ArcGIS Story Maps Demo
This website illustrates a set of website development tools available to all members of the UW - Green Bay community
About the Website
In Fall of 2020 a number of factors came together.
- In August 2019 I had run across an unfamiliar plant while out on a dog-walk. It turned out to be Carrion Flower, apparently a fairly common plant but one that was new to me. I was attracted to its unusual appearance, interesting life history and the fact that it occurs along one of my regular dog-walking routes. In the year since that first encounter, I've accumulated quite a few more observations and factoids regarding Carrion Flower..
- I'm always on the lookout for opportunities to showcase the web mapping tools available to the UW - Green Bay community. We are covered by a Site-wide license agreement with Environmental Systems Research, Inc. (Esri) which gives us access to their desktop and online GIS software. I'm particularly interested in acquainting students with ArcGIS Online.
- The course I'm taking, Field Botany (BIO 320/520), requires creation of a "passion project".
With permission of Dr. Keir Wefferling (BIO 320/520 instructor), I'm using development of this website as my passion project. It uses the ArcGIS Story Maps tools included in ArcGIS Online to (hopefully) share my Carrion Flower information in an orderly and interesting way. It should be noted that "Story Map" is a generic term but in the context of this website the term refers specifically to the Esri products mentioned earlier.
Why Use a Story Map
It seems that the human brain can process a complex information dump more easily when it is presented as a sequential narrative. A story map is an information distribution format designed to take advantage of that characteristic, especially when location is an important component of the narrative.
A Story Map Is an Effective Way to Present Information - The story map concept uses technology to tie what and how something is happening to where it's happening. Smoothly integrating the location piece with other aspects of a complex information dump has always been a challenge and the story map concept can be very helpful in that regard.
Publishing a Story Map Is a Notable Accomplishment - Getting comfortable with the ArcGIS Story Maps tools takes some time and effort. But the way to learn is to trial and error through construction of a real story map that delves into a subject of real interest. Once that first site is built and published to the web, the diligence and creativity of the author is apparent to anyone who visits it. Note that UW-Green Bay encourages all students to create an e-portfolio. A story map is an impressive piece of work to include in one's e-portfolio.
Story Map Tools Are Accessible - In order to get students hooked on their products, Esri grants site-wide licenses to all accredited educational institutions. Of course it's a marketing ploy, but so what? The end result is that professional grade tools are available to the entire campus community at no charge to the individual users. Check out these links to articles that describe how it all works:
Story Map Tools Are (Relatively) User-Friendly - A person creating a story map with ArcGIS Story Maps tools has a lot of power at their command. For that to happen, a certain amount of complexity is inevitable.
But a lot has been done to minimize the complexity. Since 2013, when I used ArcGIS Online to create my first web map, Esri has done an incredible job of bringing website creation within reach of non-programmers. The screen is uncluttered, menus are simple and self-documenting, drag and drop content manipulation is used extensively. I really like the way they've incorporated control designs that users will find familiar. For example, toggle settings are made with slider buttons similar to those used on mobile devices.
Sidecar Example
A slideshow is an effective and familiar way to do an information dump. The ArcGIS Story Maps tools offer two different ways to make a slideshow. I chose the "sidecar" option because some of the slides need a fair amount of room for explanatory text.
Field Find #1
In August of 2019 I happened on a plant that was completely unfamiliar. It was located alongside Lisa Lane, a country road east of the UW-Green Bay campus that I visit regularly. It was the fruit that first caught my eye. I could see twenty or so clusters like the one shown. Each cluster was 3 to 5 cm across and hung at my eye-level and higher.
Fruit cluster in late August
Leaf from non-flowering plant
The plant is an herbaceous vine (stiff enough that I originally mistook it for woody). The single main stem is about 2 meters tall and fairly straight and erect. There are no leaves on the main stem. Leafy branchlets occur at nodes spaced out along the full length of the main stem. Many of the nodes have a pair of tightly-curled tendrils and fruit clusters are attached at many of the upper nodes.
I fumbled around on the web for a while and eventually figured out that the plant was in the genus Smilax. Common names for plants in this genus include "Greenbrier", "Catbrier" and "Carrion-flower".
At that point in my learning curve, I didn't know enough to determine the species. The primary suspect was S. herbacea (Common names include "Common Carrion Flower", "Jacob's Ladder" and "Smooth Carrion Flower"). S. Lasioneura (Common names include "Carrion-Flower" and "Blue Ridge Carrion Flower") also looked like a possibility.
According to the references I looked at, the Smilax species that we encounter in the Upper Midwest are dioecious (staminate and pistillate flowers are on separate plants). The presence of fruit on "my" plant meant that it was female and that there must be one or more males nearby for flowers to have been pollinated.
For the remainder of the 2019 field season I looked for more plants every time I visited the Lisa Lane site. I knew there had to be some in the neighborhood but the season ended without any additional finds. I wasn't as thorough as I would have liked since large portions of the site are only accessible to the landowners and their hunting buddies.
Digging Deeper
My goal in Spring of 2020 was to find "my" plant as soon as it sprouted and follow it's development. I was also hoping to find an example of a male plant. The map shows the five plants that I found and studied in the course of the 2020 field season. The green marker represents the female plant first observed in 2019 and found again in 2020. The red marker represents the male plant first observed in 2020. The white markers represent non-flowering plants.
Field Find #2
I actually found a second plant at the Lisa Lane site before I rediscovered the previous year's female. It was around June 1 and the plant was amazingly far along in its development. Principal morphological characteristics were similar to those of its friend down the road (observed in August of the previous year); roughly 2 meters tall, stiff and erect, leaves on branchlets, paired tendrils and inflorescences attached at nodes. The obvious morphological difference was the presence of multiple, equally developed stems. There was enough distance between the plant and nearby vegetation that it was essentially self-supporting. It would have fallen over if the tendrils had not tied the five stems together to form a sturdy column.
Five 1 cm stems (and some previous year leftovers) emerging separately from below ground
Branchlet with leaves and inflorescences
Tendrils doing their thing
At the time I first found the plant, I didn't feel qualified to say whether the flowers I was seeing were pistillate or staminate. I thought (hoped) I had found a male plant but did not know how the flowers should look at various stages of development.
It's a Boy !
By June 20, the suspected male plant had fully developed reproductive parts. Anthers are clearly visible.
It appears that coming to sexual maturity took a lot out of the guy. The 2 meter high column toppled over, apparently from its own weight.
Field Find #1.1
It took until late June to find the plant I had observed the previous year. I let the fact that it was draped with Virgin's Bower throw me off the track.
Known female flower in late June
So we've found sexually mature Carrion Flower individuals of both sexes at the Lisa Lane site. Our two plants may or may not be in a relationship but it's safe to say that pollination is taking place within the larger population they are part of.
Pollination and Fruit Development
By the middle of July, it appears that pollination activity is over with and fruit development is well underway.
Typical fruit cluster photographed on July 14. It appears that pollination success rate is very high.
Meanwhile the male plant is still ready for action.
Staminate flowers on July 14
I was unable to visit the site in late August. The photo at right shows what the same plant looked like in late August of 2019
The End of the Road
The photo at right was taken October 2, 2020 and is indicative of the condition of the entire female plant. This contradicts at least one reference that describes the fruit as a source of winter food for birds and small mammals.
Now that I've studied this population for an entire field season, I need to decide if my original conclusion as to species (Smilax herbacea) still holds up. The identification appears to depend on my lousy eyesight. I had originally thought that the leaf undersides were glabrous. A closer look finds them to be finely puberulent. According to Voss & Reznicek that takes us straight to S. lasioneura.
I encountered a total of three non-flowering individuals at different times throughout the field season. The one shown below is typical
Non-flowering Smilax spp in early November
I've made a number of assumptions in regard to non-flowering plants that might merit follow-up:
- These plants will flower eventually. They need a few years to develop a root system adequate to support flowering
- The sex of these plants is determined and could be discovered.
Swipe Tool Example
When I started this project I intended to make extensive use of the swipe tool. It seemed like a good way to show the parallel development of male and female plants. I wound up using the sidecar tool instead, but the swipe tool is pretty cool and worth a look. The left panel shows staminate flowers on June 20. The right panel shows pistillate flowers on June 26
