Re: Designing a DB for storing biological data

On Sat, 14 Jun 2014, Damir Dezeljin wrote:

> I am designing a database for storing various biological and ecological
> data. Although there is no clear dividing line, it is possible to group
> the data into two groups, namely the measured (physical) and quantitative
> (mostly biological) data;

I left a couple of comments out of my first response.

First, measurements are quantitative so it does not matter what you're
measuring, all your data are quantitative. Your physical, chemical, and
geomorphic data (study area size, water velocity, air temperature) are ratio
data of continuous measurements. Your biological data are counts and/or size
or weight measurements.

Second, your database queries should be those appropriate to extract the
data you wish to statistically analyze, which is what I assume is the point
of the whole exercise. The database is for storage. You can do your spatial
analyses with GRASS and your statistical analyses with R.

Rich

--
Richard B. Shepard, Ph.D.
Applied Ecosystem Services, Inc. | Troutdale, OR 97060 USA
www.appl-ecosys.com Voice: 503-667-4517 Fax: 503-667-8863