Review of Biodiversity app--MAP of LIFE
Map of Life (MOL) is a free app that is for Andriod and Apple. It's description states that it puts "the most advanced geographic biodiversity knowledge at your fingertips. The app builds on a global scientific effort to help you discover, identify, and record species worldwide".
App specifics:
It was last updated on June 11, 2017. Andriod 4.0 and iOS 7.0 are required for the app. The website of the developer is Map of Life Applications LLC. The app was launched on July 2015. It is designed to be used as a field guide app and tailored to your exact location. The app has over 50,000 installs on Google play, but only a 3.8 out of 5 rating. I wanted to try it myself and see if this could be a replacement for some of the other apps I have been using.
When you open the app there is a menu with different options. You can search the map by entering a place name, you can click a location on the map or you can choose the "what's around me" option that is based on the user's geolocation. After choosing the location the user is then able to choose an animal classification to search: amphibians, birds, fishes, mammals, reptiles, turtles, bumblebees, butterflies, trees, etc. After choosing the classification it will give you a sampling of animal species in your location that is likely for the user to see and provides data sheets of information taken from
Wikipedia. After confirming that is the species the user is looking for, there is a section for recording your own sightings of the animal and it will be saved.
Pros/Cons of the App:
Pros- It does not take a lot of space on your device and the link to the data sheets are very handy. There is a lot of information on species that are common to the general locality. This can be helpful if you are unsure of a species and you are trying to make an identification. This is an improvement over print field guides that makes the user search through pages of general information.
The recording feature allows citizen scientists to record operations to help better understand biodiversity richness in an area.
Cons- a strong data signal is needed to be able to successfully use all functions of the app in the field. I was able to view some of the pages, but not upload my own observations until I reached an area with a stronger signal. In some of my field experiences, I was not able to have a strong enough data signal to use the app at all. There is a limit to the species that are able to be searched. There is no classification for insects. spiders among other gaps. Also as animal species move due to climatic responses and they could be new to an area. There is no way to record a species that is new to an area.
The website has many more features than the app and allows the user to view a species by its range, to project a species and range loss, biodiversity trends and patterns are also able to be studied. I encourage anyone that is studying biodiversity to look at the website MOL.org and the datasets that are available. That is where Map of Life shines.
I also found a clip on YouTube if that summarizes some of its features.
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