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https://aviandiet.unc.edu/

Summary

A mobile-friendly web page that presents bird diet information using data compiled by Prof. Hurlbert’s lab in an interactive and easy to digest manner. It does this using data visualizations (e.g. maps, graphs, etc.) along with interactive filters (e.g. geographic, temporal, taxonomic, etc.) that provide a variety of ways to explore the relationships between a bird and its diet.

Description

The Avian Database Project, envisioned by Professor Allen Hurlbert of UNC’s Department of Biology, provides user-friendly access to the data Prof. Hurlbert and his team collect on avian diet from various studies. This is one of the largest collections on this subject, with over 56,000 records up to date.
This type of data is of interest to many different types people like scientist, ecologists, hobbyists, or just the curious. Prof. Hurlbert himself also would love use this project to explore through the database. Whether the scientist and the ecologist want to explore how climate and land changes affect bird species and their prey over time, or whether the hobbyist and the curious simply want to know the diet of specific species, there are many users who would benefit from being able to explore the data.
However, getting relevant information from the current database is not easy or straightforward, but requires some technical skill.

This project addresses this problem and provides a solution by aiming to create a desktop and mobile-friendly website that allows the beforementioned users to explore the database in an intuitive manner and provides easy to digest visualizations. This includes new ways to query data, easy-to-apply filters, search functionalities, and graphical data summaries.

User Stories

Need-to-have:

• As a web user, in order to store the query results locally, I can download the table that captures the avian diets.

• As a web user, in order to have flexibility in querying the avian database, I can use filters such as seasons, year range, and region.

• As a web user, in order to see an overview of the spread of avian studies, I can use the different bar graphs that categorize the different studies.

• As a web user, in order to share my findings with others, I can copy the bird or food’s URL on the top of the page.

• As a web user, in order to see how the different criteria will affect the query results, I can modify check boxes and the page be updated dynamically.

• As a web user, in order to search by predator or prey, I can refine query based on type of bird or type of prey.

• As a web user, in order to navigate between different birds and prey, I can visit their pages by clicking on their names in query results.

Nice-to-have:

• As a web user, in order to encourage collaboration, I can share my query results with a unique link/URL.

• As a web user, in order to facilitate more intuitive searching, I can query birds and foods with a search bar that auto-completes.

• As a web user, in order to explore the data, I can press an “I’m feeling lucky” button to take me to a random bird/food.