EvoLaps is a user-friendly web application designed to visualize the spatial and temporal spread of pathogens. It takes an annotated tree as entry, such as a maximum clade credibility tree obtained through continuous phylogeographic inference. By following a 'Top-Down' reading of a tree recursively, transitions (latitude/longitude changes from a node to its children) are represented on a cartographic background using graphical paths. The complete set of paths forms the phylogeographic scenario. A raw reading of these transitions produces complex scenarios. EvoLaps helps to analyze them with:

•
multiple graphical variables with time-dependent gradients
for enhanced paths display,
•
cross-highlighting and selection
between the phylogeographic scenario and the phylogenetic tree,
•
clustering
of localities into spatial clusters for the production of specific spatio-temporal scales and synthetic views,
•
animation
phylogenetic tree brushing to animate the phylogeographic scenario,
•
annotation
additional geographic layers, computation of ancestral character states from discrete variables,
•
library
diverse and evolving library of visualization and processing tools.

Contact: francois.chevenet@ird.fr