Erica Mize is an avid conservationist and self-professed conservation data champion. Erica has worked with the Service for 8 years and currently serves as the Data Management Division's Science Advisor. She's had an interesting career including experiences with parasites, plague... Read More →
Conserving African elephant populations requires the integration of diverse, regionally collected datasets to create a cohesive and actionable understanding of population size, distribution, and trends. Methods such as aerial surveys, dung counts, GPS tracking, and, in dense habitats, camera traps, acoustic monitoring, and DNA analysis contribute valuable data, yet they vary widely in collection approaches and settings. The African Elephant Database (AED) plays an essential role in consolidating these disparate datasets, transforming diverse data into a unified, reliable resource that informs conservation strategies. By synthesizing this information, the African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) provides critical insights to range states and international organizations like CITES, supporting evidence-based management and policy decisions. This integration-driven approach highlights the power of data integration and harmonization in addressing conservation challenges across Africa.
Dr. Veronica Lane is the Chief Data Officer (CDO) serving the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.. As CDO, Dr. Lane works on developing and implementing data policy, overseeing data governance, and developing data management practices and coordinating data strategy... Read More →
Pronouns: she/her/hersLanguages spoken: EnglishDuty station time zone: CentralI serve as a Geneticist, QA/QC Specialist in the Region 3 FAC Invasive Carp eDNA Program and am based out of Whitney Genetics Lab located within the Midwest Fisheries Center. I also serve on the R3 FAC Data... Read More →
This talk will explore the 20-year history and development of the IUCN APES database, a unique repository for population survey data on chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, and orangutans. We will outline the entire workflow of the APES database, from data requests to data storage, based on a simple folder structure created with the R programming language. This structure is efficient for accommodating the various types of data associated with ape research and conservation, including both tabular and spatial datasets. We will share insights on the switch from a relational database to the current structure, lessons learned, and the collaborative frameworks that support the APES project. We also look forward to receiving feedback from conference participants at this meeting.
