Project Description

What is MaPSTeDI?

MaPSTeDI stands for Mountain and Plains Spatio-Temporal Database-Informatics Initiative. The intended result of the project is to allow users to analyze biodiversity data in the southern and central Rocky Mountains and the northern plains both spatially and temporally in a web format. The data used by the project are from the biological and paleontological museum collections at the University of Colorado Natural History Museum (UCM), Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS), and Denver Botanic Gardens (DBG). Through a three-phase process, MaPSTeDI will georeference the museum collection databases and provide it to users on the MaPSTeDI website in GIS-linked spatio-temporal coverages.

What is the range of MapSTeDI?

The data used in the MaPSTeDI project comes from six U.S. states: Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

What are the three phases of the project?

The first phase is the Database Re-Engineering phase in which the museum databases are georeferenced and additional tables are added to provide supplemental information on the specimens for usability in the general community. The second phase involves linking the georeferenced data to a GIS system in order to create coverages for the data. The third phase includes placing these coverages on the Internet using ESRI's Internet Map Server application server ArcIMS. Also included in this phase is the development and final design of the MaPSTeDI website. Throughout the entire process, MaPSTeDI staff will be documenting all of these steps and providing many of the resulting documents on the MaPSTeDI website.

Why is this project necessary?

There are six well-defined reasons why MaPSTeDI is necessary at this time:

The important issues of biodiversity and conservation in the MaPSTEDI project range require larger and easier-to-access sources of data.
The collections of the three institutions involved in MaPSTeDI is one of the most comprehensive and authoritative sources of data for the project range.
The GIS format allows for the most extensive and efficient analysis of the data involved.
Access to the spatio-temporal coverages over the Internet will allow both research scholars and the public to analyze the data easily and quickly.
The process of building the infrastructure will benefit future and current projects with similar goals.
Online documentation of the procedures involved with each phase will provide other institutions with a guide for similar projects.

What are the anticipated results of this project?

An on-line, distributed, freely available biodiversity display and research tool combining collections from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, University of Colorado Museum, and Denver Botanical Gardens.
An extendible and flexible spatial data management system for museum biodiversity data.
Meta-data documentation of spatial data from the UCM, DMNS, and DBG.
Documentation of the process we used to convert collections database to a spatio-temporal biodiversity database. This documentation will be freely available on the web site.
Potential standards for georeferencing locality information.
A prototype for other museums to use and link to.
Development of the biological and technical expertise necessary to complete the process.
Training for undergraduates and graduates interested in using GIS to understand paleo- and biodiversity issues.

Who are the potential users of MaPSTeDI?

Academic researchers.
Land and wildlife management agencies at state and federal levels.
Environmental consulting companies.
Teachers and classes (at all levels) who may use this as a tool to examine biodiversity changes, museum collections, conservation issues, etc.
Private individuals who may want to learn more about the biota in their region.
Museum exhibit designers.

What is the current progress?

Check the Timeline and Accomplishments page for full details on the current MaPSTeDI progress.

What technologies are being used in the project?

MaPSTeDI will utilize a client-server architecture to allow users to pull custom sets of data from multiple databases and display them dynamically on a GIS-based Internet mapping application. ESRI's GIS applications, including ArcGIS, ArcSDE, and ArcIMS, will be used to create and serve the data while Microsoft's SQL Server provides the main relational database backbone of the project. Apache and Tomcat are used as the web application server. The museum databases used are in various database formats. These database formats will interface with SQL Server to keep the data on the website current with the collections themselves. Additional coverages will allow users to compare the data spatially with various features, including elevation, hydrology, land-use, soils, and geology. The georeferencing portion of the project uses a variety of database formats and digital topographic map programs as well as heavy usage of digital gazeteers and the Internet to georeference the databases.

What museum collections are included in the project?

There are a total of 16 databases marked for inclusion in MaPSTeDI at this time. UCM databases included are: Birds, Mammals, Herpetology, Fish, Mollusks, Paleontology, Vascular Plants, and Insects. DMNS databases included are: Birds, Mammals, Spiders, Insects, Vertebrate Fossils, and Plant Fossils. DBG databases included are: Vascular Plants and Mycology (Fungi). Only databased specimens in each collection will included at this time although new georeferenced records can be added to the database after the data is online. The total number of records included in the project is approximately 290,000 records. Current georeferencing progress indicates the current georeferencing status of each collection.

How is this project funded?

MaPSTeDI is funded through a grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF award abstract is available.