You can search the database in a number of different ways.

1. Welcome to the tutorial for the National Biodiversity Mapping System, an online portal to access information on the distribution of species of flora and fauna recorded in Ireland. This system has been developed by the National Biodiversity Data Centre on behalf of the Heritage Council and National Parks and Wildlife Service.

2. If you are interested in a particular species, type the species name in the box below. To search the database for a particular species type the name in the dialogue box You can search the database in a number of different ways. If you wish to see what datasets are on the system, and get contact details of the data providers, click on the appropriate button below. If you are interested in invasive species, protected species or threatened species only, click on the respective button on the left

3. This example is looking for data on the red squirrel. Note the predictive search – this will automatically highlight names with these characters in the database If this is the species you are seeking, click on the name

4. Click on the Search button

5. You will notice on some occasions that the names of some common species don’t appear on the drop down list, as in this example of the blackbird This happens because the common name entered is not the one used in the species list supporting the mapping system. As this system is compatible with the worldwide naming conventions for species, some of the common names used appear unfamiliar. If you experience this difficult, try typing in another version of the common name

6. In the current example the common name used for this species is ‘Common Blackbird’ Other examples are Grey squirrel is included as Eastern grey squirrel Fox is included as Red fox

7. Having clicked on the search button for Red squirrel

8. The search for the Red Squirrel generates one result. Click on the species name

9. The map shows the distribution of records within the database Additional information on species nomenclature is also presented Click on the map to access the dynamic mapping system

10. When entering the mapping system for the first time in each session, you will be asked to agree to a Data Use Agreement. This sets out the conditions that you must agree to before you can access the data. The principal requirement is that you agree to properly acknowledge the data providers if you make use of the date they have provided. If you agree then click the accept button

11. The GIS mapping system enables the data to be queried and presented in a number of different ways There is an option to shown standard distribution or the coincidence of records The distribution of up to three species can be show on a single map To zoom into the map click on the icon This toolbar provides different functions to navigate around the map This panel enables the selection of different GIS background layers to add to the map.

12. Click and drag the mouse over the area of the country you are interested in

13. This example zooms in on the area around Kilkenny & Portlaoise. The magenta squares highlight the location of records shown at the 10km square resolution Click and drag once more to select the area around Portlaoise

14. This now highlights the location of records in the vicinity of Emo, County Laois. Select the area around Emo once more to zoom further into the map

15. This now shows the location of two records of Red squirrel in the vicinity of Emo, County Laois. Click to activate the information icon in the toolbar. Then click on the record to see its details

16. The details are shown in the Results panel on the right The grid reference for this record is N533055 Click on the + box to expand this selection

17. This provides the details associated with this record of Red squirrel at this site

18. If you reselect the zoom in icon , click and drag over the highlighted records you can drill down further.

19. The record is overlain on an aerial photograph to provide further information on the site

20. Click on the Full Extend icon to zoom out to the national map

21. The system allows you to overlay the distribution of up to three species on the same map. To do this, click on the Layers tab to activate this panel

22. Click on the green + icon to select another species

23. This example compares the distribution of red squirrel with the grey squirrel. Type in the name of the species in this dialogue box

24. Remember the common name used for the grey squirrel is the ‘Eastern grey squirrel’. Type this in the dialogue box and click on the species name

25. The search for the Eastern Grey Squirrel generates one result. Click on the species name

26. This shows the distribution of grey squirrel records in the database Click on the distribution map

27. Now grey squirrel distribution is added as an additional layer with the red squirrel 10km squares where only grey squirrel have been recorded are show as yellow Where both species distributions overlap, the 10km squares are shown as orange 10km squares where only red squirrel have been recorded are shown as magenta