96.

WC_Site_Name Text Wetland site name, as listed in WC_Sites.

Type Text Type of wetland count, as listed in WC_Types.

Coverage Text Coverage of wetland, as listed in WC_Coverage.

Condition Number Condition of wetland, as listed in WC_Condition.

Compiler's Name Text Name of person doing wetland count, as e.g. Darwin C

WC_Data_Wets

This table contains count data for those species listed on WC forms.

Field name Data type Meaning

WC_No Number Unique number which identifies every wetland count, as in WC_Info.

Roberts Number Robert's number.

No_of_Birds Number Number of birds counted during the wetland count.

WC_Data_Nonwets

Contains count data for species recorded during wetland counts but which are not listed on WC forms. The table has the same format as WC_Data_Wets.

Field name Data type Meaning

WC_No Number Unique number which identifies every wetland count, as in WC_Info.

Roberts Number Robert's number.

No_of_Birds Number Number of birds counted during the wetland count.

Supplementary Tables:

Most of the supplementary tables provide descriptions of codes used in the main WC tables. In most cases they are used to provide a drop-down list on the data entry forms to allow data to be entered by selecting options from a list rather than typing in codes.

WC_Sites

This table lists all the wetland sites ever counted under this scheme. Each site has been allocated a site code, and the district, nearest town, QDS, protection status codes and threat codes are listed. Wetland sites are grouped by site codes so that, for example, all the Bushmanland pans have a unique name but the same site code.

Field name Data type Meaning

WC_Site_Code Number Code given to each wetland. Several wetland sites may have the same code.

#WC_Site_Name Text Unique name for each wetland.

Magisterial_District Text Magisterial district within which the wetland falls.

Nearest_Town Text Nearest town to the wetland.

QDS Text QDS within which the wetland falls.

Protection Number Protection codes applicable to the wetland, as listed in WC_Protection_Codes.

Threats Text Threat codes applicable to the wetland, as listed in WC_Threats.

Site Category Text Indicates whether the wetland is a perennial river mouth/section, inland or coastal, natural or artificial.

WC_Species_Wets

This table lists all the species listed on WC form, with Robert's number and name. It is used to provide a drop down list of wetland species on the data entry form and to provide population information for queries based on RAMSAR criteria.

Field name Data type Meaning

WC_Species Text Species common name.

WC_Form_Order Number Indicates the order in which these species appear on the IWRB form.

#Roberts Number Species Roberts' number.

1% Ramsar Level Number 1% of population level for use in Ramsar.

Population Text Population of which 1% level is taken.

WC_Condition

This table lists the codes used for classifying wetland condition (dry, wet etc.) in WC_Info table.

Field name Data type Meaning

#WC_Condition_Code Number Code used to indicate condition of wetland.

WC_Condition Text Meaning of WC_Condition_Code.

WC_Coverage

WC_Coverage lists the codes used for classifying coverage of wetland survey (75%, 100% etc.) in WC_INFO table.

Field name Data type Meaning

#WC_Coverage_Code Text Code used to indicate coverage of wetland during count.

WC_Coverage Text Meaning of WC_Coverage_Code.

WC_Type

This table lists the codes used for classifying type of wetland survey in WC_Info table.

Field nameData type Meaning

#WC_Type_Code Text Lists types of wetland counts i.e. by foot, by boat.

WC_Type Text Meaning of WC_Type_Code.

WC_Protection

This table lists the codes used for classifying wetland protection status in WC_Info table.

Field name Data type Meaning

#WC_Protection_Code Number Code used to indicate protection status of wetland.

WC_Protection Text Meaning of WC_Protection_Code.

WC_Threats

This table lists the codes used for classifying threats to wetlands in WC_Info table.

Field name Data type Meaning

#WC_Threats_Code Text Code used to indicate threats to wetland.

WC_Threats Text Meaning of WC_Threats_Code.

Figure 58 Wetland relationships

Museum Data

The relationships between Museum tables are shown in Figure 59.

The level of detail of information available for museum specimens varies with the source, but typically includes at least species, collection date and locality. The form Museum_Data is used for data entry, putting all data entered into the Museum_Data table. There are two supplementary tables, containing data on Museum names and addresses and age codes used in the Museum_Data table.

Museum_Data

This table contains all information available for each museum specimen. Data are recorded for museum, museum accession number, species and location information, collector and information on the specimen type. Where possible, collection location has been assigned a gazetteer number, for cross-referencing to the Gazetteer table.

Field name Data type Meaning

#Museum_Specimen_Number AutoNumber Unique reference number given to every museum specimen entered.

Museum_Name Text Museum name, as in the Museum_Codes table.

Accession_Number Text Reference number given to the specimen by the source museum.

Roberts Number Robert's number of the species.

Genus Text Genus name.

Species Text Species name.

Subspecies Text Subspecies name.

Day Number Day of specimen collection i.e. between 1 and 31.

Month Number Month of specimen collection i.e. between 1 and 12.

Year Number Year of specimen collection e.g. 1997.

Gazetteer_Number Number Gazetteer number, as listed in the Gazetteer table.

Minor_Area Text Magisterial district where the specimen was collected (only needed if there is no Gazetteer number).

Major_Area Text Region where the specimen was collected (only needed if there is no Gazetteer number).

(Location_Details) Text Information on the collection location (only needed if there is no Gazetteer number).

QDS Text QDS at which the specimen was collected (only needed if there is no Gazetteer number).

Collector Text Name of the person who collected the specimen.

Sex Text Sex of the specimen: M or F.

Age Text Age code for the specimen as in Museum_Age_Codes.

Preparation Text Preparation of the specimen e.g. skin, egg, skeleton.

Prep_Notes Text Any notes relating to the specimen preparation.

Weight Text Weight of the specimen.

Remarks/Notes Text Any other information, including type specimen information.

Supplementary Tables:

Museum_Codes

This table provides details of the source museums used in the Museum_Data table.

Field name Data type Meaning

#Museum_Name Text Museum name as in Museum_Data.

Postal_Address Text Museum address.

Contact_Name Text Name of person who deals with bird specimens.

Phone_no Text Phone number for Ornithological Department.

Fax_no Text Fax number for Ornithological Department.

E-mail_Address Text E-mail address for collection manager/curator.

Museum_Age_Codes

Museum_Age_Codes lists the age codes used in the Museum_Data table.

Field name Data type Meaning

#Museum_Age_Code Text Age code used in Museum_Data table.

Age_Description Text Meaning of age code.

Figure 59 Museum relationships

Nest Record Card Data

The relationships between Nest record tables are shown in Figure 60.

Most nest record cards are for single nests and contain information on the number of eggs and/or young present on one or more dates. For those species which nest colonially, a separate type of nest record card exists (Colonial Nest Record Card) and data have been recorded on the number of nests with 0, 1, 2 etc. eggs/young per nest. Both types of nest records (non-colonial and colonial nests) have certain data in common (e.g. locality, species) and this information is stored in the Nest_Record_Info table. Data are entered through the NRC_Info form, which automatically puts information into the four Nest record data tables: Nest_Record_Info, Nest_Record_Data, Nest_Record_Colonial_Info and Nest_Record_Colonial_Data.

Nest_Record_Info

This table contains information for each nest record card, whether for a single nest or a breeding colony.

Field name Data type Meaning

#NRC_No Number Unique number which identifies every record card, and is written on the card.

Observer Text Observer name.

Gazetteer Number Number Gazetteer number, as in Gazetteer table (0 if not known).

QDS Text Quarter degree square code.

Locality Text Geographical description of nest location e.g. Hobatere lodge, Kunene region.

Nest Description Text Data on appearance, structure etc of nest.

Nest Site Text Data on position/location of nest.

Height (m) Number Height of nest above ground.

Habitat Text Description of habitat around nest.

R/S/U Text Rural/Suburban/Urban (entered as R, S or U).

Roberts Number Roberts number for the nesting species.

Colonial Yes/No A yes/no box which indicates if it the record is of a breeding colony.

Notes Text Additional information e.g. 12-12-93 chicks approx. 3 days old.

Nest_Record_Data

This table contains data on the date, number of eggs and/or young per nest for non-colonial nest record cards only.

Field name Data type Meaning

NRC_No Number Unique number which identifies every nest record card, and is written on the card, as in Nest_Record_Info.

Date Date/Time Entered as dd-mm-yy

Parental Activity Text Parental activity, If known. B nest building, I incubating, F feeding young or O other

Eggs Present? Text Y or N (or ? if it is likely but not definite)

No Eggs Number Number of eggs, if known

Young Present? Text Y or N (or ? if it is likely but not definite)

No Young Number Number of young, if known

Nest_Record_Colonial_Info

This table contains data relating to features of the breeding colony, for colonial nest records only.

Field name Data type Meaning

NRC_No Number NRC_No, as in Nest_Record_Info.

Date Date/Time Entered as dd-mm-yyyy

Nests in Colony Number Number of nests in the colony.

Pairs in Colony Number Number of pairs in the colony.

Nest_Record_Colonial_Data

This table contains data for colonial nest records only on the contents of nests in each breeding colony (e.g. 1 egg only, 1 egg and 1young etc), and the number of nests containing those contents.

Field name

Data type Meaning

NRC_No Number NRC_No, as in Nest_Record_Info.

Nest_Contents Text Code for nest contents e.g. Empty, 1E+1Y, 6E only etc.

No_of_Nests Number Number of nests containing the contents shown in 'Nest_Contents'.

Figure 60 Nest record relationships

Damara Tern Nest Record Data

The relationships between Damara tern nest record tables are shown, with the relationships between the Endemics tables, in Figure 61.

Records of Damara Tern nests/colonies pre-1991 (and a few from 1992) are included within the nest record scheme and are in the standard nest record format. Damara tern breeding records collected since 1991 consist of different and more detailed information and these are contained within this data set.

The Damara_Tern_Info data entry form automatically enters data into the Damara_Tern_Info and Damara_Tern_Data tables as appropriate.

Damara_Tern_Info

This table contains information on the QDS, habitat, substrate etc. of the nest.

Field name Data type Meaning

#DT_No Number Unique Damara Tern nest record number.

Year Number The year of the nest record, as a four-figure digit e.g. 1997.

Colony Text The name of the colony e.g. Meob.

QDS Text The quarter degree square e.g. 1914DD.

Nest No Text The number or code given to the nest e.g. Meob1.

Locality Text The name of the nearest place or feature.

Distance Text Distance (m) to the nearest place or feature.

Sea Text Distance (m) to the sea.

Road Text Distance (m) to the nearest road.

Nest Text Distance (m) to the nearest nest.

E/W Text Direction to the nearest nest.

Habitat Text Either undulating, flat, valley slope or other.

Substrate(a) Text Either sand, soft powdery, loose gravel, firm gravel, hard rock, soft saltpan or hard saltpan.

Substrate(b) Text Either sandy plain, gravel plain, stony plain, rocky, saltpan, upper beach or lichen field.

Colour Text Either black, grey, dark pink, light pink, white, brown or sandy.

Size Text Average size (mm) of substrate grains.

Adjacent Text Type of adjacent coast, either sheltered bay or high energy coast.

Prom_Feature Yes/No Is the nest within 5 m of a prominent feature? Y or N.

Microhabitat Text Either stone/rock, drift wood, vehicle track or other.

N/S/E/W Text Direction to the prominent feature, either N,S,E or W.

Ring No Text Number of ring put on chick.

Observer Text Name of person making the nest record observation.

Damara_Tern_Data

This table contains information on the nest contents, stage of chick development and adult behaviour at one or more observation dates.

Field name Data type Meaning

DT_No Number Damara Tern nest record number, as in Damara_Tern_Info.

Date Date/Time Date of observation e.g. 12-Dec-94.

No Eggs Number Number of eggs present in the nest.

Incubating Yes/No Is an adult incubating the nest? Y or N.

Chick Text Information on the chick: in nest, downy & mobile, partly feathered, feathered but not flying, flying, dead or not found.

Adults mobbing Yes/No Indicates whether the adults were mobbing the observer: Y or N.

Mammal tracks Yes/No Indicates whether mammal tracks were near the nest: Y or N.

Gulls, crows Yes/No Indicates whether gulls or crows were near the nest: Y or N.

Endemics Data

The relationships between Endemics data tables are shown in Figure 61.

Data on the following 10 species of Namibian endemics were collected during field surveys in 1996: Hartlaub's Francolin, Ruppell's Korhaan, Ruppell's Parrot, Violet Woodhoopoe, Monteiro's Hornbill, Carp's Black Tit, Barecheeked Babbler, Herero Chat, Rockrunner and Whitetailed Shrike. Density estimates were made for each combination of important environmental variables (e.g. rainfall, altitude). These density estimates were then used to predict the numbers of birds of each species per QDS. A diversity index (Shannon rank) based on number of species and birds present was then used to rank all QDS with three or more species. See Jarvis & Robertson for further details of methodologies.

Endemics_Estimates

This table contains information on the predicted number of each species per QDS.

Field name Data type Meaning

QDS Text QDS code.

Roberts Number Roberts' number, as in Roberts_Code.

Birds Number Predicted number of birds.

Endemics_by_QDS

This table contains information for each QDS on the number of endemic species predicted and the Shannon rank (diversity index) of the QDS.

Field name Data type Meaning

#QDS Text QDS code.

Number_of_Species Number Number of endemic species

Shannon_Rank Number Shannon Index ranking (1 = highest).

Figure 61 Damara tern and Endemics data relationships

Database Maintenance

Backing up the database

A backup copy of the database should be kept and regularly updated, especially after major changes such as data entry or editing sessions. The database should be copied from its location on the C drive of the host computer (\\Tony\c\Database\avian database.mdb) to another location and renamed as e.g. avian database 12 Dec 99. This can be done using Windows Explorer. If, in the future, there is any problem with the database, such as it becoming corrupted or unreadable, the backup copy should be used to replace the database, by renaming it to the same name as the original copy. The amount of data lost will depend on the time interval between the last backup copy being made and the replacement.

Compacting the database

As the database is used and changes are made to the data, the size of the database will grow. Whilst some of the size increase is due to additional data being added, some of it is 'lost' space i.e. space which was once used for data that is now no longer used but not available. If the database is substantially bigger than it needs to be because it needs compacting, it will take much longer than necessary to extract or manipulate data. To reclaim the 'lost' space and reduce the database size, it is necessary to compact the database. Do this by selecting Compact the database (recommended) after selecting the Exit database option from the menu.

To avoid data loss, back up the database before and after making any major changes.

Compact the database regularly to speed up data extraction and to free up space on the hard drive.

Section 3: Practical uses of the database and how to design new queries and reports to achieve them

Many of the day-to-day uses of the database will be catered for by the options available on the menus. These include diverse tasks such as producing species lists with abundance indices for selected squares or areas to use as part of environmental assessments, mapping present and historical species distributions, comparing density of selected birds of prey across the country and over time, and assessing which of Namibia's wetland sites qualify as potential Ramsar sites or are important for selected species. The use of the menus to extract these data is described in Section 1.

However, there are countless other uses to which the bird data can usefully be put, and many of these will require custom-designed data extraction queries. In this section we present some examples of how the data have been, or could be, put to use, and how queries can be designed to extract appropriate data. These examples, in combination with a basic knowledge of Access, should provide a sufficient introduction to constructing queries to allow users to design their own queries to extract data to answer specific questions.

IMPORTANT

If you run a query and start to delete or edit data in the resulting spreadsheet, these changes will normally be written to the underlying data tables. Whilst this can be a powerful way to edit data, it is potentially dangerous as changes may be made unintentionally.

All query results should be checked to make sure they are correct. It is easy to construct queries which do not produce the results you expect!

If you run a query, and then make changes to the data in the data tables, the query will automatically reflect these changes next time it is run.

General hints for constructing queries:

Use an asterisk (*) as a wild-card character to represent any item in the criteria line. For example, 2017* will find 2017A and 2017BB and 2017; *bird* will find birds, Frigatebird etc. To specify not equal to, use "<>". For example, "<>*Windhoek*" will find all records which do not contain Windhoek anywhere in the field specified.

Use the word or to include other categories. For instance, to select data for both Etosha National Park and Skeleton Coast Park, change the criteria for the Protected_area_code field to 1 or 2.

Use the term Is Null (or Is Not Null) in a field's criteria to specify that the field must be empty (or must not be empty).

Use the Total line (activated by clicking the S button) to perform calculations such as count, sum, average. (the default is Group By).

Note that you can add another table to the query grid at any time by clicking on the Show Table icon.

If more than one criteria are on the same line of the query grid the query will find records that fulfil both criteria; if the criteria are on different lines, it will find records that fulfil either criteria.

Many queries require several steps to produce the required output. For example, to count the number of species recorded at a particular site it is usually necessary to make one query which lists the species recorded at the site and then to make a second query, based on the first one, which counts the number of species. If you try to do this in one query, you will end up with a count of the number of rows of data for the site, rather than the number of species.

If you design a query which computes calculations, you will end up with field names like "Count of Roberts". To rename a field simply insert a new field name followed by a colon (:) before the old one in the top line of the query design grid e.g. No of species: ROBERTS.

Each query has properties which can be used to refine the output. To open the query properties, click View on the menu and then select Properties. Changing unique values to yes, for instance, will restrict output to only show an output line if it is different from all other output lines.

7. Tables and queries used in the query design grid must be joined (related) correctly to each other. If they are not, you will get unexpected and incorrect results. If you are using tables only, the correct relationships should already exist. If you add queries, you may need to add relationships between fields by dragging a field from one query/table to the corresponding field in another query/table. (This can be done in Query design or in the Relationship Window). Setting the join properties can also alter the query output. For instance, if you have two tables and you set the join properties to a one way join (by clicking on the join, clicking on View in the menu and then selecting Join properties) you can force the query to present all records from one table even if there are no corresponding records in the other table.

Example queries

The example queries can be accessed by opening the Database Window (select Exit this screen and go to the database window from the menu and then enter the correct password) and clicking on the Query tab. Highlight the required query by clicking on it once with the mouse. Clicking on Open will run the highlighted query; clicking on Design will show the query structure. To switch between the Design view and the Datasheet (results) view, choose View from the Menu and the select the desired view. The example queries have been named "_example 1 1st step", "_example 1 2nd step" etc. To run a multi-step query, it is only necessary to run the last step as the previous step(s) are run automatically. Please DO NOT make changes to these example queries. If you want to experiment, first copy the query and save it with a different name (from the Database Window use the right hand mouse button then choose Copy), or choose Save As/Export from the File menu in the query design view.

Example 1 Where are hotspots of avian endemism in Namibia?

This question is answered by finding out which QDS in Namibia have the highest number of endemic species. To use data on all endemic species, the SABAP dataset must be used. (If only the 10 'inland' endemics were being considered, the best dataset to use would be the Endemics data, since these data are more detailed). The desired output is thus a list of QDS with the corresponding number of endemic species.

The first step of this query (_example1 1st step) uses the SABAP_CARD_ID and SABAP_DATA tables to list the species recorded in every QDS. Adding the ROBERTS_CODE table, with the criteria that the Endemic status field must contain "Namibian", restricts the results to Namibian endemics only. In the query properties, the unique values option is set to yes, so that each species is listed only once for each QDS. In the second step (_example1 2nd step) the first query is used in conjunction with the QDS table (joined with a one-way join to force the output to show all QDS even if no endemic species are present) to count the number of endemic species in every QDS in Namibia. This output can then be exported for mapping.

Example 2 Which wetland sites in Namibia support a) the highest diversity of species? b) the most birds? c) the highest number of Red Data species?

2a) To calculate the total number of wetland species recorded at each site (i.e. diversity of species), a two-step query is required. The first step (_example2a 1st step) lists the species recorded at each site, using the WC_INFO and WC_DATA_WETS tables. The second step (_example2a 2nd step) is based on the first query and counts the number of species at each site. This query presents the number of species recorded over all wetland counts combined for each site. To specify the number of species recorded during one count only, you should add count date to the design grid in the first step.

2b) This query uses WC_SITE_NAME and COUNT_DATE from WC_INFO and NO_OF_BIRDS from WC_DATA_WETS to sum the number of birds at each site on each count date. The final column is sorted in descending order.

2c) The first step of this query is very similar to _example2a 1st step, but it adds the ROBERTS_CODE table so that Red Data species can be specified (as not equal to "-", since Red Data species contain a status code in this column whilst non-RD species contain "-"). The second step (_example2c 2nd step) is based on the first query and sums the number of Red Data species.

Example 3 Which species are known to use Acacia erioloba for nesting?

This query is shown in _example3. Descriptive data on nest locality, description and site are held in the NEST_RECORD_INFO table. Adding the ROBERTS_CODE table allows species names to be added. Since Acacia erioloba has many names, the query should be constructed to find all names e.g. Camelthorn, Acacia erioloba etc by using a criteria such as Like "*acacia erioloba*" Or Like "*camelthorn*" Or Like "*acacia giraffae*". Using this criteria for all fields which contain descriptive data on nest characteristics will retrieve all nest records where any of these words are present. Additional output e.g. dates, locations can be added by adding these fields to the query grid.

Example 4 Which Red Data species have been recorded breeding in the vicinity of Waterberg by the Nest record scheme?

This query uses the NEST_RECORD_INFO table, the GAZETTEER table and the ROBERTS_CODE table. Nest records for which a precise locality was recorded have a Gazetteer number and the sixteenth degree square (SDS) is stored in the GAZETTEER table. Those with less precise locality information have either a quarter degree square (QDS) reference or a descriptive locality in the NEST_RECORD_INFO table. Hence you must query the location in both tables. This has been done as Like "2017*" (the degree square containing Waterberg and surrounds) for the QDS and SDS fields and Like "*waterberg*" in the locality field. Red Data status is stored in the Red Data Status field of the ROBERTS_CODE table and Red Data Species have been specified by <>"-" (i.e. not equal "-") in this field, since Red Data Species have a value such as critically endangered in this field and non RD species have a "-".

Example 5 On which sections of the Windhoek to Okahandja road have Tawny Eagles been observed each year?

This example uses the road count data set. In order to answer the question, you need to extract data on the number of times Tawny Eagles have been sighted on each 1 km section of route 1. These data are in the RRC_INFO and RRC_DATA tables. To help in interpreting this it would also be useful to extract data on how many times each 1km section has been travelled each year. The first step (_example5 1st step) uses RRC_DISTANCES and RRC_LOCATIONS to extract data on how many times each 1km section of road has been travelled. The month/year field has been formatted to extract year only and route 1 has been specified in the criteria. The second step (_example5 2nd step) adds up the number of Tawny Eagles seen on each route section in each year. The third step (_example5 3rd step) combines the first two steps. Relationships have been established between corresponding fields in the first two queries (using the mouse to drag from one field to another) and one-way joins have been set up by clicking on the relationships and setting the join properties so that the query is forced to use all data from the first step i.e. to present every route section for every year regardless of whether or not Tawny Eagles were sighted.

Example 6 How many specimens of Sabota Lark were collected between 1900 and 1950, and from which QDS?

This example extracts data from the MUSEUM_DATA table based on collection year and species. The first step (_exampe6 1st step) specifies the species name and extracts the QDS from the QDS field in MUSEUM_DATA and the SDS field in the GAZETTEER table. Because each specimen has either the SDS in the GAZETTEER table OR a QDS code in the MUSEUM_DATA table, it is easiest to just concatenate the data from these two fields to get the correct QDS code. The expression Left([QDS] & "" & [SDS],6) specifies that only the first 6 characters are used. Specimens with no QDS or SDS and not between 1900 and 1950 are excluded. The one-way join specifies that all specimens from MUSEUM_DATA are used, whether they have a gazetteer number or not. Because each line of data represents a separate specimen, the number of specimens is simply the number of records shown. The second step (_example6 2nd step) produces a list of QDS, and number of specimens per QDS, based on the first step.

Field name	Data type	Meaning
#Roberts	Number	Roberts' number for the species.
Roberts_Name	Text	Common name, as in "Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa".
Afrikaans_Name	Text	Common Afrikaans name, as in "Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa".
Order	Text	Order name.
Family	Text	Family name.
Genus	Text	Genus name.
Species	Text	Species name.
Habitat Status	Text	Indicates whether the species is primarily found in wetlands or non-wetlands.
Red Data Status	Text	Indicates the Red Data Status, either critical, endangered or vulnerable.
Endemic Status	Text	Indicates whether the species is endemic to southern Africa or Namibia.
W_T_M Status	Text	Indicates whether the species is a wetland, marine or terrestrial species.
Location	Text	For Red Data species, indicates whether it occurs in Caprivi, Cunene or Orange River.

Field nameData type	Meaning
#WC_Type_Code	Text	Lists types of wetland counts i.e. by foot, by boat.
WC_Type	Text	Meaning of WC_Type_Code.

	Data type	Meaning
NRC_No	Number	NRC_No, as in Nest_Record_Info.
Nest_Contents	Text	Code for nest contents e.g. Empty, 1E+1Y, 6E only etc.
No_of_Nests	Number	Number of nests containing the contents shown in 'Nest_Contents'.