ElNet: The Greek biodiversity transitional waters information system. An exemplar for the development of distributed information networks in Europe

✍ Scribed by Sarah Faulwetter; Panayiotis Gotsis; Sofia Reizopoulou; Sotiris Orfanidis; Theodoros Kevrekidis; Artemis Nicolaidou; Nomiki Simboura; Paraskevi Malea; Costas Dounas; Athanasios Mogias; Vasilis Valavanis; Christos Arvanitidis

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 168 KB
• Volume: 18
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1052-7613
• DOI: 10.1002/aqc.950

✦ Synopsis

1. Transitional waters are ecosystems of special importance for a number of reasons and require effective management. In Greece, biodiversity and environmental data that help to manage these ecosystems do exist, although they are scattered and not easily accessible. An overarching, publicly accessible system combining all kinds of information has not been available until now.

2. The ElNet system was developed to serve these requirements. The system is a functional application consisting of a comprehensive database and an online interface with an interactive map, and search capabilities for biological and environmental data on Greek transitional waters. Nine datasets have already been integrated and are available online. Data and their metadata are documented and checked for quality to allow comparisons and reduce bias in resulting analyses.

3. The data assembled cover a broad geographical and temporal range, allowing large-scale analyses of transitional waters. These in turn produce new scientific knowledge and provide a sound basis of information for scientists, environmental managers and policy-makers.

4. Examination of the data revealed an overall insufficient quality control practice during data acquisition and digitization. A good data management and archive system can significantly improve the quality of data. To