Reports

Extracting information from FishBase is made easier through preprogrammed reports which perform global searches and print summary information, such as species synopses and country lists of species. The different types of reports available from the CD-ROM version include:

  • synopses of information available in FishBase for particular species;

  • checklists of all species, by family;

  • different annotated checklists of fishes, by country;

  • lists of common names, and the related local knowledge on fish, by country/culture; and

  • population dynamics data, by family.

Similar reports by country or family are available from FishBase on the Internet.

Species Synopses

The species synopsis is a standardized report based on the format suggested for such documents by Rosa (1965). Information in this document is printed directly from FishBase, without any subsequent editing. Thus, it must be treated only as a working document and not as a publication.
A full sypnosis may cover more than 200 pages

Two types of synopses are available in the SPECIES SYNOPSIS window: Short and Full. A short synopsis will give a standardized output of basic information on a given species from selected entries in FishBase, i.e., information extracted from the FAMILIES, GENERA, SPECIES, SYNONYMS, COMMON NAMES, STOCKS, COUNTRY, REFERENCES and COLLABORATORS tables. A full synopsis extracts information from all FishBase tables. It must be noted that for well-researched species, e.g., Oreochromis niloticus niloticus, Clupea harengus or Oncorhynchus mykiss, a full species synopsis will print more than 200 pages.

The accuracy of information in these two types of working documents is not guaranteed and we are aware that they will be incomplete. Thus, we invite readers to send complementary information and/or corrections, preferably in the form of reprints or reports to the FishBase Project.

Doing so will make you a FishBase collaborator and earn you a free copy of FishBase.
How to get there

You get to the synopsis routines by clicking on the Reports button in the Main Menu window and clicking on the Species Synopses button in the PREDEFINED REPORTS window. Since FishBase will ask for the picture CD-ROMs when you click on the Print button, keep the picture CD-ROMs at hand.
Internet

On the Internet, the ‘Species Summary’ page provides some of the information contained in these synopses.

All Species of a Family

The Reports by Family menu window has two checklist options:

  1. a Checklist of all species in a family so far entered in FishBase, which includes summary information on the family and lists for each species, the valid scientific name, the author of its original description, the FishBase common name, geographic range, maximum size so far recorded, depth range, habitat and migratory patterns and the main reference used to obtain this information;

  2. a Checklist with Summaries which expands option (1) to include information on distinctive characteristics, meristics, environment, habitat, biology, importance and the references used to obtain this information.

The checklists are provided with a bibliography and option (2) gives additionally, a list of all collaborators who worked on the species in a family. Option (1) can be produced on three output mediums (screen, printer and as a file). The screen output in option (1) provides links to other tables, i.e., a doubleclick on the scientific name will open the SPECIES window for valid names and the SYNONYMS window for synonyms. Option (2), however, can only be produced as a printed output.
How to get there

You get to this routine by clicking on the Reports button of the Main Menu window and clicking on the All Species of a Family button of the PREDEFINED REPORTS window.
Internet

On the Internet, you can create a list with scientific name, author, and English common name in the section ‘Information by Family’.

Different Checklists by Country

 
 
For each country you can produce a variety of checklist

This routine produces the following checklists for any country:

  • all fishes so far assigned to the country;

  • all marine fishes so far assigned to the country;

  • all freshwater fishes so far assigned to the country;

  • all fishes that have been introduced to the country;

  • all endemic fishes of a country;

  • all fishes under threat (threatened) and assigned to the country;

  • all game fishes assigned to the country;

  • all fishes that are dangerous to humans and assigned to the country;

  • all aquaculture species assigned to the country;

  • all protected and restricted fishes assigned to the country;
You can create fish statistics by country

  • all aquarium fishes assigned to the country;

  • all fishes of a family assigned to the country;

  • finfish statistics, i.e., number of species in various categories; and

  • a preliminary list of fishes collected in the country and now stored in various museums.

The checklists were assembled from country (see COUNTRY table, this vol.) and species records (see SPECIES table) entered in FishBase. Country records indicate the presence of a species in a given country while species records provide information on the use of that species. Although country records do provide fields on the actual use of a species in that country, these may not necessarily be filled in for all species occurring in a given country. In such cases, the importance fields in the SPECIES table will have been filled in. Thus, lists such as fishes used for sport fishing, in the aquarium trade or in aquaculture may include species not presently used for these purposes in that country. Presence of a species in such a list only indicates potential and not current or actual use. Consult the Internet version of FishBase at www.fishbase.org to obtain updated information.

The checklists may be directed to the screen, printer or a text file. Printed and saved to file checklists include some information about the geography, climate, hydrology and environmental status of the country. Also, some statistics are presented on the number, type, use and knowledge of the fishes. There may also be remarks on the occurrence in the country, common uses, museum records, etc.

Species are arranged by Order and Family and include information on: maximum size; habitat; importance for fisheries, aquaculture, aquarium trade, sport fishing, or as bait; potential danger to humans; status of threat; and status of protection.

Screen outputs are interactive, i.e., double-clicking on a species will bring up more information and enable you to access any of the tables within FishBase.
How to get there

You get to any of the choices listed above by clicking on the Reports button of the Main Menu window and clicking on the Different Checklists by Country button of the PREDEFINED REPORTS window.
Internet

On the Internet, you can create similar lists in the section ‘Information by Country/Island’.

Common Names

The Common Names menu includes three output routines that generate Screen, Printer and File outputs of information based on the COMMON NAMES table. These are:
A common name often refers to more than one species

Species by Common Name produces a list of the common name(s) found by the search term, the valid scientific name(s) which corresponds to the common name, the Family to which the species belongs, and the country where the common name is used (in brackets). For common names referring to a number of species, e.g., ‘shark’, ‘grouper’, ‘cod’, ‘surgeon fish’, etc., the list may consist of more than 100 names.

Common Names by Language produces a list of common names of fishes in the selected language and includes the country where the name is used and the valid scientific name of the species to which it applies.

Local Knowledge produces a list of common names used in a selected language and country. This list also includes the scientific name, and may include information on the etymology of the common name and other information on the species in question, relevant to the culture defined by the language and country selected.

Each list is followed by a bibliographic listing of all sources used to gather the information. Note that the list produced on screen is interactive and allows, upon double-clicking, access to the COMMON NAMES table and/or SPECIES window and thus all other buttons leading to more information on a given species.
How to get there

You get to the Common Names Menu by clicking on the Reports button of the Main Menu window and clicking on the Common Names button of the PREDEFINED REPORTS window.
Internet

On the Internet, a search by common name will produce a list with the fields common name, country and scientific name; this list can be ordered by different criteria.

Population Dynamics by Family
You can print population dynamics data by family

The Population Dynamics menu was incorporated in the Reports menu in order to facilitate access to population dynamics data in FishBase, by Family. The four routines presented below provide Screen, Printer and File outputs and a bibliographic listing of all the reference sources used for the related tables. Note that the Screen option is interactive and a double-click on any row will bring information that is more detailed for a species. The Start button initiates the search for information for the specified family, directed to the specified output medium.

The Growth Parameters button provides a listing of the von Bertalanffy Growth Function (VBGF) parameter estimates: growth coefficient (K; year-1), asymptotic length, (L¥ ; cm) and age at length zero (t0; years).

The Maturity Information button provides a listing of the mean length (Lm) at first maturity, age at first maturity (tm; years), the sex and length range of specimens used (cm).

The Natural Mortality button provides a listing of natural mortality estimates (M; year-1), the method by which the estimate of M was obtained, the mean environmental temperature (°C), and the VBGF parameters K and L¥ .

The Length-Weight Relationships button provides a listing of regression coefficients (a) and (b), the length range of the specimens in the sample (cm), the number of specimens in the sample, and the coefficient of correlation (r) of the log-linear length-weight regression commonly used to estimate a and b, if any.
How to get there

You get to this routine by clicking on the Reports button of the Main Menu window and clicking on the Population Dynamics by Family button in the PREDEFINED REPORTS window.
Internet

On the Internet, you can produce an overview of available information by area if you click on the Ecopath parameters radio button in the ‘Information by Topic’ section.
References

Rosa, H., Jr. 1965. Preparation of synopses on the biology of species of living aquatic organisms. FAO Fish. Synops. No. 1, Rev. 1. 75 p.

Maria Lourdes D. Palomares