EAZA News 57-12 - European Association of Zoos and Aquaria

zims; what will it do for you?
ISIS is working with over 500 experts worldwide to build a global web-enabled database system; ZIMS.
ZIMS will replace the current ISIS software applications. As ZIMS is important to all of us within EAZA,
the most important things ZIMS will do for you are once again listed below:
executive directors
– ZIMS will allow you to quickly check on the animal management side of your institution by giving you an executive summary of recent animal activities;
– ZIMS will offer time-saving and streamlining benefits to all your staff, including the vets, curators, registrars, keepers and aquarium staff.
curators
– With ZIMS, you have a pooled knowledgebase of information about all the animals in your collection (e.g. who is the studbook keeper for a certain species
and are there husbandry guidelines for a certain species);
– In ZIMS you can set reminders to carry out certain operations (e.g. when to move animals);
– When an animal has died, you can use ZIMS to find out if the animal is a studbook species or an animal on loan and whom to notify about the death.
You can also find out if there are any research requests for animal body parts, either within the zoo or from an outside researcher.
aquarium staff
– When your vet recorded in ZIMS that e.g. tetras cleared quarantine, the system can automatically notify you that they are ready to be put on exhibit;
– When a water quality technician enters the results of testing on an enclosure and the pH parameter is out of the acceptable range you entered, ZIMS can
immediately send an e-mail message to you, the water quality technician and curator and action can be taken immediately.
keepers
– ZIMS will help you stay on top of things, even when you are called away. With ZIMS, you can always rest assured that your animals are in good care and
that you will not return to any big surprises;
– With ZIMS you can check notes from the veterinarian about a certain animal that was examined.
registrars
– You can use ZIMS to find a species coordinator, to check the availability of a certain species at other facilities and to select the top options for mating based on
genetic and availability information;
– ZIMS easily identifies information relevant for permitting;
– With ZIMS you can get an alert the day an animal is shipped to you or a reminder when it is important to remove offspring from the parents’ cage during the
troubling teenage years.
studbook keepers
– As staff at over 600 ISIS member institutions enter information about your species into ZIMS, the system will automatically send appropriate updates to
your studbook;
– In case data in ZIMS conflicts with your data, ZIMS will aid you in contacting and working with the submitting institution to resolve any data issues;
– ZIMS will notify you of major events (e.g. births, transfers, deaths) and you will have access to other data, such as transponders and notes.
veterinary staff
– When an animal is sick, you can start a search in ZIMS for information on similar cases worldwide, including the lifetime medical history of an animal,
treatments and results;
– Through analyzing the data provided by ZIMS, you are able to determine what is ailing your animal patient and perform the appropriate course of treatment.
educators
– With ZIMS you can easily share educational programme ideas among almost 700 institutions worldwide;
– With ZIMS you have immediate access to (conservation) information on more than 10,000 species.
marketing staff
– With ZIMS you can easily network and share ideas and news worldwide;
– With ZIMS you can create interactive services for your guests;
– With ZIMS you can gather current information on 10,000 species in zoos, aquaria and other conservation-focused organisations.
For more information, please refer to the ZIMS website www.zims.org
eaza news 57
2007