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Data Tools - Biodiversity

Check out the below data tools on diverse wildlife species and more!

six walrus on ice in Chukchi sea. Middle walrus has radio-tag.

Tagged Animal Movement Explorer

What: Uses USGS tagged animals to create a map of animal movements, and graphs of associated information,

You'll Find: Projects that map fish, birds, whales, and other animals

Next you can: Students can download their own data sets and create their own species maps

Use for: Understanding migration, species range, and spread of invasive species 

Data Skills: Spatial data, tracking, data formatting

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Plantain trees planted in rows

Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)

What: An international network and data infrastructure funded by the world's governments and aimed at providing open access to data about all types of life on Earth.

You'll Find: Standardized datasets of biological occurrence records.

Next You Can: Students can download data from individual studies, or synthesize their own dataset by filtering on space, time, taxonomy, etc.

Use for: Global biodiversity patterns

Data Skills: Mapping, graphing, spatial analysis, temporal analysis

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Image: Alligator on Bank

Amphibian and Reptile Species Distribution Explorer

What: Provides information about reptile distributions and species richness for anyone interested in amphibians and reptiles.

You'll Find: A variety of dashboards that display species lists that can be filtered and/or display data summarized within states and ecoregions in the US.

Next You Can: Students can filter the various species dashboards to view the amphibian and reptile species distribution across the US.

Use for: Ecosystems, reptiles and amphibians

Data Skills: View, filter, and interpret data displayed on dashboards

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Close-up of native Hawaiian plants

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)

What: ITIS is the authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world. 

You'll Find: A digital taxonomy that is available for download in several formats, and the entire database is available for download and use under CC0 public domain.

Next You Can: Students can view the taxonomic information of plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of the world.

Use for: Ecosystems, taxonomy

Data Skills: Viewing taxonomic data/database

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Landscape restoration through afforestation on the island of Santo Antão, Cabo Verde

PAD-US Statistics Dashboard

What: Official inventory of public open space and private protected areas.

You'll Find: The lands included in PAD-US are assigned conservation status codes that both denote the level of biodiversity preservation and indicate other natural, recreational and cultural uses. PAD-US also includes the best available aggregation of federal lands data provided by agencies.

Next You Can: Students can use a tabular dashboard that leverages data attributes from the latest PAD-US release to allow users to create an assortment of charts.

Use for: Biodiversity preservation

Data Skills: Using a tabular dashboard, creating data charts

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Chronic wasting disease

Chronic Wasting Disease Research by the U.S. Geological Survey & Partners 

What: The USGS conducts wildlife disease surveillance and research to support management of affected species and their habitats.

You'll Find: Information on USGS science addressing CWD across the Nation.

Next You Can: Students can search for projects by state or by species to find information on research coming from each USGS Center or Cooperative Research Unit (CRU). 

Use for: biodiversity, habitats

Data Skills: View points and clusters on maps and read project data for each location

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Forest Growth

World Terrestrial Ecosystems Explorer

What: Allows for the map-based visualization and query of any terrestrial location on Earth for its ecosystem type and characteristics.

You'll Find: A practical map of World Terrestrial Ecosystems (WTEs). The WTEs were conceptualized and delineated as areas with unique combinations of climate setting, landforms, and vegetation/land cover. 

Next You Can: Students can view an interactive map that explores and describes current ecosystems of the world.

Use for: Ecosystems

Data Skills: View interactive map

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Procambarus clarkii

U.S. Register of Introduced and Invasive Species StoryMap

What: Serves as a national inventory for all non-native and invasive species that are established within Alaska, Hawaii, and the conterminous US.

You'll Find: Comprehensive and Authoritative Lists of Non-Native Taxa Established in Alaska, Hawaii, and the Conterminous United States.

Next You Can: Students can view a visual narrative about invasive species

Use for: Ecosystems, invasive species

Data Skills: View data table of taxonomic characteristics of the US-RIIS