Martyn,
The UVSC Herbarium website was a massive amount of work. It could have been
easy had I used MapTools and lived with slow page delivery, but I wanted
fast pages so I did a lot of the GIS coding myself.
The KML file (Keyhole Markup Language, Keyhole is the company that made the
Google Earth program) is an XML list of all points you want to display,
along with some extra info. For example, here
http://herbarium.uvsc.edu/virtual/google.asp?l=(((L.FamilySource=308)))
is a link to a KML file that should open into Google Earth (if you have it
installed). The in GE you can select what layers you want displayed, state &
county boundaries, roads, railroads, etc (note that some don't 'turn on'
until you are close enough). You can make the markers unique if you like,
and make them clickable.
So if you already have a list of the locations, there are programs that will
"translate" it into the KML-file format. Usually free GIS programs. You
might need to spend a little time on the KML discussion board at
http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/postlist.php/Cat/0/Board/SupportKML
to find a good one. Very helpful group, there.
And if you have enough location data, you might look into the GBIF/digir
consortium to share your biodiversity data with the rest of the world.
GBIF.org.
Bruce Wilson
http://science.uvsc.edu/wilson
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Martyn Stewart
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2007 12:54 PM
To:
Subject: RE: [Nature Recordists] Re: Range Maps plus
I find what you have done here fascinating Bruce, is there a lot of work
entailed in this process?
I mean how do you export all that data to Google earth as a layer?
Maybe that's more work than I want to do but full credit to you :-)
I think this would be a useful tool for recording locations also, say I am
looking for a spotted frog, someone could give the last location they saw or
heard it in?
Good job mate....
Martyn
****************************************
Martyn Stewart
Bird and Animal Sounds Digitally Recorded at:
http://www.naturesound.org
Redmond. Washington. USA
N47.65543 W121.98428
e-mail:
Tel: 425-898-0462
Make every Garden a wildlife Habitat!
*****************************************
_____
From:
On Behalf Of Bruce Wilson
Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 4:06 PM
To:
Subject: RE: [Nature Recordists] Re: Range Maps plus
Martyn,
You mean maps like these?
Distributions (at the bottom of the page): http://tinyurl.
<http://tinyurl.com/2fms49> com/2fms49
...the same using google maps: http://tinyurl. <http://tinyurl.com/ywx3pj>
com/ywx3pj
County populations: http://tinyurl. <http://tinyurl.com/ypqskc> com/ypqskc
Sorry if I seem overly curious, but I do this for a living and for fun: How
is your data stored? Database, or somewhere else. Is this for web
consumption, or CDROM? And will the data change often enough to justify
building dynamic maps (rather than making static ones one time and using
them for the next couple years)?
I'm just now starting another project that lets amateur
botanists/hikers/photographers take pictures on our local big mountain, then
upload their photos and GPS tracks to geolocate their photos, and use that
information to build a large map for the locations of each species on the
mountain. Plant identification keys will be involved. It's not birds, nor is
it recorded, but it's similar to what you are doing.
Bruce Wilson
http://science. <http://science.uvsc.edu/wilson> uvsc.edu/wilson
----------------------------------------------------------
What I am attempting to do is log all sightings with my metadata and show
abundance maps for my information.
I have a huge project coming up with bats and frogs; I want to be able to
fill in each county and state as to their whereabouts and patterns.
Any help would be totally appreciated.
"Microphones are not ears,
Loudspeakers are not birds,
A listening room is not nature."
Klas Strandberg
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