Range Mapper: An Adaptable Process for Making and Using Interactive, Animated Web Maps of Late-Quaternary Open Paleoecological Data

Abstract

Here, we describe our process of developing Range Mapper, a new set of online interactive and animated visualizations of plant taxon range shifts since the Last Glacial Maximum. These animated maps of taxa distributions since the last deglaciation, based upon spatiotemporal networks of fossil occurrences, offer adaptable visualizations of species range shifts in response to past climate and other environmental changes. They are designed to be useful both for experts for quick-look insights into past patterns and processes at broad scales and for educators and science communicators interested in sharing knowledge about how species adapt to changing climates. Prior generations of animations, such as Pollen Viewer, lacked open-source code and so were not easy to update, and the underlying software no longer complies with internet security standards. Range Mapper maps data from the Neotoma Paleoecology Database using CARTO VL, an open-source JavaScript library for creating dynamic and modifiable web maps that interoperates with CARTO’s software-as-a-service platform. Specifically, we downloaded, processed, and temporally interpolated 2,635 georeferenced pollen records from Neotoma ranging from 21 thousand years ago (ka) to present. Then, we created maps for North America, Europe, and Oceania using Carto VL’s web mapping features to build the spatiotemporal animated sequences, define visual design parameters, and add interaction controls. Range Mapper illustrates major shifts in taxa distribution over the last 21 k years on all three continents. All workflows are publicly available on GitHub and Zenodo, allowing interested users to extend this approach to other taxa, regions, and times.