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Minnesota is home to the convergence of three of the largest terrestrial ecosystems in the world. Broadleaf forest, prairie, and boreal forest meet near the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Our climate is extremely seasonal and changing faster than ever before in human history. Here in Minnesota many species are at the edge of their geographic range, and change is predicted to occur faster where biomes meet. The Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas, a searchable database of birds, mammals, fishes, insects, plants, fungi and more, brings together accurate records of species distribution, and helps us track, understand, and map these changes as they happen.

Our state is home to a rich record of biodiversity collections including natural history specimens and expert observations dating from the 19th century up to the present. The Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas provides access to more than 60 terabytes of records and digital images from academic institutions and government agencies including the Bell Museum. As the most comprehensive source of biodiversity information in the state, the Atlas also includes records of life elsewhere collected by Minnesotans or residing in Minnesota museums.

Hosted by the Bell Museum and the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute, the Atlas includes more than two million records of biodiversity from all seven continents. Contemporary observations and historic records predating the digital age are added to the Atlas as it continues to grow. So far more than 1.6 million records are mapped to a geographic location and over 500,000 digital images of specimens and field observations are searchable online.

You can help us add more specimens to the Atlas with Mapping Change, a citizen science project supported by the Bell Museum and the Zooniverse. Your contributions will help us know where species have been and predict where they may end up in the future!

Visit the Bell Museum for more about natural history collections.

Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). The Trust Fund is a permanent fund constitutionally established by the citizens of Minnesota to assist in the protection, conservation, preservation, and enhancement of the state's air, water, land, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources.