One of the most exciting features of the Ocean Biogeographic System, or OBIS, is its ability to allow users to combine information from multiple databases and overlay the data onto easily comprehensible maps. When a user accesses the OBIS Portal, he or she may search for a marine species by common or scientific name by using one, several, or all of the databases in the OBIS consortium. For example, the map below is the result of a search for the genus Thunnus, or tuna:

A search for Thunnus in the FishBase and Fishnet databases within OBIS reveals easily visible global distribution patterns.

OBIS also contains a function that allows species’ distribution data to be over-layed onto maps of oceanic features such as sea surface temperature:

Data from the previous Thunnus figure may be combined with global sea surface temperature data, revealing possible correlations between ocean temperature and species distribution.

In addition to providing global information, OBIS can also generate images of species data combined with regional oceanic features. For example, if a user is interested in the genus Scomber, or mackerel, in a specific area, OBIS can create regional maps such as the example below:

Scomber distributional data combined with sea surface temperature data for the Australia region.

The significance of the OBIS database network is far-reaching, as this user-friendly, web-based provider of global geo-referenced information can serve as a powerful visualization tool. By integrating and assessing biological, physical, and chemical oceanographic data from multiple sources, relationships between species and their environments can be discovered. Based on OBIS data, scientists can not only gain a dynamic view of the multi-dimensional oceanic world, but also generate testable hypotheses concerning marine biodiversity.

For more information about the Ocean Biogeographic Information System, please visit the following sites:
· OBIS at the Census of Marine Life
· OBIS at Rutgers University

To begin creating your own maps using the OBIS database network, please visit the OBIS Portal directly.