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Google Map Selector Box Explained

How Does it Work?

   Creating a dynamically sized selector box finally brings true GIS search capabilities to Google Map. When generating a spider species list or an image gallery using this new feature, what's really going on under the hood?

  1. the selector box records the maximum and minimum longitudes and latitudes in real-time
  2. these four values are passed to the database
  3. a query sifts through all the collection records contributed by museum curators and private collectors and pulls out those constrained by the latitude and longitude selection
  4. the resultant list is filtered through a massive "synonyms" table to combine records according to their current nomenclature (this is important because spider names have changed as a result of taxonomic revisions)
  5. a web page is created that contains a species list or an image gallery based on this species list

Why is This Important?

    The presentational simplicity of this tool is deceiving. At its most obvious level, this tool permits collectors and other researchers interested in spider diversity to quickly obtain species lists in any region of the Nearctic prior to initiating expeditions or new biodiversity research. Spatial gaps in collecting efforts can also be seen, especially if one draws a selector box over the northern-most reaches of Canada. At a more subtle level, this tool permits a first visual clue to how spider species distributions may be shifting in any cardinal direction, perhaps as a result of human influence (e.g. attempt to cross-reference species lists with large-scale disturbances like clear-cutting using Google Map's satellite imagery). By selecting any species' specimen list one can sort these records by their collection dates, thus providing an indication of historic to present-day species occurrence in any particular region. By selecting any species' description, detailed information including a different map with date-coded collection locales is presented. These specimen lists and this latter map might also help elucidate point source localities if the species is thought to have been introduced.

What's the Catch?

    The catch is ensuring there are ample collection records in the database to make informed decisions, especially if one is charged with establishing protected places or assessing the effects of global warming or some other human-caused change to spider habitat. Good collections and good taxonomy are critical to this exercise. Uncovering broad spatial trends in spider diversity is impossible without this foundation.