THE DATA-BASES IN ZOOLOGICAL SYSTEMATICS AND THE INFORMATION CONCERNING HIGHER TAXA OF ANIMALS

Biodiversity and its changes are an integral characteristic of natural communities and the extent of anthropogenic influence on them. The st udy of the diversity of animals must be based on the cadastre of anima ls, which can be created and effectively used only on the basis of com puter banks of data. The main block of such bank is elaborated at the Zoological Institute (St.-Petersburg). The principles forming the basi s of this computer data bank are discussed. The preliminary classifica tion of animals which can help to integrate the scattered data bases c reated in different institutes into the system is proposed. Scientific ally verified estimates of the number of described species in all the phyla and in most of the classes of animals for all the world and for the former USSR are made basing on this classification. A qualifier of animals - a specialized data base briefly describing hierarchical and synonimical relationships of taxa is described. A standard system of taxonomic categories is proposed for use in computer data bases and ba nks. All the theoretical concepts are illustrated by fragments of exis ting data bases.