Collaborative Research: Map of Life: An infrastructure for integrating global species distribution knowledge

Yale University, New Haven CT

Investigators

Abstract

Yale University and the University of Colorado Boulder are awarded grants to develop an interactive, online species distribution workbench and knowledge-base, the "Map of Life", as the fundamental mechanism for documentation, integration, and advance of human biodiversity distribution knowledge. Despite hundreds of years of active exploration, human knowledge of the distribution of biodiversity remains very limited. A fundamental factor in this shortcoming is that the majority of direct and indirect information about species' distributions has not been mobilized and integrated. While researchers can readily access fine-scale environmental data with global coverage, access to integrated species distribution information at validated precision remains elusive. This collaborative project will develop a conceptual and cyberinfrastructure framework for provisioning and improving reliable species geographic range information. Map of Life will combine on a single website expert range maps, survey data, and range maps adjusted for species habitat suitability initially for terrestrial vertebrate species, with extensions planned for other animal and plant groups. It will therefore serve the needs of all those requiring estimates of species geographic ranges across taxonomic groups and regions, such as scientists, land-managers, governments, policy-makers and the general public. Users can upload data, edit input or output and directly improve or comment on existing maps which will iteratively lead to more advanced species distribution knowledge. Users can also download any and all maps in different formats directly from the application or perform batch-download for multiple species. Finally, simple richness and regional species list tools will extend the products to users with a geographic focus. Given that species range maps are one of the most commonly used and familiar information products in biology, the potential broader impacts and benefits of Map of Life to society are remarkable. Unlike printed range maps, the dynamic nature of editable online range maps encourages the public to move from roles of passive consumers to "prosumers"; they can both produce and consume information and generate new knowledge. The Map of Life project also presents a unique cross-disciplinary training opportunity in macroecology and biodiversity informatics. Dedicated lab exchanges between Yale and the University of Colorado, along with workshops and symposia at professional meetings will allow extensive cross-fertilization of ideas. The PIs will also develop targeted map and web tutorials illustrating the notion of human understanding of a species' geographic range and will showcase those products at the Yale Peabody Museum and the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History. Further information about the Map of Life may be found at http://www.yale.edu/mapoflife.