WyoBio Citizen Science Program as a Platform for Innovative Programming, Database Design and Longevity of Data

The Wyoming Biodiversity Citizen Science Initiative, or WyoBio is a new citizen science initiative and online mapping application designed to provide students and interested citizens with access to information about... [ view full abstract ]

The Wyoming Biodiversity Citizen Science Initiative, or WyoBio is a new citizen science initiative and online mapping application designed to provide students and interested citizens with access to information about Wyoming’s biodiversity. The program allows users to upload, download and view observation data in conjunction with species distribution and range information. Species observations can be overlaid with a host of other information from geology and elevation, to vegetation types and anthropogenic disturbances. While the program is geared toward a young audience, the creation of the digital back-side of the program was rigorous, challenging, interdisciplinary and done with an eye for long-term data collection, serving and storage. Our team of biologists, educators, database experts and website programmers and designers collaborated to tackle the challenges of creating a sustainable application that is aesthetically pleasing and engaging. With an extensive amount of data organized in an easy to use format, WyoBio is designed to appeal to both students and other interested citizens alike – sparking their interest in the natural world and its diversity of species. The mapping application is designed to capitalize on new tools available in the ever-advancing world of spatial technologies to meet the unique needs of the end user. In this presentation, we will share our methods for data management and database design, visualization and interpretation, as well as techniques used to develop a user interface that is elegant and appropriate for children but driven by the integration of technology from backend databases to the front end web interface.