EURING Newsletter - Volume 1, November 1996

THE EURING DATA BANK

This important section of the newsletter will give all relevant information on EDB matters. The EDB Manager Rinse Wassenaar will report on the activities related to the updating of the bank (a hard job!) and the more recent applications for data. We will also try to produce as complete as possible a list of the papers based on data analysed through the EDB. This will help all of us to appreciate even more the important role the EDB has got within EURING as well as the international scientific community, and will hopefully stimulate more scientists to make proper and active use of the EDB contents.

In this first issue, Rinse Wassenaar reports on recent applications and new additions to the main database. As EDB manager, he is also very keen in making proposals aimed to further facilitate and speed the exchange of data among schemes and (hopefully) between the different centres and the EDB. As a very stimulating example, a case of e-mail exchange of ringing/recovery data between schemes is offered to evaluate the potential of such new kind of procedure, which could already be activated by several schemes.

For different aspects of data management at the ringing scheme level, technology is able to make the network of ringing centres a really international research unit; EURING surely needs to discuss and plan future developments along these lines.

Electronic mail allows fast Recovery-responses between Hemispheres.

Ordinary mail, per ship, car, train or plane, is a well established way of exchanging letters, rings, floppy discs and other matters of interest for ringing schemes all over the world. Such mail can also be send “registered”. For more urgent matters, telephone calls provide a quick and personal response to a simple question. The rapidly increasing popularity of telefax machines showed the need for "photocopying using someone else’s machine elsewhere”. In fact a fax is a photocopy at a distance, combining text and telephone line speed. In many buildings, the ringing office officials have to type, print and walk to a telefax, before there message was ready to be sent to the addressed colleague at his or her institution. And there, sometimes such an urgently meant fax message, could then laid to rest in the receiver’s office -snail - mail box!

Nowadays, electronic mail combines the advantages of almost all means described above. You sit at your Personal computer in your own room, type a message on your own screen, and then, in milliseconds indeed, use your e-mail software package and send the original text to your address. Be it a colleague within your own institute, be it a ringing office at another Hemisphere!

The following example might show the speed of this technical miracle:

Wednesday, Jan. l7th., 1996: The start, an e-mail message from Safring:
From: “Cynthia Best” <RIMEL@maths.uct.za>
To: rinse@nioo.knaw.nl
Date and Time: Wed, 17 Jan 1996 12:12:40 SAST-2
Subject: Dutch ring recovery
X-Confirm-Reading-To: “Cynthia Best" <RIMEL@maths.uct.ac.za>
X-Pmrqc: 1
Priority: normal
X-Mailer: Pegasus Mail v3.22

Dear Colleagues
We are pleased to report the following recovery of one of your ringed birds. The ring is following by airmail.
Ring No.: 1333689
Species: Sterna sandvicensis
Date found: 11 January l996
Finding locality: Walkerbaai, near Hermanus, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Coordinates: 34 30' S, 19 20' E
Condition: Found about one week dead.

Please could you confirm receipt of email.

With best wishes to all of you,
Cynthia Best
SAFRING - Avian Demography Unit Tel: 27 021 6502422
Dept Statistical Sciences Fax: 27 021 6503726
University of Cape Town
Rondebsch 7700 SOUTH AFRICA Email: rimel@maths.uct.ac.za

Wednesday morning, Jan. 17th. 1996, 11.41 hrs. message read and information within Heteren forwarded to ringing office:

Your message:
FROM: rinsee@nioo.nl
T0: Speek, Gerrit send DATE: 01-17-96
subject: Another one! send TIME: 11:41

Was accessed on 01-17-96 11:54
Same Wednesday morning,
Third chapter, information processed, coded, computerised and sent to SAFRING

In the EDB is the combined collection of european ringed recovered birds to be housed. Well over 1.2 million recoveries have been stored by now, and ringing figures are also available. For any further information on EDB matters, please contact Rinse Wassenaar (e-mail or fax +31 (0)26 47 23 227)

SOME RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE EURING DATA BANK

RECOVERY FILE PER 15-01-96

Some randomly picked recent provisions of data from the EDB

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