About the Species360 Conservation Science Alliance

Creating a Community Through Shared Data

Species360 recognizes a need for zoos, aquariums and conservation organizations to make data-informed decisions on the care and conservation of species, as well as a need for collaboration on shared goals.

While the progressive zoo and aquarium community is known for efforts in conservation and welfare, scientific research is a burgeoning field that has yet to be fully integrated and realised within the community. Species360 hopes to address this need through the Conservation Science Alliance.

What is the Species360 Conservation Science Alliance?

The Species360 Conservation Science Alliance (CSA) is an open and collaborative network of professionals that conduct research or projects that benefit the zoo, aquarium, botanical, and conservation community.

The common thread connecting this vast network is the data found in the Species360 Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS) and botanical software Hortis. The CSA aims to leverage the vast wealth of data in ZIMS and Hortis to further our understanding and knowledge of plant and animal species.

The Alliance provides a platform for community experts to share knowledge and resources, and submit research requests, all with the aim of furthering knowledge on species.

Alliance of Professionals Working Towards a Shared Goal

The Conservation Science Alliance (CSA) centres around the idea of an collaborative alliance of professionals working together towards a shared goal of species care and conservation, using aggregated Species360 member data. The alliance aims to maximise our collective efforts and outputs by utilizing knowledge and expertise within the global zoological and conservation community.

Pathways to joining the Conservation Science Alliance

Institutional or multi-institutional projects using their own institutional Species360 data.Submit your project/research using Species360 and become a part of the Conservation Science Alliance.
Research requests to access aggregated, anonymized data.Here institutions can use globally aggregated and anonymized data already available through their Species360 membership, or researchers can submit a Research Request to obtain global, anonymized data.
Collaborative community projects using aggregated and anonymized Species360 data.These are larger scale projects which utilize the shared expertise of the community and can be Species360 led or community-led.

Through the pathways outlined above, persons involved in the research projects may choose to join the CSA whereby they can use the CSA as an affiliation to link projects together and track impact; promote their project on the CSA website and communications channels; and will have the opportunity to submit an abstract for the CSA research webinars, where they can share their projects with colleagues across the world.