| OBIS PI | Dr. Bruce Hoagland | bhoagland@ou.edu |
| OBIS PI | Dr. Todd Fagin | tfagin@ou.edu |
Informed and accurate conservation planning relies on access to current, spatially explicit data on the occurrence of biological species and ecological communities. However, data relevant to conservation planning and biodiversity education have been historically distributed among a number of state and federal agencies and private entities. Collating this information into a single, centralized data repository has proven challenging. As a result, these data have been stored in a series of disparate databases with varying degrees of accessibility.
Beginning in 2015, the project PIs, with funding from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, State Wildlife Grant Program (SWG), began the process of collating biodiversity occurrence data into a single, integrated database management system and developing a comprehensive, web-based application to access these data. The result is the Oklahoma Biodiversity Information System, or simply OBIS.
OBIS is a comprehensive web-based application that draws upon multiple existing biodiversity databases in order to facilitate biodiversity conservation planning in the state of Oklahoma and beyond. OBIS began as a project to integrate data from five disparate databases into a single, integrated data management system. It has expanded to include biodiversity data from a number of stakeholders, including state and federal government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and citizen naturalists.
The OBIS web application utilizes a simple search interface. Users can enter the scientific name or common name of an Oklahoma-occurring taxon. A list of taxa meeting the search criterion will be displayed and users can select it to view basic taxonomic and distribution information about the taxon. The OBIS web app also includes a map interface so users can see basic taxon distribution (aggregated to 5 km2) hexagons in association with other spatial datasets.
Additionally, the OBIS web application has an editing interface for our various collaborators and data providers.
If you have any questions about OBIS, please contact Dr. Bruce Hoagland at bhoagland@ou.edu or Dr. Todd Fagin at tfagin@ou.edu.