When three dolphins at the National Aquarium in Baltimore became pregnant last year, Hans Keller, director of IS, started thinking about how the aquarium would keep track of the vulnerable infant dolphins, which have only a 20 percent survival rate when born in captivity to a first-time mother. He visited another aquarium that had just finished a breeding observation program with beluga whales. “When I saw they had 15 binders full of paper records, I thought there had to be a better way,” says Keller. Keller’s IS department decided to use Pendragon Forms Software applications tied to their Microsoft SQL 7 database to capture important behavior data on the mothers right away in order to pinpoint their due dates. Once Spirit was born in April and Raven and Maya followed in May, staff members and volunteers observed the babies around the clock. They entered data on nursing, heart and breathing rates, and the mothers’ responses to their young into Palm Vx devices. During a five-month period, staffers and volunteers logged 2,748 observation hours and entered 170,000 records, all on six Palm devices.Keller calls the wireless program a success, primarily because all three dolphin babies survived and are thriving, aided in part by the extensive data the aquarium collected. If any small problem arose, marine biologists could check the accumulated data and respond immediately. Also, the wireless program was so cost-effective (total investment for equipment and software came to roughly $2,100), the IS department is looking at using Palm devices to record and store data related to stranded or stray marine mammals brought to the aquarium for observation. Keller says he’s willing to share the aquarium’s modified applications with other zoos or aquariums that want to give it a try. “It was a beautiful experience,” Keller says. “We’d do it again in a heartbeat.” Related content brandpost Sponsored by Huawei Beyond gigabit: the need for 10 Gbps in business networks Interview with Liu Jianning, Vice President of Huawei's Data Communication Marketing & Solutions Sales Dept By CIO Online Staff Dec 04, 2023 9 mins Cloud Architecture Networking brandpost Sponsored by HPE Aruba Networking Bringing the data processing unit (DPU) revolution to your data center By Mark Berly, CTO Data Center Networking, HPE Aruba Networking Dec 04, 2023 4 mins Data Center brandpost Sponsored by SAP What goes well with Viña Concha y Toro wines? Meat, fish, poultry, and SAP Viña Concha y Toro, a wine producer that distributes to more than 140 countries worldwide, paired its operation with the SAP Business Technology Platform to enhance its operation and product. By Tom Caldecott, SAP Contributor Dec 04, 2023 4 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by Azul How to maximize ROI by choosing the right Java partner for your organization Choosing the right Java provider is a critical decision that can have a significant impact on your organization’s success. By asking the right questions and considering the total cost of ownership, you can ensure that you choose the best Java p By Scott Sellers Dec 04, 2023 5 mins Application Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe