PIT tag data originating in the Columbia River basin goes back to 1987 and PTAGIS was created in 1991. Over the years different terms have been used to describe the same concepts and some field names, both in the files and software, have been changed. This page shows the evolutions of those terms and how they are referred to in the reporting system, where different, following this convention:
Term 1 = Term 2 = Term 3 → Attribute 1, Attribute 2
Where terms with lower numbers are generally deprecated, but may still be used in documentation. The attribute names show the names of the objects in the reporting system that represent those data fields and often still reference the deprecated terminology.
Coordinator ID = Tag Data Project = MRR Project → Mark Data Project, Recap Data Project, Mort Data Project, Event Data Project
All mark, recapture, and recovery data used to be associated with a person who was ultimately responsible for the data and the operations to collect those data. This person was originally termed the coordinator and was assigned a 3-character code consisting of their initials, called the Coordinator ID. As PTAGIS aged, and coordinators retired or changed jobs, it became necessary to convert the Coordinator ID into a Tag Data Project. A project still has a coordinator, but the coordinator can change over time, while the project remains the same. When the new MRR data model was implemented with P4, Tag Data Project was changed to MRR Project.
In the PTAGIS reporting system, this project code is called by different names, depending on the event being reported. In the Tagging Detail report, it is called Mark Data Project; in the Recapture Detail report it is called Recap Data Project; in the Mort Detail report it is called the Mort Data Project; and in the Complete Tag History Report the attribute that reports the MRR Project for each type of event record is called the Event Data Project.
Tag Date = Event Date → Mark Date, Recap Date, Mort Date, Event Date
The field used to record the date of the mark, recapture, or recovery started out as the Tag Date. In P4, this field was changed to Event Date.
In the reporting system, the field is named according to the event being report. In the Tagging Detail report, it is called Mark Date; in the Recapture Detail report it is called Recap Date; in the Mort Detail report it is called Mort Date; and in the Complete Tag History report it is called Event Date.
Tag Site = Event Site → Mark Site, Recap Site, Mort Site, Event Site
The field used to record the location of the mark, recapture, or recovery was originally called the Tag Site. In P4, this field is now called Event Site. In P4, this field is now called Event Site.
In the reporting system, the field is named according to the event being report. In the Tagging Detail report, it is called Mark Site; in the Recapture Detail report it is called Recap Site; in the Mort Detail report it is called Mort Site; and in the Complete Tag History report it is called Event Site.
Flag Code = Conditional Comment
The Conditional Comments field has been part of tagging data files since PIT tags were first used in the basin. The Conditional Comments field uses a set of standard codes to record fish condition. These codes are called both Flag Codes and Conditional Comments in documentation, but are the field is referred to as Conditional Comments in the reporting system.
Mortality = Recovery → Mort
The event recording the recovery of a PIT tag with or without the host animal after it was released was originally called Mortality. With the release of P4 and the new data model, this was changed to Recovery. In the PTAGIS reporting system, this event is called Mort.
Observation = Interrogation = Detection
None of these terms has been deprecated and all three are currently used interchangeably to indicate a single PIT tag detection.
Coil = Antenna
An antenna transmits the signal that excites a PIT tag and then receives the return signal from the PIT tag with the unique tag code. Antennas were previously called coils. Antennas are driven by transceivers which provide power to excite the PIT tag and decode the returned unique tag code.
Interrogation sites have one or more antennas, each with a two-character identifier that is unique to that site. This unique identifier was previously called the Coil ID and is now called the Antenna ID. Transceivers also have a two-character identifier called the Transceiver ID. The transceiver ID is the same as the antenna ID, except when the transceiver is a multiplexor, such as the Destron-Fearing FS1001M or the Biomark IS1001 Master Controller.
Monitor = Antenna Group
A group of antennas installed so as to be able to detect PIT tags in a particular location within an interrogation site. Antenna groups were previously called monitors.
Version: 1.07
Published: 9/6/2023