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Over 5 million bird specimens are housed in North American collections, documenting the composition, distribution, ecology, and systematics of the world's estimated 10,000-16,000 bird species. Millions of additional observational records are held in diverse data sets. ORNIS addresses the urgent call for increased access to these data in an open and collaborative manner, and involves development of a suite of online software tools for data analysis and error-checking. This project, funded by the National Science Foundation, expands on existing infrastructure developed for distributed mammal (MaNIS), amphibian and reptile (HerpNet), and fish (FishNet) databases. Improved access to avian data sets will allow predictive uses to reveal patterns and processes of evolutionary and ecological phenomena that have not been apparent heretofore. Along with similar infrastructures for other vertebrate groups, it also will enable detailed and synthetic knowledge of the earth's biodiversity for tracking climate change, emerging diseases (e.g., West Nile Virus), and other conservation challenges for species in the 21st century.
- View data provider list. 46 data providers, 42 searchable. Both specimen and non-specimen (e.g., observational) data, totaling over 3.85M and 37M records, respectively.
- View map of data provider locations.
- DATA PORTAL - (Data Portal Instructions, Data Citation Help)
- IMPORTANT NOTICE -- On January 5, 2015, the ORNIS2 data portal was replaced with the VertNet data portal. Please update your bookmarks and links to http://vertnet.org/search. The ORNIS project site will remain active.
- If you need assistance learning how to use the VertNet portal, see VertNet's Help pages, or contact VertNet directly. They're happy to help you out.
REMINDER: VertNet is now transitioning data sets from DiGIR to IPT.
If you share biodiversity data with MaNIS, FishNet, HerpNET, or ORNIS, please visit VertNet's IPT FAQ to select your hosting preference and to learn more about IPT or you can always contact us directly at info@vertnet.org.