Open Data

NBN Atlas MCP Server

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National Biodiversity Network Atlas — the UK's largest collection of biodiversity data. Search species occurrence records, explore biodiversity at locations, and look up species taxonomy and conservation status.

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Managed
3 tools
Agent guide included

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AI Skill
SKILL.md

Domain knowledge for NBN Atlas — workflow patterns, data models, and gotchas for your AI agent.

NBN Atlas

The UK's largest collection of biodiversity records — over 250 million occurrence records from trusted data partners. Part of the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) platform.

Data Model

  • Occurrence — A single record of a species at a time and place. Key fields: scientificName, vernacularName, taxonRank, decimalLatitude, decimalLongitude, eventDate, stateProvince, dataResourceName.
  • Species groups — Broad categories: Animals, Plants, Fungi, Chromista, etc. with nested subgroups (Amphibians, Birds, Insects, etc.).
  • Data resources — Contributing datasets (e.g. "BTO Breeding Bird Survey", "iRecord").

Search Syntax

  • Free text: q=Vulpes vulpes (scientific name) or q=Red Fox (common name)
  • Faceted filtering: fq=taxon_name:Vulpes+vulpes (exact match on indexed fields)
  • Spatial: lat, lon, radius (km) for location-based queries
  • Date: fq=year:2024 or fq=year:[2020+TO+2024]

Gotchas

  • Grid references: Many UK records use OS Grid References rather than lat/lon. The API converts internally.
  • Sensitive species: Some records have location precision reduced to protect sensitive species (e.g. rare raptors).
  • pageSize max: Default 10, maximum 100 per request for occurrence searches.
  • totalRecords: Always returned — use for pagination decisions.

Tools in this Server (3)

Nbn Explore Location

Explore biodiversity at a UK location. Returns species group counts (Animals, Plants, Fungi, etc.) and total species/occurrence counts within a radius...

Nbn Species Lookup

Look up detailed taxonomic information for a species by its NBN taxon ID. Returns scientific name, common name, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family,...

Nbn Species Search

Search the NBN Atlas for species occurrence records across the UK. Over 250 million records from trusted biodiversity data partners. Search by scienti...

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the NBN Atlas MCP server?

National Biodiversity Network Atlas — the UK's largest collection of biodiversity data. Search species occurrence records, explore biodiversity at locations, and look up species taxonomy and conservation status. It provides 3 tools that AI agents can use through the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

How do I connect NBN Atlas to my AI agent?

Add the MCPBundles server URL to your MCP client configuration (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, etc.). The URL format is: https://mcp.mcpbundles.com/bundle/nbn-atlas. Authentication is handled automatically.

How many tools does NBN Atlas provide?

NBN Atlas provides 3 tools that can be called by AI agents, along with a SKILL.md that gives your AI agent domain knowledge about when and how to use them.

What authentication does NBN Atlas require?

NBN Atlas uses open data APIs — no authentication required.

Setup Instructions

Connect NBN Atlas to any MCP client in minutes

MCP URL
https://mcp.mcpbundles.com/bundle/nbn-atlas
Claude.aiCursorVS CodeVS Code InsidersGooseLM StudioCherry StudioChatGPT

One-click install:

Install on Claude.aiInstall for organization (admins)

The link prefills the Add custom connector dialog — you still review the values and click Add, then Connect to complete OAuth.

Or add manually

  1. Open claude.ai → Settings → Connectors.
  2. Click the + button and choose Add custom connector.
  3. Set Name to NBN Atlas and paste the MCP URL into Remote MCP server URL.
  4. Click Add. NBN Atlas will appear under Not connected — select it and click Connect to complete OAuth.
Name: NBN Atlas
Remote MCP server URL: https://mcp.mcpbundles.com/bundle/nbn-atlas
Authentication: OAuth

Custom connectors at claude.ai require a paid Claude plan (Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise).

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