Inventories
Certified Species List
The certification process was designed to improve and verify the quality of the species lists in the National Inventory and Monitoring database NPSpecies. Certification has occurred on a park-by-park and/or taxa basis from 2002 to the present. The park species lists are a culmination of observations and studies, including information about rare or vagrant species that are only occasionally detected. The species certification process helps ensure that lists are not at risk of containing and perpetuating misidentifications, errors of omission or commission, and weakly substantiated records.
The certification process documents that the species list and associated attributes for a taxa group in a park were reviewed by a local expert who knows the biology, nomenclature, and taxonomy of species in a park. The final approval of species lists was done by park staff.
The certification process also includes filling in the associated attributes of each species and recording the certification date in NPSpecies. All the lists were certified after the initial effort of data mining and inventories. After certification, the National I&M Program conducts additional procedures to check data quality. If no inconsistencies are found, the certification data are uploaded to NPSpecies. The final step in the certification process is for National I&M to save a copy of the certified database.
All 36 lists have been certified; amphibian, birds, fish, reptiles, mammals, and vascular plants have been certified at all six parks.