Atlas of African Echinoderma

EchinoMAP logo

Date started: 2012-10-04 15:32:19
Web page:

Echinoderms (starfish, sea-urchins, brittle-stars and their kin) are conspicuous and attractive marine animals, frequently photographed by divers. Although many can be identified from photographs, no comprehensive guide to South African species exists, making it difficult to accurately identify images. The fauna is also poorly know, making it very likely that divers will encounter species new to the region, or even to science. This site aims to collate all available images of echinoderms from South Africa, thus building up a comprehensive identification guide, as well as mapping the ranges of each species. Images of all South African echinoderms are welcomed and all contribute equally towards a better understanding of the distribution patterns of these fascinating creatures.

 

ECHINOMAP Metadata

1) DATASET CONTACT
Name of Organization/Department FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, Department of Biological Science, University of Cape Town
Contact person (Person to contact about the dataset) Professor Charles L. Griffiths
Position Project Manager
Postal Address FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, Department of Biological Science, University of Cape Town
Postal code 7701
City/Town Rondebosch, Cape Town
Province Western Cape
Country South Africa
Telephone +27 (0)21 650 3610
Cell
Fax +27 (0)21 650 3301
Email Charles.Griffiths@uct.ac.za
Website address (url) http://vmus.adu.org.za/?vm=EchinoMAP
2) DATASET METADATA
Title of dataset Atlas of African Echinoderma
Brief description (max. 200 words) The aim of EchinoMAP is to update the distribution of all African Echinoderms (starfish, sea-urchins, brittle-stars and their kin) species. Through collaborations with professional scientists, conservation organisations, divers and citizen scientists across Africa, we consolidate all reliable and identifiable evidence of current Echinoderms locations into an open-access digital database.
Purpose (max. 200 words) The information consolidated within EchinoMAP will build up a comprehensive identification guide, as well as mapping the ranges of each species.
Begin date (When data collection started) 2012-10-04
End date for static datasets (When was data collection ended) on-going
3) DATA QUALITY
Give a brief account of any biases, gaps or errors which may exist in the dataset. All VM records include coordinates. Species identificatios in the VM collections are done by a panel of Echinoderm experts. Photos submitted to the virtual museum are biased to species that are easy to photograph and to areas which are most accessible to the public.
4) ACCESS/USE CONSTRAINTS
How to get a copy of the dataset Data summaries and distributions maps are available in the project's website. For raw data requests email the contact person.
5) OTHER INFORMATION
Other information about the dataset which may be important. EchinoMAP s a joint project of the Animal Demography Unit and the Marine Biology Research Centre at the Department of Biological Science, University of Cape Town
6) METADATA AUTHOR
Author name (name of the person who entered the metadata record) Dr Rene Navarro
Author organization FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, Department of Biological Science, University of Cape Town
Author position Information Systems Specialist
Author address FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, Department of Biological Science, University of Cape Town
Author postal code 7701
Author city/town Cape Town
Author province Western Cape
Author country South Africa
Author telephone +27 (0)21 650 4751
Author fax +27 (0)21 650 3301
Author email rene.navarro@uct.ac.za
Metadata creation date 20-Jun-2013
Last update of metadata 31-July-2018

 

[ Page served: March 28, 2024, 09:46 +0200]

The Biodiversity and Development Institute (BDI)
and
The FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology
Department of Biological Sciences - University of Cape Town
 
This work, except photographs, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright of images uploaded into the Virtual Museum remains with the photographers.

The Biodiversity and Development Institute (BDI)          The Biodiversity and Development Institute (BDI)          The FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology          UCT