Conduct a Map Search

We can use the "Map Search" feature of the NEON Biorepository data portal to visualize and download available NEON samples based on collection, taxon, location, and more. To do so we will:

We navigate to Map Search under "Search" in the main menu. This opens a new Google Maps tab.

Map Search option in menu
Map Search option in menu

We can click "Open Search Panel" in the upper left hand corner to expand a panel to input search terms.

Map search panel button
Map search panel button

In the now visible search panel, entering search criteria is done in the same way as in the "Sample Search" tutorial. We will search for Peromyscus.

Map search panel
Map search panel

Then, we then click the "Collections" tab to select the collections of interest.

Collections tab in map search panel
Collections tab in map search panel

We will focus only on the mammal fecal and hair samples.

Example mammal fecal and hair samples collections
Example mammal fecal and hair samples collections

We can use the map area selection tools at the center top area of the screen. We will focus on the western half of the continental US.

Map area selection tool
Map area selection tool

We click "Search" in the "Criteria" tab of the search panel to see the collection locations for the samples.

Search button
Search button

When the results appear, we will open the search panel again to see the records and taxa. To color the points by taxa, we switch to the "Taxa List" tab.

Taxa list tab
Taxa list tab

We select "Auto Color" to color the points by taxon. There we also see a list of taxa. Each name links to the Taxon Page like those described in the above section on the "Sample Search" feature.

Auto color button
Auto color button

As when the results of the "Sample Search" feature are mapped, we can zoom and select individual record. Clicking on "See Details" will bring us to the "Full Record Details" page.

Record details link
Record details link

We can return to the "Records and Taxa" tab to download the Symbiota or Darwin Core records resulting from the search (download button), download the KML file (KML download button), and copy a link to the search results to the clipboard (link button).

Records and taxa tab
Records and taxa tab