Welcome to the help section for the Cook Islands Biodiversity Website. To view the help information, click a topic heading below:
- How do I perform a basic search for a particular species?
Click "Resources"' on the main menu bar and select "Biodiversity Database" to go to the "Search Page".
To search for a species type a name into the names textbox. Click "Search" to search.
Example 1: fruit bat finds the fruit bat, but if you typed fruitbat you would have found nothing.
A compound name like "fruit bat" might be spelt "fruit bat", "fruit-bat" or "fruitbat" in the database. You can cover all these joining alternatives with an asterisk (*) as follows:
Example 2: fruit*bat
CAUTION: the most common reason for NOT finding an obvious species is unaccepted endings on words: write "cat" NOT "cats", "homali" NOT "homalia", etc.
You can search for up to 5 different species in one search by separating the names with a semi-colon (;) as follows:
Example 3: fruit*bat; cat;dog
This finds over 50 plants, moths, fish and the mammals you seek. Restrict your search to a general biological group by selecting mammals from the "Biological Group" dropdown menu.
To search for biological groups not in the dropdown menu type their names into the names text box, as follows:
Example 4: carnivore; rodent; whale
Experiment with searching and use the "Back to
The default "Results Page" display is thumbnail images with the main Latin, English and Maori name. You can change the display on the Search Page under "Result Display" or on the "Results Page". You can change the number of results per page only on the "Search page".
- I did not expect Sorry, no records were found....
If you were searching for a plant or animal that you expected to be in the database you need to review your search criteria, including any Advanced Search Options that might have been selected, on purpose or accidentally.
If you have a name or names in the names textbox review the spelling of each name. Do they have restrictive endings, such as -es, -ium, -ia? Try removing the endings. Try alternative spellings, separating them with a semicolon (;).
If you are using "Advanced Search Criteria" or "Language Options" review them carefully. The programme remembers and applies ALL your most recent search criteria, and you may have overlooked removing a criteria in a dropdown menu or have selected one mistakenly by rotating the mouse wheel when a dropdown menu was active.
The simplest solution is to start again with a clean slate. Please click the button "Reset All Search Fields" to start again.
- What languages can I search in?
All species have a Latin name, most have an English Name, and many have a Cook Islands Māori name. Many species also have German, French, and names from other Polynesian countries.
To search, type the name into the names textbox. If you are unsure of the spelling separate alternatives with a semicolon (;) as follows:
Example: kakerori;kakurori;kukarori
To use special characters, such as ā in a search see Help "How do I input special characters?"
- How do I search in one language only?
On the top right of the "Search Page" there are the "Language Options".
The dropdown menu enables you to select the following:
Traditional Only - to search Polynesian names only
Latin Only - to search Latin names only
English (inc. Fr, Ge) - to search English, French and German names only.
- How do I input special characters, such as ā?
On the top right of the "Search Page" there are the "Language Options".
Click in the names textbox to ensurer it is active. You can then input ordinary characters from the keyboard, and click on the character buttons to input the special characters. For example: ‘Ātea or Mérou.
If you do this for Māori words, such as ‘Ātea, and click the "Search" button the special characters input will be ignored. Only if you check Strict will the search be restricted to the exact word you have input.
- How do I perform an advanced search?
At the bottom of the basic "Search Page" click "Advanced Search Options".
The "Advanced Search Options" are a variety of cross-cutting themes, such as "Origin", "Habitat", "Islands or Area", and "Use or Positive Social Significance". These criteria are complex and you need to read the alternatives carefully.
For example, to finds the native terrestrial plants and animals of Rarotonga you use the following combinations:
"Origin": NATIVE - all (residents - migrants - vagrants
"Habitat": LAND only - strictly terrestial
"Island or Area": Rarotonga
CAUTION: when a dropdown menu is active you can accidentally change it when you try to use your mouse wheel to go back to the top of the page. This is a common reason for getting a negative search result.
To restrict the above search to a biological group select a general biological group from the basic "Biological Group" dropdown menu or type a group name into the names textbox.
CAUTION: be careful in using "Island or Area" because it is often not recorded if a species is on a particular island. The radio button "Known to be present" is very restrictive", while "Present plus possibly present" is more generous.
Initially, the Advanced Options are set to their default value, displayed in black, which do NOT restrict the search in any way. When you select an option it is shown in red to make the option conspicuous. The database remembers your advanced search options. A common failure to find species is an unnoticed advanced option being overlooked. Start again by clicking "Reset All Search Fields".
- How can I search for a group of related species?
On the "Search Page" the second window is a dropdown menu entitled "Biological Group". This menu enables you to select various higher level groups of plants and animals, such as:
Flowering Plants and gymnosperms
Insects and relatives
Mammals
The menu also presents a few non-taxonomic groups that might be useful, such as:
Worms - for worm-like animals of various taxa
Flowering Plants - trees and shrubs
To search for groups NOT listed in the "Biological Group" menu you can type Latin or English group-names into the names text box, for example:
whale; tern; grouper
or cetacea; sternidae; serranidae
- How do I search for species from a certain island?
Expand the "Search Page" page options by clicking the "Advanced Search Options" button.
Expand the dropdown menu labelled "Island or Area" and select the island or area. This option has two button options as follows:
(1) Known to be present
(2) Present plus possibly present
These options are very useful but use them with caution and experiment with both to see the different results.
Of the more than 4,000 species in the database many, such as flowering plants, ferns, birds and lizards, have been well researched and can be judged as present or absent on most islands, and using Known to be present works well for such groups.
Many species have not been researched on each island and they are recorded in the database for such islands as neither present nor absent. The option Present plus possibly present will include these not-researched species, and species known to be present.
- How do I find the ‘Ātiu names for ‘Ātiu birds?
On the "Search Page" select Birds from the "Biological Groups" dropdown menu. The click the button "Advanced Search Options" and select ‘Ātiu from the "Islands and Areas" dropdown menu. Click "Search" to see the results.
On the "Results Page" go to the "Result Display Options" and select ‘Ātiu from the "Traditional Names" dropdown menu. The results will now show thumbnail images, Latin names, English names, and ‘Ātiu Māori names with the abundance data for ‘Ātiu.
For an simple text display select Name List with bio-type from the "Display Style" dropdown menu. You can sort the list on the ‘Ātiu name by selecting Traditional name from the "Sort Order" dropdown menu.
- How can I find species of a certain orgin, such as endemic, native, or introduced?
Expand the "Search Page" page options by clicking the "Advanced Search Options" button.
Expand the dropdown menu labelled "Origin" and select the most appropriate category. Click "Search" to view the results.
- Can I search for species from a certain habitat?
Expand the "Search Page" page options by clicking the "Advanced Search Options" button.
Expand the dropdown menu labelled "Habitat" and select the most appropriate category. Click "Search" to view the results.
- How can I find species that have images, sound or video clips?
Expand the "Search Page" page options by clicking the "Advanced Search Options" button.
At the very bottom of the page there are tick boxes to select species that have particular types of multimedia. To view the results click "Search".
- How do I do a basic search?
Accept the default "Search Fields", and type an English or Māori name into the textbox, and click "Search".
Look at the results and the options to refine your search, for example, select only one of the two dictionaries.
- How do I search for Māori words with macrons and glottals?
When you have the cursor in the textbox you can input ordinary characters from the keyboard and the special characters, the macron-vowels and glottal, with the buttons in the "Māori Orthography Input".
If you accept the default "Search Fields" option of "Maori term (main word), and English meaning" or select "Maori term only" the programme will treat your special characters as ordinary characters. To undertake a real search for words with their macrons and glottals you must select the "Search Fields" option Māori term (strict orthography).
- The definition or example should is mistaken and need correcting
The definitions and examples are directly from the Savage and Buse dictionaries and they cannot be altered. Of course, if we have introduced typos or mis-categorised entries please send us an email and we will correct these.
If necessary we could introduce a comments field where we could comment on errors in definitions or examples.
- What is the categories menu for?
The words have been selected from the two dictionaries because they refer to natural things or their use. They include the names of living things, the parts of living things, and the use of living things; names for artefacts made from natural things; names related to climate, weather, geology, astronomy, time, etc.
By selecting a "Category" you can find all the words related to that topic.
Biodiversity Database 