Web GIS Enabled Faunal Information System (WGFIS) for Monitoring and Analysis of Species Zoo-Geographic Distribution

Abstract

Animals have distribution in both space and time. A given species occupies a certain geographical range, which may also vary as a function of time, climatic conditions (biotic and abiotic factors) e.g. migratory species of some birds, Monarch Butterflies, Mountain gorilla and whales are some of the animal species that show migration. At present, there is tremendous anthropogenic pressure on various animal species. Therefore, it may be beneficial to know their distribution in space and if possible, to know relational aspect with biotic and abiotic factors. At a time, when only a small percentage (<10 %) of the world’s species are known, it is very important to have their GIS mapping to know distributional status of various species belonging to different faunal groups in their entire area of distribution. The proposed system WGFIS aims to offer solution to overcome the issues and will be very useful for monitoring and analysis of Species Zoo-Geographic Distribution. WGFIS will have spatial database of several species in three groups of animals, which will be linked to the requisite attributes for visualization and analysis. WGFIS will have the facility to upload the geo-tagged pictures of the various species to display the actual location on the ground and help in planning, decision making on various conservation measures through objective analysis.