California State
University, NorthridgeCalifornia State
University, NorthridgeMany of us are now using email for routine communication, but a message that I received last June was anything but routine. A letter from Richard Perron [from Quantum Conservation in Germany http://home.t-online.de/home/quantum/] prompted me to rethink how I had been viewing the World Wide Web. Up until now, most of the information made available on the Home Pages of zoos, aquariums and many related organizations (like the AZA and AAZK) is actually just an electronic version of brochures and other material that they print for public distribution. But while publishing general announcements or information and on the World Wide Web is a good way to get publicity (and save paper and postage!), the Web as the "Fourth Media" can be used much more effectively and creatively (Hardy, 1997). Indeed, the potential of this remarkable technology has yet to be realized. And since AAZK was one of the first zoo-related organizations to place its Home Page on the Web, I believe that your organization can contribute to the way that we will use this technology in the future. And in doing so, AAZK can play an important role in serving the needs of the international conservation community. Let me explain how I came to this view.
Back in 1992, I met Richard Perron at a conference on captive propagation of endangered species that we were attending on the Isle of Jersey. At this time, relatively few people were thinking about exploring the use of the Internet for communication or for the distribution of information (Hardy, 1994). Indeed, the World Wide Web was still being developed in Geneva, Switzerland, and would not become widely available until the release of the first Web browser program (Mosaic) the following year (Hardy, 1996). Richard wrote to me that for the past year or so, he has been working with other Europeans interested in establishing a coordinating Web site for zoos and conservation projects. He told me of his plans to discuss the future use of Internet with respect to conservation at the CBSG meeting in Berlin this past August, a meeting that he invited me to attend. In Europe as elsewhere, zoos, conservation organizations and agencies have only recently begun exploring the potential use of the Internet. Richard and his colleagues have been interested in using it to disseminate information about captive breeding, species biology, cage design, educational graphics, sustainable use methods, habitat components, and contact addresses. Since he knew that universities have been more able to understand the potential of the electronic medium, he asked me for advice on how to proceed.
In my reply to Richard's letter (and especially to the part about creating a list of contact people), I cautioned him about "reinventing the wheel" and mentioned existing Web Sites that are already serving important functions in conservation. For example, the C.A.U.Z. Network (whose database is available at its Web Site www.selu.com/~bio/cauz/) provides a lot of information submitted by individuals who are engaged in conservation projects around the world. Our Web site also links to hundreds of Web sites of organizations involved in conservation, and our Webmaster Tim Knight posts general information and announcements for the conservation community. Since this Network of zoo, aquarium and university professionals functions to share information about ongoing conservation projects, I suggested to Richard that perhaps a CBSG site could more mirror the kinds of information that is shared via their newsletters, which could easily be put online.
The responses to my suggestions and the resulting interchange of ideas was quite enlightening to both of us. I explained that the C.A.U.Z. database contains information submitted by people who have special knowledge and expertise about various species and/or are engaged in conservation projects (e.g., field studies, captive propagation, etc.). Thus, it contains information about the activities of graduate students, professors, curators, and zookeepers as well as of field biologists and scientists from non-profit organizations and governmental agencies. Individuals accessing the database decide which members of the C.A.U.Z. Network to contact for information and/or collaboration. But the specific information (e.g, on methods of captive breeding of a particular species) that one can get from consulting the C.A.U.Z. database comes from its Network members rather than from a central databank. [Richard pointed out that the composition of the C.A.U.Z. Network is in contrast to that of many organizations like the CBSG that favor a more selective membership - and more selective information sources.]
With respect to how conservation information could be made more available, I was surprised at Richard's strong view that the Internet should be used as a single huge database for conservation purposes and not, as he put it, "a plethora of unconnected (database) sites which stand alone." Rather than consulting individuals who have experience and knowledge about a species, Richard believes that this information (e.g., about the ecology or population density of a species) should be instantly available on the Internet in some kind of "cross-linked Web information system" that, in his view, could serve the needs of professionals whose need to access information across the whole range of conservation issues. He made the important point that in at least half of the world, the people most in need of this kind of information have no direct access to books, periodicals, or journals, and he suggested that it is for this half that the Internet would be the ideal medium for exchange of information.
While I clearly agree with Richard on the critical need to make conservation information widely available, I do not agree with him on the method by which the information should be placed on the Internet. The approach I have taken with C.A.U.Z. is entirely different from what Richard suggests: rather than being a central database of information from a single source (or a select group of experts), C.A.U.Z. is a database of information submitted by hundreds of individuals all over the world. One advantage of consulting members of a Network of professionals rather than going to an anonymous information bank is that one can get information directly from its source (often using an email link) - understanding that the credibility of the information received is entirely dependent upon the credibility of the person providing it. Furthermore, contacting individuals who share one's interest in a species and/or a project can lead to productive collaborative efforts.
While I found Richard's ideas about a conservation Web browser system to be innovative, I shared with him some of my misgivings about such a elaborate system. Such a system could be very expensive to put in place and may not even be needed since in a few years, our computers will be employing programs called "intelligent agents" (or "info-bots") to search the entire Internet continuously for specific information. But my greatest misgivings have to do with the actual sources of conservation information that is placed on the Internet. Perhaps Richard and others regard the Internet as a huge repository of information on a huge, all-knowing computer. In actuality, the Internet is merely the physical medium over which digital information flows from one computer (Web server) to another (Hardy, 1996). Information in a computer file can be moved instantaneously from one computer to another anywhere in the world. While this is indeed miraculous and even a bit magical, we must ask: "Where did this information come from in the first place?"
When I first began working with students in using the Internet in academic research in 1988, we had little problem in answering this question. We were confident in our information source because we used "Gopher" programs in established Internet nodes, usually at university libraries. And most of the information that we found was in the published literature. My students could easily locate a source of information in books and scientific journals, but since the articles (or book chapters) were copyrighted, they had to obtain the original journal article or book from the library. This was a lot of trouble, but at least we were confident that our information came from legitimate sources.
We are now learning to use the World Wide Web to find information and it is an entirely new ball game. The advantage of the Web is that using various search engines, we can find information in digital files in computers all over the world. Using the CARL UnCover Web site, for example, articles published in many thousands of journals can be quickly located. However, since journal articles are copyrighted and their fulltext versions cannot legally be placed on the Web, we must go to the library for the printed versions, just as we have always done. But, of course, there are many fulltext articles now easily accessible on the Web. While some are copyrighted articles for which permission has been given (e.g., my 1996 article in International Zoo News), a lot of information appears on the Web with no permission at all (e.g., information from encyclopedias and reference works that have been scanned into digital files). This violation of copyright is illegal and is, in my view at least, highly unethical. When one paraphrases information or gives brief quotes from articles, one has the obligation to provide a full reference. Otherwise, one is committing plagiarism!
Perhaps more troubling than copyright violations is the fact that a lot of information appears on the Web with no references at all - and often with no indication of the original author or actual source of the information. Unless it comes from a recognized source like an education department of a zoo or aquarium, we should be doubtful of its validity. The plethora of information provided on the World Wide Web does not make it a reliable source of knowledge any more than the print media (e.g., The National Enquirer). I have found that using the Web in academic research requires a great deal of critical thinking and a healthy dose of skepticism. ["Who is this guy anyway?" has become a critical question for my students when they find the name of an author of a Web document that provides no other references.] Conservation-related information (or any kind of information, for that matter) in a file that travels over the Internet from one computer to another is only as valid as its actual source. Indeed, a 12-year-old kid can post information that seems to be credible because of how it looks on a Web page. But its author may know a lot more about HTML coding than he/she knows about conservation!
I have the feeling that people who are not familiar with this technology may not be as concerned as I am about where the information on the Web comes from. For example, a lot of generic information about animals can easily be found on the Web, and much of it is placed there by zoo/aquarium education departments. However, it is often very difficult to find out where the information originated and references are often omitted. [Perhaps this is because the information may be intended for children, who are probably less concerned with the accuracy of information than are adults.] But while this information may indeed be valid, I believe that we should maintain a healthy skepticism about information unless it is referenced in a published source. [And many of us are most comfortable if it comes from a publication that is a refereed scholarly journal like Zoo Biology.]
The massive information source that Richard Perron and his fellow Europeans envisage on the Internet in the future will be originating in computer files in Web servers - but individuals must have entered the data. Without a clear understanding of this, a centralized computer databank of conservation information could actually become a "Wizard of Oz" - it may appear to be very authoritative but may have little basis in fact. And if no authors' names appear, one is unable to check out credentials. There clearly is a great need to find credible information about conservation issues on the Web. But rather than waiting until Richard Perron and the Europeans come up with funding for their massive Internet project, I have a proposal for members of the AAZK using existing Internet technologies.
There is a wealth of information being published in the scientific literature on a wide range of topics relevant to the conservation of many species, and clearly this information needs to be disseminated much more widely than it is at the present time. I propose that the AAZK initiate the Taxon Information Project (TIP) as part of the AAZK Home Page. TIP can function as a parallel project to the Taxon Advisory Groups (TAGs) of the AZA. [The AZA TAGs are groups of experts that meet and plan Regional Collection Plans, make recommendations for new studbooks and Species Survival Plans (SSPs), and facilitate the activities of management committees.] The AAZK TIPs can provide current information about each taxonomic group for which there is a TAG (from antelopes and penguins to crocodilians, freshwater fishes and aquatic invertebrates). And the source of this information can be made perfectly clear: the published journal literature. With the help of AAZK members, information can be put on the Web from published articles on topics ranging from "captive management" and "nutrition" to "status of wild populations" and "reintroduction programs." However, since most of this information is copyrighted and only abstracts of articles can be legally posted on Web pages, information in these articles needs to be summarized/paraphrased (with correct bibliographic references) by a zoo professional who has the expertise to know what is relevant. [When brief quotes are used, the correct bibliographic reference along with page numbers should be provided.] In a relatively short time, vast amounts of valuable information can be made available via the Web to people who do not have easy access to the published literature. And since the information comes from published sources (e.g., Animal Keeper's Forum, International Zoo Yearbook, International Zoo News, Zoo Biology, and many other scholarly journals), the information provided this way will be perceived as credible as the publication in which it appears.
Many professional zookeepers keep abreast of the published literature on their favored species (or taxa) out of personal interest and concern. I recommend that AAZK members with a shared interest in each taxon organize themselves into taskforces and elect TIP coordinators, whose task is to collect the information from the published literature from the each group. After learning the basics of HTML, the coordinators of each TIP could create Web sites for each taxon on the Web server of his/her own Internet service provider. [The one paid position should be that of AAZK Webmaster, who, in my opinion, should be a zoo professional rather than a computer expert.] The resulting computer files for each TIP can originate from any Web server, and all of the TIP sites could be linked to the AAZK Home Page by the AAZK Webmaster, who would provide guidance to each TIP coordinator. And since the information for each Taxon Information Project would be gleaned from the literature by a dedicated group of zoo professionals who are coordinated by a single person, the task of updating the references for each TIP would be shared by a group of people instead of depending upon a single individual.
Such a Taxon Information Project could be only one of a series
of Internet initiatives of the AAZK, and as the technology
advances, other means of sharing information can be used. Up
until now, email has been the technology we have used to
share information. In addition to personal communication,
postings from mailing groups (Listservs) can also arrive
via email. One limitation to the exchange of information by
Listservs is that postings can only be delivered to people who
have subscribed to that mailing list. And while specific
postings can be sent by email to others outside of that group,
one needs to know email addresses in order to forward
information. Many of us also engage in discussions in UseNet
newsgroups, and the dissemination of information is probably
much wider in newsgroups than Listservs. But since many topics
may be discussed simultaneously in a single newsgroup, the
exchange of information can sometimes be chaotic. An
increasingly popular way to exchange information is directly on
Web Pages through a facility called HyperNews, and in the
future, HyperNews discussions on the AAZK Home Page can be an
important place where topics of interest to the zookeeping
profession can be addressed. [One advantage that HyperNews has
over email and Listservs is that anybody with access to the Web
can enter the discussion, which could open them to our
international colleagues. Advantages that Hypernews has over
Usenet newsgroups is that previous discussions can be archived
and exchanges are "threaded" according to topic.] Professional
zookeepers have a great deal to contribute to international
conservation, and a project like TIP will be recognized as a
valuable source of credible information by the international
conservation community. The AAZK members that participate in the
Taxon Information Project and other information-sharing programs
on the Web will be helping to gain the well-deserved recognition
their profession deserves.
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