TAG Data Export Explanations and Assumptions

For your consideration when using this Taxon Advisory Group data export

This Species360 ZIMS tool--> TAG data Export offers current holdings of Species360 member institutions in a downloadable spreadsheet. It is intended to support strategic collection planning, such as that done by various Association Taxon Advisory Groups (TAGs).

There is one row of data per holding institution, per taxon in the spreadsheet. Current holdings of individuals and groups, by sex, are provided, along with individual births for the last 12 months.

Customizing. You may want to add subtotals or totals. A number of columns in each row provide the opportunity for filtering and sorting based on your choice of taxonomy, global IUCN Red List status, CITES, Continent, Country, Association, and holding institution mnemonic. Different spreadsheet software has different tools for filtering and sorting – for assistance with common spreadsheet software, try:

Free resources:

Getting started with Excel:https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/video-start-using-excel-VA103976689.aspx
Filter data in Excel (2010, true in most versions): http://blog.pluralsight.com//beginner-excel-2010-data-filters
Sort and filter data in Excel (2013): https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/video-sort-and-filter-data-VA104121814.aspx?CTT=5&origin=HA104032083
Video on Advanced Filtering in Excel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNbayty2VGM&feature=youtu.be
Additional Advanced Filtering: http://excelexposure.com/2012/03/19/excel-video-lesson-advanced-filtering/

Premium resources:

Lynda.com Excel Filtering (membership required): http://www.lynda.com/Excel-tutorials/Using-filters/116478/125082-4.html
WAZA/EAZA have contracts with San Diego Global Academy online training- there are Microsoft courses included there:
https://collabornation.net/waza
https://collabornation.net/eaza
http://www.sdzglobalacademy.org/

IUCN Summary – “conservation focus”. A second tab on the downloaded spreadsheet provides summary statistics indicating one measure of the “conservation-weighting” of Species360 member collections for the taxonomic scope you select. For any taxonomic group, taxa drawn at random would likely include some from the global IUCN Red List. The statistics provided on the 2nd tab show what fraction of the taxonomic group as a whole is under various levels of threat globally according to IUCN, and the extent to which Species360 member collections are, or are not, focused on at-risk taxa. Both the number of species and the number of live animals, of species at risk/ all species, are used to evaluate the degree of “conservation focus”.

Revised 5 March 2025