Latitude and longitude can be entered in either decimal degree or degree, minute, second format. Data entry software recognizes the format based on the presence of a decimal in the value. If there is no decimal the entry is evaluated as degree, minute, second format . Data entry validation:
- rejects records containing location coordinates outside of the state-county for the record.
- The range of values allowed in the minutes or seconds fields is 00 – 59. Values of sixty (60) or greater are invalid.
The Pest Status code is used to describe the known status of a pest at the time of survey. The status can be used to describe the conditions at a specific location or for an entire County. The Pest Status code is made up of two basic parts.
- The first character (+ or -) describes the basic presence or absence of the pest.
- The suffix (1, 2, 3, A, B, C or D) further describes the pest population.
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| + | Positive (Present) |
| – | Negative (Absent/Not Present In Sample) |
| 1 | New or Reintroduced in the US |
| 2 | New or Reintroduced in the State |
| 3 | New or Reintroduced in the County |
| A | Known to be Established |
| B | Found, Not Known to be Established |
| C | Being Eradicated |
| D | Eradicated |
| I | Interception |
Absence/Negative results (-) is used to indicate that the survey resulted in the ABSENCE or NEGATIVE findings for the target pest/pathogen. The minus sign, in most cases, is used by itself. Modifiers A and B should not be used with an ABSENCE or NEGATIVE find.
Declaration of Eradication (-D) indicates the pest/pathogen is considered to have been officially declared eradicated. The pest has been eliminated or exterminated from the area. Used following an active eradication effort (+C, +BC) or when pest populations did not establish and the population died out and can no longer be found.
Further, when using this code you need to enter the appropriate a Survey Method code of 80000 (Eradicated).
In addition the following fields are to be left BLANK for eradication records:
- Quantification, Descriptor Units, Total Units, Positive Units, Observation Duration
Presence/Positive results (+) is used to indicate that the survey resulted in the PRESENCE or POSITIVE findings for the target pest/pathogen. In most cases, this code must be used in combination with one or two additional modifiers.
Known to be Established (+A): indicates that the pest is/was naturalized in an area. It exhibits(ed) a permanent, self-maintaining population. Established pests are able to successfully survive and reproduce from one growing season to the next. A “migratory” pest may be considered established when it reoccurs in most years in a given area, especially those areas in its “normal migratory pathway”. Therefore, pests do not have to overwinter in an area to be established there.
An established pest is/was one that can/could reliably (but not necessarily) be found in a given area in most years. Endemic pests are in this category. A point to remember is that “established” must be considered with respect to a particular political boundary (i.e. country, state, county). A pest may be established in the US, but not necessarily established within every state or county.
Found, Not Known to be Established (+B) refers to a find that does not meet the definition of an established pest. If the issue of establishment is in doubt, a declaration by the appropriate pest regulatory authority must be sought, issued, and accepted. ‘Interception’, ‘exotic’ ‘incidental’, and regulatory incident’ are descriptors which have been used to relate to pests not known/declared to be established. It is important to be aware of the frames of reference set by geographic and functional perspectives. Agencies with nationwide responsibilities may consider a pest not to be established even though they are widespread through much of the nation, but not in the declaring state. Likewise, a regulatory agency may have a different perspective than a purely scientific biological institution. Knowing whether or not a pest is established is one of the major benefits of performing pest surveys. By doing so, a baseline for occurrence can be established, and deviations from the baseline can be definitively determined.
Being Eradicated (+C) means that an active program is in progress to eliminate or exterminate a pest from an area. No time frames for project completion are implied. However, when the pest is eradicated and/or the project has been completed, appropriate records should be submitted to update the database (See pest status code “–D”).
“New” or “Reintroduced” records are indicated by a new U.S, State, or County record (+1, +2 or +3). You must attach the suffix “A” or “B” to these records to indicate whether or not the pest is established. Because this will be the first occurrence of this pest being reported, it will be doubtful whether enough background is known to determine whether it is established or not. Therefore you should report all “new” records as “Not Established” (B).
- +1B: Indicates New or Reintroduced in the U.S. and is not known to be established.
- +2B: Indicates New or Reintroduced in the State and is not known to be established.
- +3B: Indicates New or Reintroduced in the County and is not known to be established.
These records should be entered within 48 hours after final confirmation.
Common pest status code combinations
| Status Code | Definition |
|---|---|
| – | Survey confirms ABSENCE/NEGATIVE finding for the target pest/pathogen. |
| -D | The pest/pathogen is considered to have been officially declared eradicated, or pest populations did not establish and can no longer be found. |
| +1B | New or Reintroduced in the U.S. and is not known to be established. |
| +2B | New or Reintroduced in the STATE and is not known to be established. |
| +3A | New or Reintroduced in the COUNTY and is known to be established. |
| +3B | New or Reintroduced in the COUNTY and is not known to be established. |
| +A | Pest was found and is known to be established. |
| +B | Pest was found and is not known to be established. |
| +AC | Pest is known to be established and is under an official eradication program. |
| +(1/2/3)BC | Pest is not known to be established and is under an official eradication program. Include numeric tag if this is a New or Reintroduced in (US/State/County) observation. |
| +I | Pest has been intercepted. |
This field records the Biocontrol Target for the beneficial organism recorded in the Pest field. The fields of the record (i.e. Quantification) contain information for the organism in the Pest field recorded as a beneficial/biocontrol agent. The user should enter one record containing the information for the beneficial organism in the Pest field and a second record containing the information about the Biocontrol Target. Biocontrol release records should not be entered in the database unless the targeted host has previously been surveyed and records entered.
As of January 2015 all records require funding information. Templates for CAPS- or PPA-funded surveys are pre-populated with the funding field, pest and survey method values. If a find was funded by another source and/or brought to your attention by an alert citizen, you might use:
Funding Year – eg. 2015
Funding Source – Other (6)
Survey Name – No Survey (57) or choose from the Survey Name dictionary