General Remarks

Data tables contain records that hold information on attributes for a particular entity. Since ACACIA is a taxon-based database schema, each record in a data table must refer to a taxon. This is done using a taxon number.

The following rules apply to datasets:

• 1. Datasets must be physically separated on the supplied media.

  2. Every dataset must have a taxa and a bibliography table. These are the only required tables for a data set.

  3. If a habitat table is supplied a geographic distribution must also be supplied.

It is worth emphasizing that a dataset does not have to include tables for data that one do not have or do not wish to supply.

The taxa, synonyms, common names, and higher taxa tables, along with its respective bibliographic citations, comprise the "taxonomic core", or nomenclatural component, of the ACACIA model.