IMRS Biodiversity Explorer

Live Deployment

The Challenge

For years, the biodiversity records of the Indio Mountains Research Station (IMRS)—a 40,000-acre research facility in the Chihuahuan Desert managed by UTEP—were locked away in a static PDF handbook: Natural Resources and Physical Environment of Indio Mountains Research Station.

While authoritative, this format made it difficult for students, researchers, and visitors to quickly identify species, cross-reference data, or access information while in the field.

The Solution

The IMRS Biodiversity Explorer transforms this static data into a living, interactive digital resource. By normalizing the handbook's data into a structured SQL database and integrating real-time observations from iNaturalist, this application provides a powerful tool for exploring the station's flora and fauna.

Key Features

• Digital Species Catalog: A fully searchable and filterable database of all species recorded in the station's history.
  • Dual Views: Switch between a visual Grid View for browsing and a detailed Table View for data analysis.
  • Advanced Filtering: Filter by Taxonomy (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus).
  • Smart Search: Instantly find species by scientific or common names.
• Recent Observations: Real-time integration with the iNaturalist API to display the latest confirmed sightings at the station.
• Gazetteer: A reference for key geographical locations within the research station.

Technology Stack

Frontend

• Framework: TanStack Start (React)
• Routing: TanStack Router
• Data Fetching: TanStack Query
• Styling: Tailwind CSS & ShadCN UI
• Maps: Leaflet / React-Leaflet

Backend & Data

• Database: SQLite3 (Local) / Turso (Production)
• ORM/Querying: Raw SQL & better-sqlite3 / @libsql/client
• External API: iNaturalist

Future Roadmap

• Authentication & Admin Dashboard: Implement secure login for station administrators to manage and update the species index directly (CRUD operations).
• Weather Integration: Visualize historical and real-time climate data from on-site weather stations to correlate biodiversity trends with environmental conditions.
• Open Source: Prepare the codebase for public contribution, assisting other field stations in digitizing their records.

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v22+, see .nvmrc)
• pnpm (the repo pins a version via the packageManager field)
• SQLite3 (for local database management)

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/missatrox44/imrs.git
   cd imrs

2. Install dependencies

   pnpm install

3. Environment Setup Create a .env file in the root directory:

   cp .env.sample .env

   Note: For local development, you typically only need the DATABASE_URL pointing to your local SQLite file (e.g., file:local.db).

4. Run the development server

   pnpm dev

   Open http://localhost:3000 to view the app.

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Database Setup

The application uses SQLite. In production, we use Turso.

1. Local SQLite Setup (Mac)

Check if SQLite3 is installed:

sqlite3 --version
# If not installed:
brew install sqlite3

Initialize Database:

# Create DB and Table
sqlite3 imrs-species.db

# In SQLite prompt:
CREATE TABLE specimens (
  id INTEGER PRIMARY NOT NULL,
  category TEXT,
  kingdom TEXT,
  phylum TEXT,
  phylum_common_name TEXT,
  sub_phylum TEXT,
  sub_phylum_common_name TEXT,
  class_name TEXT,
  class_common_name TEXT,
  sub_class TEXT,
  sub_class_common_name TEXT,
  order_name TEXT,
  order_common_name TEXT,
  sub_order TEXT,
  sub_order_common_name TEXT,
  family TEXT,
  family_common_name TEXT,
  sub_family TEXT,
  sub_family_common_name TEXT,
  genus TEXT,
  species TEXT,
  authorship TEXT,
  collectors_field_numbers TEXT,
  note TEXT,
  species_common_name TEXT,
  records TEXT
);

# Import Data (ensure specimens.tsv is in root)
.mode tabs
.headers on
.import specimens.tsv specimens

# Verify
SELECT count(*) FROM specimens;
.exit

2. Migration to Turso (Production)

Turso Migration Guide

Prepare Local DB:

sqlite3 imrs-species.db "PRAGMA journal_mode=WAL;"
sqlite3 imrs-species.db "PRAGMA wal_checkpoint(TRUNCATE);"

Push to Turso:

# Auth
turso auth login
turso config set token "YOUR_TOKEN"

# Import
turso db import imrs-species.db

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iNaturalist Resources

• IMRS Location ID
• API Reference