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Methods and Permissions – BiodiversityMapping.org
5 April 2015
Primary species range map data to create the diversity maps on BiodiversityMapping.org are from the IUCN (mammals, amphibians, and cone snails), jointly from BirdLife International and NatureServe (birds), from NatureServe (reptiles and freshwater fish of the USA), or from the U.S. Geological Survey (trees of the USA). Range maps for mammals, amphibians, and cone snails can be found at,
http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/spatial-data
Range maps for birds can be requested at,
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/info/spcdownload
Range maps for reptiles and freshwater fish of the USA can be requested at,
http://www.natureserve.org
Range maps for trees can be downloaded at,
http://gec.cr.usgs.gov/data/little
Species richness and other metrics for the maps on the BiodiversityMapping website was calculated with ArcGIS 10.1 and ArcGIS 10.2 using equal area grids (Eckert IV or Albers Equal Area Conic). In all cases, extinct species were removed, as were non-native distributions of extant species. Polygons listed with the attribute Vagrant were also removed. In cases where a species range was split into multiple subspecies, these were merged to create a range map for the full species when possible.
Richness was usually calculated using a 10×10km grid. For each grid cell, any species that overlapped any part of the cell counted as a presence of that species. For some groups or areas, a uniform grid was not most appropriate (e.g., watersheds for freshwater fish), and a decision was made on the best spatial unit to use that would maintain the highest data quality.
Maps of amphibian diversity include the total species richness, major taxonomic Orders (Anura, Caudata, Gymnophiona), threatened species, and small-ranged species. Species considered small-ranged are those with a geographic range size smaller than the global median (i.e., the 50% of species with the smallest ranges). Maps are derived from digital distribution maps from the IUCN, July 2013 update.
Maps of mammal diversity include the total species richness, major taxonomic Orders (Cetartiodactyla, Carnivora, Primates, Eulipotyphla, Chiroptera, Rodentia), marsupials, threatened species, and small-ranged species. Species considered small-ranged are those with a geographic range size smaller than the global median (i.e., the 50% of species with the smallest ranges). Maps are derived from digital distribution maps from the IUCN, July 2013 update.
Maps of bird diversity include the total species richness (using breeding, non-breeding, and combined ranges), major taxonomic groups (non-Passeriformes, Passeriformes, Tyranni, Passeri), parrots, hummingbirds, threatened species, and small-ranged species. Species considered small-ranged are those with a geographic range size smaller than the global median (i.e., the 50% of species with the smallest ranges). Maps are derived from digital distribution maps for all the world's birds in BirdLife International and NatureServe (2013).
Maps of cone snail diversity include the total species richness, threatened species, data deficient species, and small-ranged species. Species considered small-ranged are those with a geographic range size smaller than the global median (i.e., the 50% of species with the smallest ranges). Maps are derived from digital distribution maps from the IUCN, July 2013 update.
Versions of many of the maps on this site originally appeared in the scientific articles below,
Jenkins, CN, SL Pimm, LN Joppa (2013) Global Patterns of Terrestrial Vertebrate Diversity and Conservation. PNAS 110(28): E2602-E2610. (PDF)
Pimm, SL, CN Jenkins, R Abell, TM Brooks, JL Gittleman, LN Joppa, PH Raven, CM Roberts, JO Sexton (2014) The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection. Science 344(6187): 1246752
Jenkins, CN, KSV Houtan, SL Pimm, JO Sexton (2105) U.S. protected lands mismatch biodiversity priorities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1418034112
The text and images on BiodiversityMapping.org are for the personal, not-for-profit use of students, scholars, informal educational institutions, and the public. Any such use must name "BiodiversityMapping.org" as the source for the material, with acknowledgement of IUCN, BirdLife International, NatureServe, and USGS where appropriate for their contribution of the original range map data used in producing these derived works. No further permission is needed for educational use. If using the data for scientific research, please cite the appropriate reference articles in the above list.
Commercial use, electronic re-publication, or print publication of text or images is strictly prohibited without prior written permission.
Clinton N. Jenkins
Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas
Website: http://clintonjenkins.org
Email: Clinton.Jenkins@gmail.com
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