The aim of this project is to design. implement and optimize a system enabling taxono-mists, conservation biologists. and decision-makers to access large quantities of data regarding the distribution and diversity of birds based on data from systematic collections and observational data sets. It will be composed of three geographically separated func-tional subsystems The first subsystem at the University of Kansas (KU) still allows man-agement of and access to integrated data housed in five large. geographically separate databases in institutions in Canada, the United States and Mexico. The second subsystem at the San Diego Supercomputer Center, will permit user-designed analysis and visualiza-tion of results from the data subsystem using a GIS database. The third, Java-based sub-system, situated on users' machines, will perform GIS mapping using results from the first two subsystems. The system builds on an existing database and map server developed at KU and the Biodiversity Insight System developed at SDSC. Open protocols such as Z39.50 and CGI will be used throughout to ensure scalability to additional databases and other taxa. allowing the system to encompass many additional sources of data.
