Visualizations for taxonomic and phylogenetic trees.
BACKGROUND
Despite substantial efforts to develop and populate the back-ends of biological databases, front-ends to these systems often rely on taxonomic expertise. This research applies techniques from human-computer interaction research to the biodiversity domain.


RESULTS
We developed an interactive node-link tool, TaxonTree, illustrating the value of a carefully designed interaction model, animation, and integrated searching and browsing towards retrieval of biological names and other information. Users tested the tool using a new, large integrated dataset of animal names with phylogenetic-based and classification-based tree structures. These techniques also translated well for a tool, DoubleTree, to allow comparison of trees using coupled interaction. Our approaches will be useful not only for biological data but as general portal interfaces.
Parr
Cynthia Sims
CS
Human-Computer Interaction Lab, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. csparr@umd.edu
Lee
Bongshin
B
Campbell
Dana
D
Bederson
Benjamin B
BB
D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D002965:Classification / Q000379:methods; D003196:Computer Graphics; D003628:Database Management Systems / Q000145:classification*; D016208:Databases, Factual; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012984:Software; D014584:User-Computer Interface