Using Visualization Techniques for Supporting Interaction with the TaxonomyBrowser Database

Abstract

TaxonomyBrowser is a biodiversity information system developed to manage data collected by biologists during field work as well as data resulting from further analyses. It was developed as a web application and stores data on a database organized according to the taxonomic tree of leaving species, i.e., specimens collected or observed during field work are recorded in the database classified as pertaining to some level in the taxonomic tree. In its first version, TaxonomyBrowser had a common, form-based user interface for managing the database. This work presents the new visualization-based interface of the system, describing the features that are available for entering data from collected specimens as well as accessing data through different visualization techniques. The interface was assessed by means of a survey with remote users in order to evaluate the provided features and validate the concept of a visualization-based interface for such kind of system. Participants considered the application to be intuitive, and most of them provided positive feedback.