----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Hello,
 
I am performing a study to test for correlation between breadth of
climatic tolerance and speciation & extinction rates in some mammal
groups.  To determine breadth of climatic tolerance for a given species,
I plan to overlay a scanned version of its range onto separate global or
continental maps for various long-term climatic means, including
temperature and precipitation.
 
***Does anyone know where I might find such climatic maps already digitized
and ready for ftp'ing?
 
I have tried UNEP/GRID, but their precipitation
map was in a format I couldn't use (ARC/INFO), and they have not been
able to track down a long-term mean temperature data set.  The best
format for my use would be a raster format, but standard PC or Mac
graphics file formats would be fine (eg. GIF, TIFF, PICT, PCX...).
 
I am interested in highest-resolution-possible maps by continent, as well
as for the entire globe; in particular, North America and Africa.  Finally,
maps in equal-area projections would be optimal, but I have the means to
retransform a digitized map with a known common projection.
 
I would be deeply grateful for anyone who can offer suggestions for me in
this seach.
 
Ben Strauss
Dept. of Biology, Yale University