Leigh's Links -- April 2000
April 28, 2000-
Gymnosperm Database
- It is not everyday one encounters a true gymnosperm
sympathizer. The Pacific Northwestern forest ecologist who has created this database not
only extols the physical beauty of these venerable plants, but points out that botany
books typically snub the group as mere primitives. Flowering plants steal the limelight
when after all it is the gymnosperms who have been around the block and then some. Hence,
the Gymnosperm Database, with descriptions of about 1,000 taxa including a variety of
photographic and botanical illustrations. The database is open for contributions and
currently seeks a permanent home on an academic server. Site by Christopher J. Earle,
Seattle, WA.(****)LF
April 27, 2000-
Evolution at NYU
- The author of this website heartily emphasizes these pages are
a supplement to, not a substitute for attending his Evolution course, but for the
unenrolled, why not brush up on the highlights of evolutionary theory with this fine
syllabus from NYU! Get the notes on Darwin, Adaptation, Evolutionary Genetics, Speciation,
Systematics, History of Diversity, Biogeography, Origins of Novelty, Molecular Evolution,
Coevolution, and Human Issues. And check out the sharp presentation of this site by David
H. A. Fitch, Department of Biology, New York University, New York.(****)LF
April 26,
2000- National Biological Information Infrastructure
- Winner of the 1999 "Best Feds on the
Web" Award, NBII is an USGS-led initiative to develop an electronic
"federation" of biological information maintained by government agencies, private
organizations, and other partners around the nation and the world. Accordingly, it
is fairly packed with goodies, especially BioBot, a biological search engine that combs
NBII, Alta Vista Biology, Snap Biology, GoNetworkBiology, Yahoo Biology and BioLinks. Via
the links directory government information can be accessed by state; Botany enjoys its own
section as do Invasive Plants, Amphibians, Education Resources Kindergarten through
College, Biodiversity, Systematics, Collections, and Biology News. Site by the NBII Web
Team, Reston, VA.(****)LF
April
25, 2000- Oingo Meaning-Based Search
- Oingo is the first meaning-based
search engine on the internet, says its bio, and it takes about two seconds of using it to
see why it is destined for stardom. This Link goes directly to the Science main directory
from which there are many ways to refine a quest by pursuing a more general or more
specific topic. This eliminates annoying junk coming up in the search results, like herbal
cures and supplements for sale, and greatly aids those who may not be able to spell or put
a finger on what it is they're after! Short descriptions follow the entries and the
editing is A-plus. There are several versions of Oingo Search free to install on
any website- this is a feature that teachers publishing course materials online may want
to consider adding. Site by Oingo, Inc., Los Angeles, CA(****)LF
April
24, 2000- Resources Inventory Committee Standards
- There are keys and identification guides to terrestrial and
marine organisms of British Columbia on this website, along with field procedures, data
collection, and inventory methods employed by the government's Resources Inventory
Committee. The latter was formed in 1991 to inventory "renewable forest resource
values using standardized compatible systems." Aquatic biologists, ecologists, environmental toxicologists,
invert-zoologists and experimenting students will want to take a look at the more than
several Manuals published on this site by the RIC, Louise Rosenberger, Publications
Coordinator, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. (****)LF
April 20, 2000-
Botany Online- The Internet Hypertextbook
- A must-see internet teaching project,"Botany Online"
has a History of Botany to die for and a superb feature on How to Identify Plants,
just for starters. Then try Anatomy of Cells and Tissues, Classic Genetics, Molecular
Reactions in Plants, Intercellular Communication, Interactions Between Plants, Fungi,
Bacteria, and Viruses, Evolution, An Overview of the Plant Kingdom, Ecology and Essays,
all with great visuals. Killer! Site by Alice Bergfeld, Rolf Bergmann, and Peter v.
Sengbusch, University of Hamburg, Germany.(****)LF
April 19, 2000- Micscape
- This webzine is a gem, with knock-out photography of
daffodils, diatoms, and life's tinier events as can only be witnessed under the
microscope. It is designed to enlist new microscopy enthusiasts, providing an introduction
to the art with instructions and projects for beginners. Inside the Introduction to
Microscopy click on Botany to find a cache of splendid plant articles- and the same goes
for Pond Life, Insects, and Marine Life. Biology teachers will find resources for plant
and mammalian biology as well at this site by Microscopy-UK and Onview.net Ltd.,
Surrey,UK.(****)LF
April 18,
2000- Plants of Georgia
- Optimists usually like driving through Georgia, where
proof exists that all DOT(s) are not necessarily alike. Published on the Georgia Wildlife
Federation website, "Plants of Georgia" is a good
survey of the state's conspicuous plants, dividing the flora into Protected Plants (list
accessed by a clickable regional map), Common Plants, Flora of the Urban Environment,
Flora of the Blue Ridge, Flora of the Okefenokee Swamp, and the ubiquitous category,
Invasive Exotic Plants. Some species on the lists link to
images or a more extended article; and the "WingSong Native Plant Catalog" pictures many Georgia native plants. Despite a couple of nomenclatural
problems, this is a noteworthy site by the Georgia Wildlife Federation, Conyers, GA.(***1/2)LF
April
17, 2000- Saltcedar Management and Riparian Restoration
Workshop, Las Vegas, Nevada, 1996
- The proceedings of this two day workshop are a wealth of
information on several subjects- principally Saltcedar (Tamarix), as well as
saline wetlands, ecosystem invasion, and allelopathy. There are seventeen topics,
including several referenced papers, with specific coverage of arid southwestern U.S.
regions threatened by T. ramossima. Site hosted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Region 1, Portland, OR.(****)LF
April 14,
2000- The Rhynie Chert and Its Flora
- In the Grampian region of Scotland, the village of Rhynie
became one of the most important palaeobotanical localities in the world when in 1912 the
Scottish geologist William Mackie discovered outcrops of cherts (silicate deposits) rich
in preserved Lower Devonian plants. It is the oldest and one of the most completely
preserved terrestrial fossil ecosystems known. Structures, developmental stages, and life
cycles of early land plants can be studied from the cherts,
and this fascinating website is an introduction to the flora (and some fauna) including
detailed descriptions of its species and their life strategies. Site design and text by
Hans Kerp with photography and graphics
by Hagen Hass and Hans Kerp, Palaeobotanical Research Group, University Munster,
Germany(****)LF
April
13, 2000- The Scientific Revolution- Readings, Resources, Links
- Science, history, and social studies teachers might manage to
take a term off if they properly exploit this, possibly the most comprehensive Scientific
Revolution website on the net. Featured with biographies of the scientific community are
the Richard S. Westfall DSB Biographies, a catalogue of 630 biographical sketches of
scientists "from the decade in which Copernicus was born through those born in the
decade of the 1670's," emanating from the "Dictionary of Scientific
Biography" and greatly expanded upon by Westfall and graduate students under
supervision. Professors who start up the course with forefathers and old theories will
truly savor this site by Robert A. Hatch, University of Florida, Gainesville (****)LF
April 12,
2000- eNature.com
- While it would be mean spirited to give such a
beautifully produced nature website anything less than a four star rating, botanists and
zoologists will have to swallow hard over some of the Audubonian classifications and
associations used in the content's online Audubon Field Guides to plants, animals, and
habitats. No wonder the public gets so mixed up about botany when flowers are classified
as "odd-shaped," "simple shaped," "rounded clusters,"
"elongated clusters," and "daisy or dandelion like." In the latter
case, the description might be all right for composites, except that Cirsium
(thistle) and two other asters are included under "simple-shaped" flowers. And
surely Dusty Miller doesn't belong with "elongated clusters" while Sagittaria
and Sweet Flag languish with "odd-shaped" wildflowers. And if you're looking for
sea cucumbers, try "flowerlike animals." Site by eNature.com and Chanticleer
Press, Inc.(****)LF
April
11, 2000- Florida Environments
- For the scholarly at heart, organized under
this title are notes from courses in South Florida ecology, taught by Daniel F. Austin,
also Curator of the Herbarium at Florida Atlantic University. An expert in the
Convolvulaceae, not a particularly important family in Florida, Dr. Austin has published
copious documentation of South Florida biodiversity and anthropogenic impacts. These notes
cover historical classification of southern Florida
communities, tropical adaptations in Florida's swamp plants, the Florida scrub habitat and
cryptobiotic crusts, Southern Florida's poisonous and allergenic plants, Florida's lost
ethnoflora, and the ever present alien plants. Don't miss some of
the best botanical writing in the business at this site by D.F. Austin, Department of
Environmental Science, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton.(****)LF
April 10, 2000-
Ethnobotany
- Here's something the kids will love. On these Access
Excellence pages, AP Biology teachers contemplating a unit in "Ethnobotany" will
find appealing introductory material together with a light survey of the important plants
in food and medicine. Plant classification and the binomial system are touched upon
briefly. The thematic unit for classrooom activity designed to explore the medicinal value
of local plants includes step-by-step protocols for researching and assessing biologic
activity of plants- very hands on. But, an obligatory half a point must come off for
mispelling Linnaeus! Site by Access Excellence, The National Health Museum, Washington,
DC. (***1/2)LF
April 7, 2000- Rocky
Mountain Tree-Ring Research, Inc.
- RMTRR is a private, nonprofit research organization
providing "expertise in tree-ring collection,
dating, and analysis, to answer a variety of basic and applied questions in fire history,
paleoclimatology, and forest ecology and management." Publishing the latest info and
happenings in dendrology, particularly dendrochronology, the website offers intriguing
features like the OLDLIST of maximum tree ages, and Jeff' Krueger's Historic Trees
Project, both open to inquiries and/or contributions of data. The latter link is found
among Henri D. Grissino-Mayer's Ultimate Tree-Ring Web Pages which speak for themselves!
Site by Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research, Inc., Ft Collins, CO.(****)LF
April 6, 2000-
Linnaean Plant Name Typification Project
- Here is the long awaited website of the Linnaean Plant Name
Typification Project, whose aim is to produce a comprehensive catalogue of type
designations for all Linnaean names. The Project has provided information and assistance
to scientists worldwide and information on particular Linnaean names is available on
request. Digital images of the John Clayton early North American exploration collection
were made after the specimens were searched for and sorted from the museum main
collection, beginning in 1990, by James Reveal and Norlyn Bodkin. What a privelage to see
desktop these historic specimens identified by Linnaeus, thanks to this work and The
Natural History Museum, London, UK.(****)LF
April 5, 2000-
PalDat
- PalDat is a palynological database developed by Martina Weber
and Ralf Buchner to catalogue the palynological data which has accumulated at the
University of Vienna Institute of Botany over the years. A bit of savvy, if
not a good background in palynology terminology are required for using this site. The top
scroll bar must be employed to reveal the navigation into the site- go directly to the
SEARCH button. Though only true experts or the very lucky will turn up results searching
according to a number of selected characters, a good time may be had by all who may want
to select (1) character or genus or family, and see what an array of pollen
electronmicrographs turns up! Site by the Department of Ultrastructure Research and
Palynology at the Institute of Botany, University Vienna, Austria.(****)LF
April 4, 2000 - BL14A
BIODIVERSITY I: The Plant Kingdom
- This is the website supplement to a first year botany course
at the University of the West Indies, introducing plants from an evolutionary perspective.
It is everything an academic website should be, with a great internet textbook look which
visually "packages" the course information for easy study. Course material and
Labs for the 10 Lectures covering algae through seed plants are illustrated primarily with
examples of Caribbean flora. Handouts, Glossary, WWW Course Sites, and Exam Questions
complete this A-1 site by Sean Carrington, Department of Biological & Chemical
Sciences, University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus,
Barbados.(****)LF
April 3, 2000-
MDchoice.com
- "The Ultimate Medical Information Finder" really
tows the line when comes to easy access to medical journals, articles, and databases- type
in your favorite bug and you'll be reading for hours. There are the ever engrossing
educational if not disturbing "photo rounds" of disease, insect, rodent, and
snake bites, and all manner of trauma and injury due to physical forces. Interactive
education at present consists of a course in saving a choking child, with adult and child
CPR to come. Founded by academic physicians with private venture capital, the commercial
goal of the site as well as its location are a mystery. It is extremely low key in
advertisements and there doesn't seem to be much for sale as yet. But it is backed by an
Editorial Board of physicians at universities around the U.S. So go for this site by
MDchoice.com., Inc.!(****)LF
