Who are they?
The Map of Life is an integrated global database that aims to depict how all living things on the planet, animals and plants, are distributed geographically. Built on a Google Maps platform, the Map of Life allows anyone with an Internet connection to map the known global distribution of almost all 30,000 species of terrestrial vertebrates, including mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and North American fresh water fish. It contains data from a variety of sources including range maps found in field guides, citizen science data and data gathered by national parks rangers. The Map of Life Steering Committee comprises a number of scientific experts from around the world that provide technical, managerial and scientific advice to Map of Life.
How can they help?
Map of Life has over 371 million records (as of October, 2015). The map is searchable by species, location or reserve, and data can be uploaded using a mobile phone app. The mobile app tells users in an instant which species are likely to be found in their vicinity. The app helps users create personal lists of observations and contribute those to scientific research and conservation efforts. Map of Life also provides species descriptions, distributions, expert range maps and habitat information, and be used for both alien and native species occurrence records.