Studbooks From ZIMS Data

Studbooks created from ZIMS data or “from scratch” are brand new studbooks that have been generated from the animal data within the ZIMS global database in the Husbandry module. It is a great way to start a studbook for a new breeding program or to restart a studbook that has otherwise been lost/corrupted, because much of the data is automatically added giving the Studbook Keeper has a head start!

For any questions on creating a studbook from ZIMS Data contact support@Species360.org .

 

The Process

Studbooks from ZIMS data are created by Species360 at the request of a Regional Association. The Regional Association will contact Species360 to perform a ZIMS download for the species into the Studbook module. They will also work with Species360 to assign the proper ZIMS Role to the Studbook Keeper. Species360 will notify the new Studbook Keeper once the ZIMS data has been downloaded into the Studbook module.

 

The initial ZIMS data in the studbook will include only animals held within the studbook sponsoring region (if regional studbook) or sponsoring institution(s) (if institutional studbook). All studbook IDs will be Temporary IDs that can be changed to permanent IDs when the Studbook Keeper is ready. Animals that have been held at only one institution will be added to the studbook right away. Any animals that have been held at more than one institution will appear in the Suggested Animal List and will need to be added to the studbook by the user.

 

Understanding the Studbook Dashboard for a Studbook Created from ZIMS Data

When the newly created studbook is opened, ZIMS will navigate to the Main Dashboard.

1. Living Animals in Studbook – Currently living animals that have spent their whole life at a single institution within your region. Most of their data will be automatically added during the creation of the studbook and their reported by section will say “Data Migration Process.”
   1. These animals will have a Temporary studbook ID, and can be given a true studbook ID through the “Re-number Temporary IDs” feature under the Tools menu.
   2. Parents records for these animals may not be automatically added if the parent recorded in ZIMS has been at multiple locations in its lifetime. The parents records will show as pending updates and the parent will be on the Suggested List. Users must add the parent to the studbook.
   3. If the institution is a Local Husbandry institution (not on the ZIMS Global institution list), it will be added to the Local Studbook institution list with the mnemonic used by the reporting institution.
2. All Animals in Studbook – Includes animals of any status (dead, released, etc.) that have spent their whole life at a single institution in the region covered by the studbook.

 

3. Suggested Animals - Animals in the region that have been at more than one institution in their history will appear in the Suggested Animals list. The user can then review these animals to determine if they should be added to the studbook.
   1. Adding Suggested Animals as a draft animal and promoting to a studbook for these animals functions the same as for migrated studbooks.  Their reported by section will show the data as entered by the Studbook Keeper.
   2. If an animal outside of the designed region needs to be added to the studbook, the Global option can be chosen in the filter box when Suggested Animals is open.
   3. If a Suggested Animal record includes an Institution that is Local to Husbandry but not entered into your Studbook, you will not be able to accept the record until you add it to your Studbook Local Institution list.
4. Pending Updates - When the studbook from ZIMS data is first created, the only updates on the Pending Update list are updates for parent. This is because, though an offspring may have been automatically added to the studbook (offspring was only at one location), the parent may be on the suggested list (parent was at multiple locations and could not be automatically added to the studbook).
   1. Over time as records are changed in Husbandry additional pending updates will populate in the pending update list. 
5. Data Quality Errors – At first, many of the data quality errors will be related to the missing parents that are on the pending updates list. There is some information required in studbooks that is not required in husbandry (such as rearing) which will also produce Data Quality errors.
6. Studbook Activity – Initially this area will be empty, but as the Studbook Keeper starts entering and editing data activity will display here.

 

Getting Started with a Studbook from ZIMS Data

How to get started managing their studbook is up to the Studbook Keeper, but Species360 suggests following this process:

1.      Begin with the Pending Updates list – Pending updates are only populated for parent records when the studbook is first created. These parents were not added automatically to the studbook during creation because they had been at multiple institutions throughout its life. Accepting the parent records through the offspring’s parent grid will create draft animals that can be added to the studbook and will remove the animals from the Suggested List.

 

2.     
   Review the Suggested Animals list - First, Species360 recommends sorting this list to local and living animals only. Review the animals to make sure you want them in your studbook and then accept them. This way the studbook will be updated with the current population and it will be ready for population planning as soon as possible. 
3.      Add Animals not in ZIMS – If there are animals that need to be in the studbook that are not captured by ZIMS institutions. These can be added as New Animals.
4.      After all Living Animals are captured, animals with a non-living status can be addressed. Adding global animals is optional and may include parents of living animals that were never in the studbook scope, or animals that have moved out of the studbook scope. To find global ZIMS animals, check the Global radio button in the Suggested Animals search filter. and then work through adding the animals of other statuses. If you do not want an animal in your studbook, you can reject the animal to remove it from your Suggested List.

 

5.      Review the Data Quality Errors - Now that the studbook has the population needed to analyze, it is time to clean up the data! Species360 suggests tackling these in order of severity, starting with High Priority errors.

Re-numbering Temporary IDs

Any records that made it into the true studbook during the ZIMS download process (those held by only one institution) receive Temporary IDs. Once a Draft record is completed there is an option to assign a permanent studbook ID or a Temporary ID. To renumber any Temporary IDs go to Tools > Re-Number Temporary IDs. The permanent studbook IDs can be generated by ZIMS for all the Temporary IDs by selecting Generate All, individually by selecting the arrow or manually added. Once a permanent ID is assigned, the ID cannot be changed.

 

 

Revised 5 March 2025