Frequently Asked Questions¶
General Questions¶
What is GBIF?¶
The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international network and data infrastructure that provides open access to biodiversity data. It hosts over 2 billion occurrence records from thousands of institutions worldwide.
Is Species Explorer free?¶
Yes! Species Explorer is free and open-source software, licensed under the GPL-2.0 license. GBIF data is also freely accessible.
What QGIS versions are supported?¶
Species Explorer supports QGIS 3.0 and later. We recommend using the latest stable or LTR version for best compatibility.
Data Questions¶
How current is the GBIF data?¶
GBIF data is continuously updated as data providers publish new records. When you fetch data, you're getting the latest available records from GBIF.
Can I use this data commercially?¶
GBIF data is open data, but individual datasets may have specific licenses. Always check the data citation requirements and respect the licenses of individual publishers.
Why are some coordinates missing?¶
Some GBIF records don't include coordinates for various reasons:
- Historical records without GPS
- Sensitive species locations obscured
- Data quality issues
Species Explorer only imports records with valid coordinates.
What's the data accuracy?¶
Data accuracy varies by source:
- Museum specimens: Generally high accuracy
- Citizen science: Variable accuracy
- Historical records: May have lower precision
Check the coordinateUncertaintyInMeters field for precision information.
Technical Questions¶
Why is my download slow?¶
Large datasets can take time to download. Factors include:
- Number of records (millions for common species)
- Internet connection speed
- GBIF server load
Can I limit the number of records?¶
Currently, Species Explorer fetches all available records. You can filter results after import using QGIS tools.
Does it work offline?¶
No, Species Explorer requires an internet connection to fetch data from GBIF. However, once downloaded, the data is stored locally in your QGIS project.
How do I report a bug?¶
Report bugs on our GitHub Issues page. Please include:
- QGIS version
- Plugin version
- Steps to reproduce
- Error messages
Troubleshooting¶
Plugin won't load¶
- Check QGIS version (3.0+ required)
- Verify plugin is enabled in Plugin Manager
- Check for Python errors in View → Log Messages
No results for my species¶
- Try the scientific name
- Check spelling
- Some species have limited GBIF records
Data not displaying correctly¶
- Check CRS settings
- Ensure coordinates are valid (lat/lon)
- Try zooming to layer extent
Still have questions? Open an issue or contact us at info@kartoza.com.