Species360 (formerly International Species Information System or ISIS) founded in 1974, is an international non-profit organization that maintains an online database of wild animals under human care. , the organization serves more than 1,000

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...

s, aquariums and zoological associations in 90 countries worldwide. The organization provides its members with zoological data collection and management

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

called ZIMS—the ''Zoological Information Management System''. ZIMS project was a large global collaboration with 600 people contributing under the leadership of Nate Flesness, Executive Director of Species360 (1979–2009), and Hassan Syed, CIO of Species360 (2003–2010). The ZIMS database contains information on 22,000 species, 10 million animals, and 82 million medical records. Members use the basic biologic information (age, sex, parentage, place of birth, circumstance of death, etc.) collected in the system to care for and manage their animal collections (including demographic and genetic management in many cases). It is also used for ex situ breeding programs and supporting conservation research and programs. Since its foundation in 1973, the group has been a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) pursuing wild animal conservation goals. Species360 works in partnership with zoo associations around the world.

Centralized database

Modern zoos and aquariums often are "gene banks" for endangered species. In some cases, species which have become extinct in the wild and have been bred in zoos are eventually returned to the wild. Examples include the black-footed ferret,

California condor The California condor (''Gymnogyps californianus'') is a New World vulture and the largest North American land bird. It became extinct in the wild in 1987 when all remaining wild individuals were captured, but has since been reintroduced to nort ...

Przewalski's horse Przewalski's horse (, , (Пржевальский ), ) (''Equus ferus przewalskii'' or ''Equus przewalskii''), also called the takhi, Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered horse originally native to the steppes of ...

, red wolf, Micronesian kingfisher (not yet reintroduced), and the

Arabian oryx The Arabian oryx (''Oryx leucoryx'') or white oryx is a medium-sized antelope with a distinct shoulder bump, long, straight horns, and a tufted tail. It is a bovid, and the smallest member of the genus ''Oryx'', native to desert and steppe areas o ...

. Individual zoos generally do not have the space to maintain a viable species population (which for many mammals and birds requires 500+ animals in order to maintain sufficient genetic diversity), so maintaining genetic diversity requires coordination between many zoos. Scientific expertise on husbandry, nutrition, veterinary care and so on is spread throughout the zoos and aquaria of the world. Breeding and population management relies on accurate information about animals in all member institutions, especially pedigree history (parentage) and

demography Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...

(births and deaths). Species360 records are accepted by international regulatory bodies such as

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

. Roughly three-quarters of

Association of Zoos and Aquariums The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), originally the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1924 and dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in ...

(AZA) members in North America are members, and the

European Association of Zoos and Aquaria The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), is an organisation for the European zoo and aquarium community that links over 340 member organisations in 41 countries. EAZA membership is open to all zoos and aquaria across Europe that compl ...

(EAZA) requires its members to join. The World Association of Zoos and Aquaria's (WAZA) Conservation Strategy Guidelines strongly recommend that all zoo and aquaria join and participate in data sharing via ZIMS.

Software

; ZIMS (Zoological Information Management System) for Husbandry: A web-based record-keeping system used by zoos, aquariums, and zoological associations to capture and organize husbandry information. also includes best practices and collaboration opportunities among members. ; ZIMS for Medical: A web-based module used to capture and organize: A web-based record-keeping system used by zoos, aquariums, and zoological associations to capture and organize veterinary information. ; ZIMS for Studbooks: A web-based record-keeping system used by studbook keepers at zoos, aquariums, and zoological associations to manage the genetics of small populations. This tool is managing over 1300 species studbooks globally and replaced SPARKS, the DOS-based Single Population Analysis and Records Keeping System. The ZIMS application is the world's first and only real-time, unified global database for animals in zoos and aquariums. ; LearnZIMS – the educational version of ZIMS: is made available for licensing to educational organizations teaching animal husbandry, zoo, and aquarium science. This version of ZIMS mirrors the standard ZIMS application but does not include the global database of animal records. LearnZIMS uses a fictitious dataset to teach application functionality and to demonstrate the types of data that are collected in the global database.

Members

Regional association members include: * Arabian Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZAA) * Asociación Colombiana de Parques Zoológicos y Acuarios (ACOPAZOA) * Asociación de Zoológicos Criaderos y Acuarios de México (AZCARM) * Asociación Ecuatoriana de Zoológicos y Acuarios * Asociación Latinoamericana de Parques Zoológicos y Acuarios (ALPZA) * Asociación Mesoamericana y del Caribe de Zoológicos y Acuarios (AMAZOO) * Asociación Venezolana de Parques Zoológicos y Acuarios (AVZA) * Association Française des Parcs Zoologiques (AFdPZ) * Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) *

British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) (formerly the Federation of Zoological Gardens of Great Britain and Ireland) is a registered charity and the professional body representing over 100 zoos and aquariums in Britain and ...

(BIAZA) * Canadian Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA) *

Central Zoo Authority of India The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) is the body of the government of India responsible for oversight of zoos. It is an affiliate member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). The CZA was formed to bring Indian zoos up to internation ...

(CZA) * Danish Association for Zool Gardens and Aquaria (DAZA) * Eurasian Regional Association of Zoos & Aquariums * European Association of Zoos & Aquaria (EAZA) * Florida Association of Zoos and Aquariums * Iberian Association of Zoos & Aquaria (AIZA) * Israel Nature & Parks Authority * Israeli Zoo Association *

Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums The Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA, in Japanese: 日本動物園水族館協会, ''Nihon Dōbutsu-en Suizokukan Kyōkai'' ) is an organisation for the zoo and aquarium community in Japan. As of April 30 2021, JAZA has 90 member zoo ...

(JAZA) * Korean Association of Zoos and Aquariums (KAZA) * Malaysian Association of Zoological Parks & Aquaria (MAZPA) * Nederlandse Vereniging van Dierentuinen (NVD) * Pan-African Association of Zoos and Aquaria * Perhimpunan Kebun Binatang - Indonesian Zoo & Aquarium Association (PKBSI) * Polish Association of Directors of Zoos & Aquaria (PZDA) * Romanian Zoo & Aquarium Federation (RZAF) * Sociedade de Zoologicos e Aquarios do Brasil (SZB) * South-East Asia Zoos Association (SEAZA) * Swedish Association of Zoos & Aquaria (SAZA) * Thai Zoological Park Organization Under The Royal Patronage of HM The King (ZPO) * Ukrainian Association of Zoos & Aquariums * Unione Italiana Giardini Zoologici e Acquari (UIZA) *

Verband der Zoologischen Gärten The Verband der Zoologischen Gärten ("Association of Zoological Gardens"; VdZ), until 2014 Verband Deutscher Zoodirektoren (German Federation of Zoo Directors, VDZ), is the leading association of scientifically managed zoological gardens in German- ...

(VdZ) e.V. *

Wildlife Institute of India The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is an autonomous natural resource service institution established in 1982 under the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate change, Government of India. WII carries out wildlife research in areas of stu ...

* Zoo Aquarium Association (ARAZPA Inc) (ZAA) * Zoological Association of America Species360 and the

(CZA) have a five-year memorandum of understanding with a primary goal of migrating the majority of the zoos in India into the ZIMS database. The organization has staff and representatives in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

(the Netherlands),

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

(India),

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

(Israel),

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

(Denmark), and

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

(Turkey) with headquarters in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

(US).

History

In 1973, Ulysses Seal and Dale Makey proposed the ''International Species Information System'' (ISIS) as an international database to help zoos and aquariums accomplish long-term conservation management goals. It was founded in 1974 with an initial membership of 51 zoos in North America and Europe, and its membership has increased every year since. Grants and endorsements were provided by the

(AZA), the

American Association of Zoo Veterinarians American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

(AAZV) and other zoological associations. The founders also raised development funding from private foundations and the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...

. For the first 30 years, the

Minnesota Zoo The Minnesota Zoo (formerly the Minnesota Zoological Garden), is an AZA-accredited zoo in Apple Valley, Minnesota. It is one of two state-supported zoos in the United States, with the other being the North Carolina Zoo. When it opened on May 22, ...

hosted the program on their grounds. Since 1989, the organisation has been incorporated as a non-profit entity under an international Board of Trustees elected by subscribing member institutions. In 2016, the organization was renamed as Species360, due to ISIS being an acronym for the

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

, a terrorist organization.

References

External links