I have a query about the search function on the Atlas:

From the home page, if I start typing for example a common name "Viper's Bugloss" into the search box, a drop down appears. I can then select the species I want "Viper's Bugloss - Echium vulgare" from the list. But when the search completes it gives me 84 results and the species I selected "Viper's Bugloss - Echium vulgare" is the 7th result returned. So it appears that my selection had no effect and it searched on the Common name not the specific species I selected, which is what I would have expected. Why?

It would also be handy if the drop down included the taxon group as well i.e. "Viper's Bugloss - Echium vulgare (flowering plant)" like the drop down in iRecord's data entry forms do.

If I search for the Latin Name "Echium vulgare" the correct result is returned. But part of the utility of the Atlas (in my opinion) is to be able to check the correct Latin name for a species should you wish, and at present you almost need to know the name to look for to begin with, a person new to recording would have difficulty I think finding the correct Scientific species name quickly and easily.

Best wishes,
Natalie

We have been working to rectify the issues with the taxonomy and integrating the species inventory into the NBN Atlas, however, this is proving to be a more complex job than originally thought and so far we have been unable to find a solution that works satisfactorily. We are still investigating and hope to have a solution in the near future.

Thank you for your patience and support in the meantime.

Regards,
Mandy

Cylindrocystis gracilis is now appearing at the top of the list...

Cylindrocystis gracilis (accepted name Cylindrocystis gracilis)
followed by Cylindrocystis gracilis I.Hirn, 1953
etc.,

but it appears that there are no records currently available on the NBN Atlas for these species.  It doesn't necessarily mean that records will automatically be on the NBN Atlas if they are in the UKSI.

Mandy

Christine

Not sure why caesia should come before carsia? The fuzzy matching is producing gibberish.

Ideally the search should produce Carsia sororiata (Hübner, 1813) (330) followed by Carsia sororiata subsp. anglica Prout, 1937 (42) before any of the others, particularly as my search term was Carsia sororiata.

This is not an isolated example, try searching for Caryocolum alsinella.
The top of the list is  Platytes alpinella (Hübner, [1813]) and Caryocolum alsinella is 7th in the list after other Caryocolum species.

It is really important that the search function is sorted as a matter of priority. If you want the Atlas to be accessible to everyone, the search has to be robust and produce the expected results; so that the name I type in the search box appears at the top, followed by the various synonymns, varieties etc. It should not be necessary to scroll down the list to find it.

Just following up your message re an update on search results.  Our developer has just notified us that he has deployed a boost to results based on occurrence count which now seems to be giving a better result.  Please do have a look at it and advise us of any further issues you come across.

Many thanks for your input.

Christine

Is there any news on a fix for this problem? Everything seems to have gone quiet but this is a significant problem, in my books.

For instance, when you search for "Tachina magnicornis" why should a junior synonym precede a recommended name?
https://species.nbnatlas.org/search/?q= … agnicornis

Why does a search for "Sparrow" still list rare vagrants above the common House Sparrow?
https://species.nbnatlas.org/search?fq= … ;q=sparrow

This problem doesn't create an error message but it is a significant loss of credibility with users when the primary search routine gives back misleading or poor results. As I said, the NBN Gateway listed things very well and I have my own scripts that give much more logical search results than this.

Many thanks
Chris R.

I have passed your feedback on to the developer so that they can be included in work undertaken to improve search functionality.

Giselle

Doing the same search from the "Species" screen returns 293 results!

If the species searched for is a valid species onthe UKSI list, why on earth is the Atlas seeminging tyring to find ever iteration or combination of "Tachina" and "fera" it can.  This is very poor - it needs fixing.

Christine

You can still use the search box on the front page to search the wider NBN Atlas.

In both cases the use of the * will act as a wild card to bring back differing results.