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jiggles wrote:Is there anywhere I can go to see how others are organizing the info on their binder pages? Or even better is there a share site?

Thank you in advance!

From what I've seen, people don't really post their binders/cheatsheets on scioly.org. You could ask to exchange notes with people though, and some might be willing to share. I think during the Summer Scioly Study Session, sharing binders and cheatsheets are a thing, but usually it's just tests that are released to the public once the session is over.

I arrange my binder by invertebrates/plants/aquatic plants/aquatic animals/land vertebrates, then within that alphabetically by common name. For each species I follow a template (e.g. invasive behavior: [info here]), and have separate pages for identification and distribution maps.

JasperKota wrote:

jiggles wrote:Is there anywhere I can go to see how others are organizing the info on their binder pages? Or even better is there a share site?

Thank you in advance!

From what I've seen, people don't really post their binders/cheatsheets on scioly.org. You could ask to exchange notes with people though, and some might be willing to share. I think during the Summer Scioly Study Session, sharing binders and cheatsheets are a thing, but usually it's just tests that are released to the public once the session is over.

I arrange my binder by invertebrates/plants/aquatic plants/aquatic animals/land vertebrates, then within that alphabetically by common name. For each species I follow a template (e.g. invasive behavior: [info here]), and have separate pages for identification and distribution maps.

Thank you!

Hey guys! I'm new here. Anyways, where do you guys get your distribution maps? I tried EDD maps but it seems a bit inaccurate.

RareKyurem wrote:Hey guys! I'm new here. Anyways, where do you guys get your distribution maps? I tried EDD maps but it seems a bit inaccurate.

I usually use EDDMaps, particularly the "observation vs. literature" maps at the county level. Also USDA PLANTS Database is also nice (can zoom in to the county level), but I think might only use literature (and it only has plants, y'know). There also may be more regional organizations with distribution maps.

Other than that, I just google "[species] distribution map". Sometimes you can get some pretty solid ones by doing that.

Are distribution maps just for knowing what states the species has infested? If so, wouldn't it just save more space to list the states? Have there been questions about distribution maps?

Question wrote:Are distribution maps just for knowing what states the species has infested? If so, wouldn't it just save more space to list the states? Have there been questions about distribution maps?

I have seen questions that ask to identify the species and then answer a set of questions involving matching the species to each of the distribution maps shown; however worldwide maps were shown instead of US distribution maps. I think it's pretty useful to include US distribution maps though. I usually use EDD maps.

jiggles wrote:Is there anywhere I can go to see how others are organizing the info on their binder pages? Or even better is there a share site?

Thank you in advance!

Most people don't share their binders but there's a binder handout on soinc.org that has a sample template if you want to see it. It's towards the end of the document. https://www.soinc.org/sites/default/fil ... ANDOUT.pdf

When we talk about things being invasive, we're really only interested in our close-to-home ecosystems. Having said that, somewhere on the page should indicate where things are originating from (and the template has a section for that, I imagine).

I took the National site template and modified it slightly (probably adding a couple sections while combining others that had limited usefulness). You can, too, use formats taken from invasivespeciesinfo and similar Web pages.

How do you all tab your binders? Any tips? I saw some massive ones at mit the other day but didn't get a chance to consult some of the competitors.

Piggy wrote:I can't use sheet protectors because then the species information extends beyond the tabs/dividers.

There exists extra-large tab dividers that will extend past the edge of sheet protectors. They're pretty rare though; I found some a few years ago when I started doing Fossils, and bought around 60 of them (which I've basically just recycled ever since). If you're trying to find them, bring a ruler; the labeling isn't that great, so the best way to know what you're getting is to measure them (they'll be about an inch wider than the normal size).