COMPUTER TOOLS DEVELOPED FOR AQUATIC PLANT MANAGEMENT

Over the past fifteen years, the Aquatic Plant Control Research Progra m (APCRP) has pursued development of personal computer (PC) -based inf ormation systems for technology transfer in aquatic plant management. Initial development was limited to DOS compatible simulation models an d other computational tools. Though effective in generating computatio nal information for several control techniques, the DOS operating syst em did not allow the models to be interlinked with other information s ources required for development of effective aquatic plant management technology transfer tools. However, the advent of the WINDOWS operatin g system and ensuing software advances for PC's have allowed the recen t development of more comprehensive information systems. Of these, the Aquatic Plant Information System (APIS) is the first system scheduled for release for the APCRP. In addition to the simulation models devel oped in the past (i.e., HARVEST, AMUR/STOCK, and HERBICIDE), the syste m will include both aquatic plant and biological control identificatio n strategies based on expert system programming, instructional informa tion on a diversity of aquatic plant management topics, and other util ities all accessible through an online HELP supported graphical user i nterface. The system will be distributed on CD-ROM. Additional DOS-bas ed models not converted to a WINDOWS-compatible format (INSECT, HYDRIL , and MILFO) will be also be included for direct installation from the CD-ROM.