Development of an Interactive WebGIS and Database of Reef Fishes Biodiversity at Nha Trang and Cam Ranh Bays in Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam

However, these areas are strongly affected by human activities such as overexploitation, destructive fishing, and contamination, leading to impairment of natural resources. A WebGIS is designed with tools and features common on Web pages, making it easy to understand for users familiar with the Internet. WebGIS is rapidly applied in biodiversity assessment and conservation. For biodiversity research, reef fish were collected at Nha Trang and Cam Ranh Bays from 2013 to 2014, with more than 30 species identified by morphologic and genetic characters. The research aims to develop an interactive WebGIS and database of reef fish biodiversity. The WebGIS application is built using ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Server, commercially available software, which is extended using Visual Basic to customize the application. The biodiversity information of reef fish species is converted to a GIS dataset (ESRI shape file format) and presented as map layers. Users can turn on or off each layer, navigate around the area using pan and zoom, query each layer spatially or by attributes stored in its database, obtain metadata, and create geotechnical graphs and plots. The WebGIS framework is based on a 3-tier architecture, consisting of a presentation tier, business logic tier, and data tier. The client sends a request to the Web server over the Internet via HTTP, which forwards GIS-related requests to the GIS server. The GIS server retrieves the needed data from the GIS database and processes the request, which can be to generate a map, conduct a query, or perform an analysis. The data, map, or other result is sent by the Web server to the client in a response via HTTP. The spatial data is vector graphics format, including images, data types, and genetic information. Using ArcGIS Desktop software and administrative maps of Khanh Hoa Province, the spatial data is digitized and stored as point, line, and polygon data layers. The attribute database design includes additional information on biodiversity, such as sampling locations, species composition, distribution, morphological characteristics, and genetic data. The WebGIS application can be connected from clients to ArcGIS Server by Web Browsers. The WebGIS interface displays the layers of the Web map, which can be turned on or off to show details information such as lists of rivers, fish species, and islands. The right column displays details information, including genetic information, morphological characters, locations, name, and image of fish species. The WebGIS technology has been applied in various fields, including environmental management, telecommunications infrastructure, land protection, biodiversity assessment, and tourism. The system allows users to query the data in the database, view the image, and find genetic data of each species. Additionally, users can apply supported GIS tools to clearly realize the spatial distribution of each species.