The California Academy of Sciences is awarded a grant to transform the Catalog of Fishes from a traditional single-editor database with read-only web portal to a new model of community maintenance. The core design of the system will adopt a taxon-based content model compliant with the new international standard for exchanging basic taxonomic data. The database applications will implement a service-oriented design to support web submissions, updates, and integration with other databases and literature. The project will define a new management plan that emphasizes multiple users moderated by editorial and advisory boards. One of the most widely known compilations of taxonomic names in Zoology, the future utility of the Catalog of Fishes database is limited by its fifteen year old design, but more importantly by the retirement of its editor. The approach taken in this project to redesign this resource to a new model of community participation will provide a model for similar efforts to seek new operational modes for biological databases that are both integrated and sustainable.
