[Coral-List] Post for Coral List

[Nicola Barnard]

Dear Jim and colleagues,

I would be grateful if you could please post the message below on Coral List on our behalf.

Much appreciated. Nic


Dear Coral-Listers,

I would like to inform you of the launch of the new look Global Coral Disease Database (GCDD) - now available (www.coraldisease.org) to support coral reef science, management and decision-making communities in the collation, storage and liberation of coral disease data.

Originally established in 2002 by NOAA and UNEP-WCMC, the GCDD was re-assessed in 2009 in light of the information needs and priorities of researchers, practitioners and managers working with coral disease.
In consultation with an external expert advisory group, the look, feel and functionality of the GCDD has been improved and updated to match the identified needs.

New features include:

-          Interactive and real-time summary statistics of the global data holdings, allowing users to easily visualize updates;

-          Increased number of search functions to allow customized data overviews;

-          Supporting metadata on survey methods, physical conditions at the survey site, and observer expertise to allow users to assess data quality;

-          Ability to upload, store and manage personal data sets, and to view these in the context of global data;

-          Facility to withhold your unpublished data from public view until a date you specify;

-          Automatic batch uploads with in-built quality-assurance mechanisms;

-          An automatic data exchange facility to link users with relevant raw data, while allowing contributors to maintain ownership of their data and control its distribution;

-          Additional resources on coral disease such as best practices, decision trees, registry of experts etc..

I encourage listers to visit and explore the site: www.coraldisease.org<http://www.coraldisease.org> and to share their coral disease knowledge, observations and news with us for the improvement of the tool.

All the best,

Nicola Barnard

Acting Director
International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN)

Senior Programme Officer
Marine Assessment and Decision Support Programme
UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre

219 Huntingdon Road
Cambridge, CB3 0DL,
United Kingdom

T: +44 1223 814688
E: nicola.barnard at unep-wcmc.org
E: nbarnard at icran.org



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