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British Trust for Ornithology tracks endangered birds with SAS®SAS® analytics enables the British Trust for Ornithology to develop intelligence which aids conservation and helps predict the spread of bird flu01 February 2011 - The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), one of the world's leading avian research organisations, produces population trends for over 100 UK bird species and identifies those under threat using SAS® analytics. By c ombining historical data with day-to-day intelligence, the BTO maps bird numbers and migration routes, which are distributed to conservation agencies across the UK. Intelligence gathered from the system is used to inform environmental policy-makers on native birdlife conservation. Specifically, the BTO uses SAS to study wildfowl movement patterns to predict the spread of bird-flu. Britain is at a crossroads for wildfowl migration, with birds arriving from as far away as Siberia and Canada and some migrating on to southern Europe and Africa. Understanding which birds are going where is critical in understanding how avian flu can be spread, and whether it is likely to enter Britain. Using SAS, the BTO can easily sort and analyse records of 100,000 migrating ducks, geese and swans to see underlying movement patterns. SAS analytics is used to process population trends and movement patterns for over 100 UK bird species based on 5,000 sightings a day, from the trust's 30,000 volunteers - in addition to 100-million historical records gathered over of the past 50 years. SAS also provides the analytical capability for BirdTrack (www.birdtrack.net). This is a major online project monitoring migration movements and the distribution of birds across the UK and Ireland, carried out in partnership with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Birdwatch Ireland and the Scottish Ornithologists' Club. With species constantly on the move, keeping track demands large data volumes to be collected and analysed. The BTO's volunteers play an invaluable part in the data accumulation. Thousands of volunteers enter daily details of their bird observations and SAS' technology converts this raw data into vital intelligible reports. "Our work makes a vital contribution to conservation, helping campaigners and decision-makers to set priorities and target resources," said Karen Wright, Joint Head of Information Systems, BTO. "Like everyone else today, we have to make sure we're working as efficiently and effectively as we can. For us, that means not only working hard to continue gathering data and engaging with volunteers, but also analysing that data and providing meaningful results quickly. The support and service we receive from SAS is exemplary and the software makes life so much easier for our scientists. SAS is an important and well-regarded solution that has become an integral part of the work we do." "Overnight, an automated system runs sophisticated SAS routines that transform unprocessed data on over 200 species into nearly 4,500 web pages of attractive graphs, summary statistics and 'animated' maps showing arrival and departure of common migrant species like the Swift," explained Dr Iain Downie, Joint Head of Information Systems, BTO. "This approach is gratifying and highly motivational for the BTO army of volunteers - quickly showing how their personal sightings fit-in to the overall picture." Ian Manocha, managing director, SAS UK and Ireland continued, "With 30,000 volunteers, 5,000 sightings every day and records stretching back half a century, the BTO needs a strong solution to make sense of the data. We are able to assist by helping the organisation establish programmes to process population trends of UK bird species. This provides the basis to make intelligent and informed recommendations regarding the conservation of certain species. Protecting the natural world we share is now more important than ever and at SAS we're proud to be working alongside organisations like the BTO, WildTrack and the WWF that are increasing knowledge and awareness of the environment, and helping to guarantee the survival of endangered species across the globe."
SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions delivered within an integrated framework, SAS helps customers at more than 50,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world
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Studying wildfowl movement patterns |
