ABI Development: Access, visualization, and statistical tools for the analysis of butterfly monitoring data

向马里兰州大学颁发了一项奖金，以召集蝴蝶监测小组和信息学和统计学专家网络，开发一系列工具，大大扩大蝴蝶数据和知识的获取和使用。北美各地的公民科学家进行了数千次调查，作为整个大陆蝴蝶监测计划网络的一部分，但由于缺乏以下因素，这些调查的数据鲜为人知：1）对数据的了解和访问，2）可视化和共享这些关键数据集的工具，以及3）适当的分析模型。通过这一项目，将开发和推出几种新工具，包括用于大陆规模蝴蝶监测方案的网络界面和可视化工具、用于分发和可视化来自大型蝴蝶监测方案网络的数据的框架，以及一个基于网络的物种特征数据库，以及一套统计模型来分析从最常见类型的蝴蝶监控协议产生的数据。所有的努力都将致力于开发在蝴蝶监测项目以及其他昆虫监测项目（如蜻蜓、蟋蟀、瓢虫和蜜蜂）之间广泛可移植的工具。 工具的设计不仅对科学和管理界有用，而且对蝴蝶监测数据的主要收集者-公众也有用。 在整个项目中，本科生，研究生和博士后助理将参与各个阶段，以促进信息技术和统计分析教育。

An award is made to the University of Maryland to bring together a network of butterfly monitoring groups and experts in both informatics and statistics to develop a series of tools to greatly expand the access and use of butterfly data and knowledge. Citizen-scientists throughout North America perform thousands of surveys as part of a continent-wide network of butterfly monitoring programs, yet data from these surveys, are little known due to a lack of: 1) knowledge about and access to the data, 2) tools to visualize and share these critical data sets, and 3) appropriate models for analysis. Through this project, several new tools will be developed and launched, including a web interface and visualization tool for a continental-scale butterfly monitoring program, a framework for the distribution and visualization for data emerging from a large network of butterfly monitoring programs, and a web-enabled database of species traits, and a suite of statistical models to analyze data resulting from the most common types of butterfly monitoring protocols. All efforts will be targeted toward developing tools that are broadly transferrable among butterfly monitoring programs as well as other insect monitoring programs, such as those focused on dragonflies, crickets, ladybeetles, and bees. Tools will be designed to be useful not just to the scientific and management communities, but also for the general public, the primary collectors of butterfly monitoring data. Throughout this project, undergraduates, graduates, and post-doctoral associates will be involved in all stages to foster education in information technology and statistical analysis.