Report prepared for the Experts Meeting Towards the Implementation of a Global Invasive Species
Information Network (GISIN), 6-8 April, 2004. Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Page 64
8/30/2004
IDnature Guides
The IDnature guides on the Discover Life
system provide text, line drawings, and
photographs in Web forms to help users
identify species. There are 50 IDnature
guides currently under development on
plants, invertebrates, insects, mollusks, and
other groups. While our initial focus was on
North American species, there are now
numerous guides being developed for many
other parts of the world.
IDnature guides provide a menu of various
tools, instructions for using the guide, and
questions about the species being
identified. The structure of the guides is
different from a dichotomous key. Choices
are not necessarily dichotomous. There can
be multiple states for each character under
consideration. Furthermore, unlike
conventional paper keys, the questions in
the guides can be answered in any order. If
they are unsure of a character, users can
even skip answering the question and
proceed to another question. Identify
buttons allow the user to submit each new
answer to the identification process, which
narrows down the resulting list of possible
species remaining. Questions in the guides
are also presented in such a way as to allow
the user to eliminate characteristics by
choosing the Not option, indicating that the
species does not have a specific
characteristic.
The Simplify function allows users to tailor
the guide as they work through it. Clicking
the Simplify button removes any criteria that
are no longer relevant with respect to the
answers already given and the geographic
location where the user is. As the list of
possible species is narrowed down to just a
few or a single species, a reporting option is
displayed allowing users to submit
observations and information on the species
they have identified.
Reporting System
Once the guide has identified the possible
species, the user can view the species page
and verify whether it matches what they
described. They can then submit a report on
the species including information about the
observer/submitter (name, email address,
location etc.). Through an agreement with
www.Topozone.com, the locations of these
observers and observations can be mapped
(detailed maps are currently available only
for the USA). The gazetteer mechanism
behind this mapping function contains over
 |
 |
 |