The Marine Resource GIS IMS is an on-line mapping tool designed to allow users to view spatially referenced data, create customized queries, design printable maps, and download GIS layers for use within a desktop GIS.
MRGIS provides information to support conservation and management of Florida’s coastal and marine resources. The significant increase in the number of requests for information pertaining to marine fisheries and habitat-related issues necessitates the development of a mechanism for disseminating data in a shared format. By employing Web-based GIS technologies the MRGIS data can be efficiently viewed and distributed via the internet.
The Coastal and Marine Resource Assessment (CAMRA) section is developing an interactive Web site that allows both managers and the public to display, query, and download data layers from the MRGIS. The Web site is designed to provide information to numerous agencies, non-governmental organizations, universities, and members of the general public in support of efforts to conserve and manage habitats important to sport fish. Internet mapping (ArcIMS) and database-access (Cold Fusion) technologies allow users of the Web site to interactively query the databases, which provide more than 90 data layers through a Web-based interface. The primary data of the internet map server are organized into the following categories: Bathymetry, Boating, Legal Boundaries, Benthic Habitats, and Transportation.
The Web site highlights several databases, including the Manatee Mortality Database (January 1974 through December 2001), Turtle Nesting and Stranding Database (January 1989 through December 2001), and the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI). Users can develop custom queries, view Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) compliant metadata, create printable maps, and download data directly through the Web-based interface. The Manatee Mortality Database provides information on mortality events, aerial survey results, manatee density, and protection zones. The Manatee Mortality Database can by queried by month, year, county, and cause of death. The Turtle Stranding and Nesting Database can be queried by month, year, county, and species. In addition, advanced customized queries of these databases can be performed. Users can also view and query the ESI database, which includes detailed data on shoreline types and their sensitivity to spilled oil, and data on biological habitat boundaries based on species, life history activity, species concentration, seasonanlity, and state/federal conservation status (i.e., threatened or endangered).
