Other Occurrence Data

Overview

Occurrence data are records or evidence that a species occurred at a particular place of a specified data. Aside from the more formal or traditional approaches to detect where and when a particular species has occurred, other means of detecting species presence exist. Such means include monitoring approaches where there is no specific taxonomic focus, specimen collection via local programs (e.g., Safe Wings Ottawa), GPS collar or tag information, etc. 

How and where to access this data

Avian occurrence data, apart from point count, ARU, and checklist data can be found from a variety of sources. These sources include casual observation via tools such as iNaturalist, museum specimens, research specimens and data, incidental observation through monitoring programs, etc. These data can be accessed through sources such as:

Nature Counts

The NatureCounts platform allows users to collect, archive, interpret and access wildlife data to advance the understanding of bird populations across the Western Hemisphere. It contains data on distribution and abundance of Canadian species, gathered by a network of volunteers and scientists in dozens of partnership programs. Examples of other occurrence data that can be found here are nest records and casual observations.

iNaturalist

iNaturalist is one of the world’s most popular nature apps. It helps individuals identify plants and animals around them. It is a digital tool (i.e., phone application) that allows people to contribute biodiversity observations to a central repository. Findings are shared with scientific data repositories like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility to help scientists find and use these data.

Motus

The Motus Wildlife Tracking System (Motus) is an international collaborative research network that uses coordinated automated radio telemetry to facilitate research and education on the ecology and conservation of migratory animals. Motus is a program of Birds Canada in partnership with collaborating researchers and organizations.

ABMI

The Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute tracks changes in Alberta’s wildlife and their habitats from border to border, and provides ongoing, relevant, scientifically credible information on Alberta’s living resources.

WildTrax

WildTrax is an online platform for storing, managing, processing, and sharing data collected by environmental sensors for wildlife monitoring. On top of hosting ARU and point count data, WildTrax also hosts remote camera data.