Available/Wanted Lists help support a sustainable collection management plan

In this excerpt from the ZIMS at Work story with Oceanário de Lisboa, here is what Conservation and Science Officer Ana Ferreira had to say about collaborating with other institutions to sustain ex situ populations. Read the full story here.

…The first priority lies at home where Oceanário teams use ZIMS to support a sustainable approach to collection management. The Oceanário has established an Institutional Collection Plan (ICP) designed to align species holdings with its mission of education, conservation, and sustainability. Evaluations clarify the role of each species, with ZIMS serving as the source for species held, introductions, transactions, exports, births, and deaths. Reports from ZIMS also fulfill regional government requirements, saving staff considerable time.

Using ZIMS, curators and collection managers collaborate with other aquariums to increase sustainability throughout the community. “ZIMS has many useful modules that make this work possible, such as Available/Wanted lists, Species Holdings, Global Medical Resources, and the subtle details of husbandry information that are easily underestimated,” says Ferreira.

Caption: In recent years, species like Rhamphocottus richardsoni, Nautichthys oculofasciatus, Enoplosus armatus, Microcanthus strigatus, Anarrhichthys ocellatus and Synchiropus splendidus were assessed by the Oceanário team. (Photos: Oceanário de Lisboa)