Essex MapMate

The Essex Red Data list was developed with funding from English Nature in 2002 and has been available on the Essex Field Club website since then (see this link). The 35 separate taxonomic group lists and supporting information can be navigated easily enough, but are not in a single standardised format that can be easily linked to other software such as databases - this was not the intention. Now that the Essex Field Club and Essex Wildlife Trust (as well as national organisations such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Botanical Society of the British Isles) have chosen to use the biological recording software MapMate, the availability of the Essex Red Data list in a form that can be linked to MapMate has become a priority.

The Essex Biodiversity partnership has funded the conversion of the Essex Red Data list resource into an Access 97 database file for use with MapMate. A total of 2904 species in the Essex list, as well as associated habitats where these have been defined, have been transferred to the Access file. The taxa are now defined as MapMate codes that will automatically be queried as the latest up-to-date names in use in the MapMate taxon library. The habitats and codes are those agreed at the time the Essex Red Data list was produced and are linked where appropriate to associated Essex and national BAPs. The habitats can be queried in MapMate as in the example queries supplied, listing species where these were associated with habitats in the Essex Red Data list or in the Essex and UKBAP. However a fair proportion of the taxonomic groups are not covered by habitat association codes, and a major future project will be to provide the means for specialists to complete this work, as well as to provide Essex-based species-text in a form that can be linked to MapMate.

The Access Essex Red Data file (updated on 26th February 2006) with instructions and sample queries are available for download by clicking on the appropriate links.

SOME INTRODUCTORY HELP FOR ESSEX MAPMATE USERS (pdf file)

ESSEX RED DATA LIST FOR MAPMATE (Access file)

SOME HELP FOR THE USE OF ESSEX RED DATA LIST ACCESS FILE (pdf file)