PopLink is a computer program designed to be used in the management and analysis of studbook databases. A studbook is an electronic record of the history of a captive population. It includes information on every individual in a population, including pedigrees and dates of birth, death and transfers between institutions. The studbook traces the entire history of each individual in a population; these collective histories describe the population's genetic and demographic identity.

PopLink can help maintain, analyze and export the data for a captive population that are relevant to its genetic and demographic management. PopLink imports a studbook from SPARKS, the current software used to manage studbook datasets. Studbook keepers can use PopLink to track and maintain all the data relevant to an individual species within zoos.  Population biologists can use PopLink to store analytical data, the version of the studbook used in the genetic and demographic analyses that management decisions are based on. PopLink includes many tools that assist with the development and maintenance of the analytical data necessary for management.

PopLink was developed by Lincoln Park Zoo with grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and with support from Lincoln Park Zoo, Minnesota Zoo, Fort Worth Zoo, San Diego Zoo, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and United Airlines.

PopLink is shareware that is distributed free of charge by Lincoln Park Zoo. The software and the manual are not guaranteed to be free of bugs and errors, and the user is responsible for ensuring that the application of PopLink is appropriate to the problem at hand. PopLink is owned and copyrighted by Lincoln Park Zoo but not copy-protected. Individuals can hereby make unlimited copies of PopLink for the purposes of population management, research and education.

The most current version of PopLink is version 1.3, released February 6th, 2008. PopLink is still under development; to be notified when a new release becomes available, send your name and email address to software@lpzoo.org. 

For more information about PopLink and its uses in population management, download the user’s manual (PDF) here.

To see the changes made between versions of PopLink check the Software Updates Log here.

Installation Instructions

To install PopLink,
Download the current version of the program save it to your computer. 

Use Windows Explorer to navigate to the downloaded zip file (PopLink 1.3.zip), double click on the file, and extract (or unzip) the files into the folder you designate on your computer.

Open the folder with the extracted files and double click on the Setup.exe installation file. The installer will then guide you through the rest of the process. You may be asked whether you’d like to install the .Net Framework 1.1 and MDAC 2.7; PopLink requires these libraries to run, and installing it will not modify any of your other programs. The installation will automatically put a shortcut on your desktop.

If you have previously installed PopLink but would like to install an updated version, uninstall your current version of PopLink before following the instructions above. Studbook databases can be transferred between versions; see the manual for further details.

If you are installing PopLink on a computer running Windows Vista, please see the manual for more detailed instructions about operating within the Vista system.

Software citation:  
Faust, LJ, Bergstrom, YM, and Thompson, SD, and Bier, L.  2008. PopLink Version 1.3. Lincoln Park Zoo. Chicago, IL.

Manual citation:  
Faust, LJ and Bier, L. 2008. PopLink 1.3: User’s Manual. Lincoln Park Zoo. Chicago, IL.