Biological elements can be divided into two main types: species-related elements and ecological communities.
Species-related elements include:
ACIMS endeavors to list all elements reported for the province. This is a big task, with new information constantly coming forward and changes in taxonomy being made as various element groups are studied and reviewed. Not all element groups are included yet, and some are incomplete - this is an on-going project.
The elements are ranked, and a tracking list is developed. (See NatureServe for details on how elements are ranked.) The tracking list includes the elements that are of high conservation priority. This is usually those elements that are rare and those that are federally and provincially listed as endangered and threatened. Some species elements that are under-surveyed are also included, so that information is collected on them to determine their status. The tracking list serves as a focus for data gathering.
The following is the list of species-related element groups currently in the ACIMS database and available for download: The downloadable file includes all biological elements in the ACIMS database, both species-related as well as ecological communities
NOTE: All species-related elements are given an 'Element Code' which is part of NatureServe methodology. It is a ten-character code that uniquely identifies elements in our database. The first 1 or 2 characters identify the group the element falls within, as described below.
For example, the element code for Long-toed Salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum) is AAAAA01080. The element code for Northern beech fern (Phegopteris connectilis) is PPTHE02010
| Major Group | Group | Sub-group | Element Code (starts with) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vertebrates | A.. | ||
| Mammals | AM.. | ||
| Birds | AB.. | ||
| Reptiles | AR.. | ||
| Amphibians | AA.. | ||
| Fish | AF.. | ||
| Invertebrates | I.. | ||
| Sponges | IZ.. | ||
| Freshwater Sponges | |||
| Mollusks | IM.. | ||
| Freshwater mussels | |||
| Freshwater snails | |||
| Slugs and land snails | |||
| Crustaceans | IC.. | ||
| Copepods | |||
| Crayfish | |||
| Freshwater shrimp | |||
| Stygobromids | |||
| Insects | II.. | ||
| Mayflies | |||
| Dragonflies and Damselflies | |||
| Stoneflies | |||
| Lady bugs | |||
| Predaceous Diving Beetles | |||
| Tiger Beetles | |||
| Mosquitoes | |||
| Horse Flies | |||
| Black Flies | |||
| Caddisflies | |||
| Butterflies and Skippers | |||
| Moths (partial list) | |||
| Bumblebees | |||
| Spiders | IL.. | ||
| Vascular Plants | P.. | ||
| Monocots | PM.. | ||
| Dicots | PD.. | ||
| Gymnosperms | PG | ||
| Pteridiophyts | PP.. | ||
| Non-vascular Plants | NB.. | ||
| Liverworts | |||
| Mosses | |||
| Lichens | NL.. | ||
| Fungi | NF.. | ||
| Non-taxonomic biological entities | O.. | ||
| Bat Hibernacula | OHIBE00002 | ||
| Breeding bird colonies | OBICO00001 | ||
| Migratory bird staging areas | OMBSA00001 | ||
| Snake hibernacula | OHIBE00001 |
