User Guide

CIBED is the national biodiversity database of the Cook Islands. It holds records for more than 4,500 plant, animal and marine species, with photos, identification notes, traditional uses, distribution and conservation status. The Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust maintains the database, and welcomes corrections and additions from the community.

The basics

• Search by any name. Type a Māori, English or Latin name in the search bar. Autocomplete suggests matches across all three. Try kakaia.
• Browse with filters. Skip the search bar and use the sidebar to narrow by group, island, origin or habitat. Show every Cook Islands endemic on Rarotonga.
• Open a species page. Click any result to see photos, vernacular names, taxonomy, distribution, uses and references. Example: Rarotonga Flycatcher.

The sections below cover each part of the site in more depth.

CIBED's search looks up species by English name, Cook Islands name, scientific name or family. The search bar lives at the top of every page. A few techniques will make it more powerful.

Search tips

• Wildcards. A * matches any run of letters. So fruit*dove finds Fruit-Dove even though the database stores the name with a hyphen.
• Multiple names at once. Separate names with ; to match any of them. kukupa;tern;coconut* returns matches for kukupa or tern or anything starting with coconut.
• Spelling variants. Use the same ; separator to cover alternative spellings of one name: kakerori;kakurori;kukarori.
• Shorter is broader. Each word ending is a different match. If a search returns too little, try a shorter root: cat finds more than cats, homali more than homalia.
• Diacritics are optional. Macrons and glottal stops are matched loosely on this side of the site. rakau finds rākau, Atiu finds ‘Ātiu. (The Māori Dictionary modal offers a strict mode if you need it.)
• Case does not matter. Pomarea, pomarea and POMAREA all return the same results.

Autocomplete

Type a name and matches appear immediately, with the scientific, English and Cook Islands names on every row. Pick a result with the arrow keys, by clicking, or press Enter to run the full search.

Autocomplete focuses on the main name fields, so it does not always match what the full search finds. The full search also looks at descriptions, habitat notes and traditional-use text, which the dropdown skips.

When a search returns nothing

The most common reasons, in rough order of likelihood:

• Word endings. Each ending is its own token, so trim where you can: try cat instead of cats, homali instead of homalia.
• Spelling variants. Use ; to cover alternatives in one search, e.g. kakerori;kakurori;kukarori.
• Active filters from a previous search. Open the filter sidebar and look for selections left on from before. Click Reset to clear them all in one go.
• Search mode. Scientific mode only matches Latin names. If the query is an English or Māori name, switch back to Natural.

Search modes

A Natural / Scientific toggle on the results toolbar changes which fields the search looks at.

• Natural is the default. It matches scientific names, English names, Cook Islands Māori names, per-island vernacular names and family names. kukupa and Ptilinopus both lead to the Rarotonga Fruit-Dove.
• Scientific restricts matching to Latin names only — scientific name, synonyms, family and higher taxonomy. Useful in two cases: searching by a Latin family name (try Monarchidae to list every flycatcher), or running a precise Latin query without picking up incidental vernacular mentions.

When Natural is selected, a Match dropdown appears between the two mode buttons. It narrows which name fields Natural mode looks at:

• All names (default): every name field — scientific, English, Māori, per-island vernaculars and family.
• English: only the English name and European-language vernaculars.
• Māori: only the Cook Islands Māori name and per-island Māori vernaculars.

Useful when a short word like mouse pulls matches from several languages at once — narrow to English or Māori to focus on one. The dropdown hides itself while All names is selected and reappears as soon as you pick a different scope, so the active narrowing stays visible.

Filters

The sidebar (right side on large screens, below the results on mobile) narrows by biological group, island, habitat, origin, medical use and more. Multiple filters combine with and: picking plants, Rarotonga and medicinal shows only species that match all three.

Click Reset to clear every selection.

Sorting

The Sort dropdown sets the order of the results.

• Relevance: closest fit to a typed query, weighing how exact the match is, how prominent the species is, and where the match landed (a name beats a passing mention in notes). Only meaningful when there is a query.
• Taxonomic: phylogenetic order through kingdoms, classes and families. The way a field guide is organised.
• Scientific / English / National name: alphabetical by the chosen name field.
• Family: grouped by family, then by scientific name within each family.

In the table view, click a column header to sort by that column.

Display options

The toolbar's Images / Table toggle switches between an image grid and a compact table. The image-size slider scales the thumbnails to suit how much detail you want to see at once.

Local names

The same species often has different names on different islands. The Names dropdown on the toolbar picks which island's local name appears throughout the site. Cook Islands (National) shows the canonical Cook Islands Māori name; pick a specific island to see that island's local name instead.

The setting only affects display. It does not change which species your search returns.

Worked example: ‘Ātiu birds with ‘Ātiu names

A classic case: list every bird recorded on ‘Ātiu, with each species' ‘Ātiu Māori name and the Latin and English names alongside.

1. From the homepage, open the Biological Group filter and tick Landbirds and Seabirds. (CIBED splits the legacy site's single "Birds" group into these two ecological groupings.)
2. Under Islands → Southern Group → Makatea Islands, tick ‘Ātiu.
3. Click Search. The results page opens with both filters applied.
4. On the results toolbar, open the Names dropdown and pick ‘Ātiu. Every row now shows the ‘Ātiu Māori name (italic) with the AT island code beside it, alongside the Latin and English names.
5. Switch to Table layout for a denser, list-style view.
6. Click the National Name column header to sort alphabetically by the ‘Ātiu name. (The Sort dropdown's National name option does the same thing.)

The same pattern works for any island: substitute the island in steps 2 and 4.

Cook Islands species often have a different name on every island, plus an English common name and a Latin (scientific) name. CIBED shows all three side by side.

Why three names?

• Scientific is the formal Latin binomial: the unambiguous reference shared between researchers worldwide.
• English is the most widely-known common name, often shared across countries.
• Cook Islands is the local Māori name. These vary by island: the same fish or plant can have one name on Rarotonga and a different name on Mangaia or Pukapuka.

Picking which island's name to show

The Names dropdown on the results toolbar switches which island's vernacular name appears across the site:

• Cook Islands (National): the canonical Cook Islands Māori name recognised most widely.
• An individual island (Rarotonga, Mangaia, Atiu, Pukapuka, others): the local name used on that island.

The setting only affects display. Searches still match every name field, so picking Mangaia does not hide species that only have a Rarotongan name on file.

Each species page brings together everything CIBED holds for that species: photos, names, taxonomy, distribution, traditional uses, threats and references, with links out to other authoritative sources.

The header

The top of the page shows the scientific name in italics, the English common name, the Cook Islands name with its island code, and the primary photograph. Click the photo to open it full-size in the image viewer. The thumbnails below give quick access to the rest of the gallery.

Information panels

Each species has multiple sections, filled in only when there is data:

• Vernacular Names: every local name on file, organised by island with the source noted. Useful for fieldwork: look up a local name and confirm whether it is used elsewhere in the country.
• Identification: physical description and field marks.
• Habitat: where in the islands the species is found.
• Uses / Medicinal / Harmful: ethnobotanical and ethnozoological notes covering traditional foods, medicines, building materials, and properties to avoid.
• Scientific Names & Taxonomy: synonyms and full classification.
• Origin & Range: endemic, indigenous or introduced; global range.
• Conservation & Status: IUCN red-list status, invasive or pest status, and biosecurity flags.
• Vouchers: physical herbarium or museum specimens the record is based on. Each entry lists the collection, specimen number and, where recorded, the collector and date. Vouchers tie a name in the database back to an identified specimen that can be re-examined.
• References: published sources cited for this species.

National Distribution

The map shows where the species has been recorded across the Cook Islands. Coloured markers indicate per-island presence from CIBED's own data. An iNaturalist layer adds citizen-science observations.

A few caveats:

• The iNaturalist layer shows only research-grade observations (community-verified) to limit noise.
• Observations of red-listed species are hidden by iNaturalist for conservation reasons. The map may show fewer pins than the real distribution.
• Presence data is not always current. A species marked "present on Atiu" may have been recorded decades ago. Treat the map as a historical record, not a real-time census.

Related Species

The Related Species panel suggests four other species from the same family. The selection is random within the family (species with a thumbnail are preferred), so each visit shows a different cross-section of the family.

Online resources

Direct links to other authoritative sources, each keyed to the species' scientific name. The set of links shown depends on the taxonomic group:

• iNaturalist: citizen-science observations, photos and identification discussions.
• eBird: occurrence records, statistics and audio recordings (birds only).
• FishBase: the standard reference for fish biology and ecology (fish only).
• SeaLifeBase: the marine-invertebrate counterpart to FishBase (marine invertebrates only).
• GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, aggregating worldwide occurrence records from museums, surveys and citizen science.
• Wikipedia: general-audience summary article.
• Google: a generic web search for the species name.
• naturalheritage.gov.ck: the legacy CINHT site, which still carries some content not yet migrated to CIBED.

Clicking any thumbnail on CIBED, on a species page, a search result or a multimedia gallery, opens the image in the image viewer. The viewer is built for browsing photos without losing your place on the page below.

Basic usage

• Click an image to open it.
• Close the viewer with Esc or by clicking outside it.
• Use the left and right arrow keys, or the on-screen arrows, to move between images.
• On touch devices, swipe left or right to navigate.

Loupe (magnifier)

A magnifying loupe follows the cursor over the main image and shows a circular zoomed-in view of the area beneath. It is useful for field-mark detail that is easy to miss at thumbnail scale. Move the cursor off the image, or hover the loupe button in the toolbar, to dismiss it.

The info panel

Below the photo: the caption (when recorded), the photographer credit, and a direct link to the species page. Useful when one particular photo on the results page draws attention: open it, then jump straight to the species record.

Thumbnail strip

The thumbnail strip shows every multimedia item attached to the species (photos, plus any audio or video). Click a thumbnail to switch to it without leaving the viewer.

The Māori Dictionary, accessible from the Resources menu in the top navigation, is a searchable reference of Cook Islands Māori terms. It is a separate tool from the species database but sits inside the same site for convenience.

What's in it

The dictionary combines two foundational sources:

• Buse: Cook Islands Māori Dictionary (Jasper Buse with Raututi Taringa). The most comprehensive published reference for the language.
• Savage: A Dictionary of the Maori Language of Rarotonga (Stephen Savage). A classic earlier compilation.

Each entry notes its source, so the two can be weighed against each other where they differ.

How to use it

Open the dictionary from Resources → Māori Dictionary. A modal opens with:

• Search box: filters as you type. Matches against term, alternate spellings and definition.
• Source filter: limit to Buse-only or Savage-only entries.
• Category filter: many entries are tagged (for example Animal › Bird, Plant); use the dropdown to see only those.
• Search options: fine-grained controls for exact vs. partial match, search-by-term-only, and strict diacritic matching.

Cross-links to species

When a dictionary entry refers to a species CIBED also holds, the entry includes a direct link to that species' page. Search for rākau to see plant entries with one-click jumps into the database.

Explore is the structured-browse counterpart to keyword search. Where the search bar requires a name, Explore lets you wander through the taxonomy and see what's there.

What it shows

Explore presents Cook Islands biodiversity as a navigable tree. Broad biological groups sit at the top (Plants, Landbirds, Seabirds, Fish, Insects, others); each opens into the families, genera and species they contain. Click a node to see its members; click a species to jump to its full page.

When it's useful

• No name in mind. Saw something brown with a forked tail and want to identify the kind of bird? Browse Landbirds and let the photos jog your memory.
• Getting the lay of the land. New to Cook Islands biodiversity? Explore offers a one-page overview of what is here before drilling into specifics.
• Teaching. Walk a class through a taxonomic group without having to invent search queries on the fly.