The Wildlife Information Centre

• Data Request Form - Commercial
• Data Request Form - Non-Commercial

Requesting Biological Data from TWIC

What Data Does TWIC Provide?

TWIC offers both commercial and non-commercial users the following types of data:

• All Species: all species records (protected, non-protected, and invasive).
• Notable/Protected Species: EPS, UK protected species, and species of local conservation concern. For a full list of Species Designations we include, please go to: Species Designation Key.
• Invasive Non-Native Species: Species records from the Scottish Invasive Non-Native Species priority lists: strategic management, and local management and containment. The list of Invasive Non-Native Species included is here: Invasive Non-Native Species.
• Selected Species/Taxonomic Group: A selection of Species records as specified from the user.
• Habitat Data: Phase 1 Habitats (Lothians, Borders and Clackmannanshire), Phase 1 Target Notes (Lothians only), Ancient Woodland Inventory, NVC, Habitat Map of Scotland, CSGN Integrated Habitat Networks (IHN).
• National and International Designated Sites: SSSI, SAC, SPA, RAMSAR, NNR, LNR(excluding Scottish Borders).
• Local Designated Sites: Local Biodiversity Sites (Excluding Falkirk and East Lothian), SWT Wildlife Sites (Only for Clacks, East Lothian, Falkirk and Stirling) and SINCs (City of Edinburgh only).
• Species Distribution Maps (SDM) - Species Presence and Records Abundance: These map types reveal at a glance where the species/taxon groups have been recorded (presence) or how frequently a species/taxon group has been recorded in each of the grid reference squares found in the study area. We highly recommend that a 2km resolution (especially for bird species) is chosen. Maps at lower resolutions will exclude any record at coarser resolutions (e.g. a map with 1km square resolution will exclude any data recorded at tetrad level, which is the preferred resolution for some of the most popular recording schemes).

Species records are provided as Excel Spreadsheet, PDF report, ArcGIS Shapefiles (.shp) or Google Earth (.kml) files.

Habitat and Designated Sites data are available as PDF maps, ArcGIS Shapefiles (.shp) or Google Earth (.kml) files.

Species Distribution Maps (SDM) are available as PDF maps or JPEG.

If you require data in another format please get in touch and we will endeavour to accommodate your request.

Commercial Requests

TWIC supplies data to Ecological Consultants and Developers in order to support their work. If you are a commercial user of our data we do charge an administrative fee in order to cover our costs in processing the request and to contribute to our data collation work.

For further guidance on the definition of "Commercial" or "Non-Commercial" please consult this page: Guidance on the Definition of Non-Commercial User.

As of 01/04/2020 prices for our data searches start from £133 ex. VAT for the first hour of work, a further £61 ex. VAT is charged for every half hour thereafter.

Please note that this is not a charge for the data itself, but for the amount of time spent working on the request.

Our typical turnaround time is 5 working days, however this may occasionally be longer should we have a high caseload or there are staff on leave/absent. You will be notified of the expected turnaround time.

If data is required faster than the turnaround time please let us know and we will endeavour to supply the data within this timeframe. Should data be required on very short notice however (i.e. within 2 working days) then an additional £61 ex. VAT fee will be charged as we will to have to reprioritise existing work. TWIC supplies a quote based on an estimate of how long the request will take to process. This is calculated by the size of the site, size of the buffer zone around the site that is required, and how many categories of data are requested. Sensitive species are included as standard for commercial requests, assuming that confidentiality is assured. TWIC will begin processing your request on acceptance of our quote and our terms and conditions for data supply as found on the data request form.

Large data provision projects (those taking 8 hours or more) will be charged at £82 ex. VAT for each hour of work. The late payment fee for invoices not paid within 30 days of issue will be £61 ex. VAT. (issued at TWIC’s discretion).

Non-Commercial Requests

TWIC supplies data to Researchers, Students, Wildlife Recorders and Members of the Public in order to inform leading research, coursework, recording efforts and general interest.

As long as you do not make any financial profit from data supplied by TWIC, there is no administrative charge for data supply. If in doubt, please refer to: Guidance on the Definition of Non-Commercial User.

Our typical turnaround time for non-commercial requests is 10 working days. Should data be required on a shorter notice than this, please contact TWIC to see if we can turn the data around faster. Please note that we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do this. Sensitive species data for non-commercial requests have their grid reference and location data blurred according to SNH's Sensitive Species of Scotland recommendations. The recommendations can be found here.

TWIC will begin processing your request on acceptance of our terms and conditions for data supply as found on the data request form.

Sample Data can be downloaded here.

To request data from TWIC please send the relevant data request form (found at the top-left of this page "Data Request Form - Commercial" or "Data Request Form - Non-Commercial") to admin@wildlifeinformation.co.uk.