The Animal Diversity
Web
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/
Excellent
website for information about various animal species. Sponsored by the
University of Michigan, department of biology's Museum of Zoology. Includes many
links to other websites.
APHIS (Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service)
www.aphis.usda.gov
APHIS is "responsible
for protecting and promoting US agricultural health, administering the
Animal Welfare Act, and carrying out wildlife damage management
activities" (About
APHIS)
Census of Marine Life
www.coml.org
The CML is a global network of researchers from
more than 70 countries to assess, explore and explain "the diversity,
distribution, and abundance of life in the ocean and explain how it changes over
time." ( from About the Census of
Marine Life) The research is slated to last 10 years and is expected to end
in 2010. Information on this website is available in English, French, German and
Japanese.
Department of
Natural Resources - master
list
www.fws.gov/offices/statelinks.html
The Fish and
Wildlife Service has a webpage containing a master list of departments of
natural resources across the country. Also included in the list are other local
FWS agencies.
Ecology
WWW Page
www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~brach/Ecology-WWW.html
A webpage of many links to ecology sites arranged in alpha order. Sample
sites: American Fern Society, JungleWalk.com, World Forest
Watch. International in scope.
eNature.com
www.enature.com
A for-profit website ownedby the National Wildlife Federation (www.nwf.org).
However, most of the information on the website is accessible for free. Good
thumbnail colored photoes that can be enlarged. The website is user-friendly for
non-scientists
Global Invasive Species
Programme
www.gisp.org
Established in 1997 "to address
global threats caused by Invasive Alien Species, and to provide support to the
implementation of Article 8(h) of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the
CBD." (What is GISP)
The Secretariat is located in South Africa. The organization provides news,
information about forthcoming meetings, government reports, planning documents,
case studies, and other information.
Invasivespecies.gov
www.invasivespecies.gov
A website developed and maintained by
the National Agricultural Library for the National Invasive Species Council.
Includes links to various species, news and events, and resources. There is a
group of searchable databases arranged under 7 subject categories.
Michigan Department of Natural
Resources, Resource & Conservation Management
www.michigan.gov/dnr
Carries current information about DNR news,
including a calendar of activities for the month. Other information includes a
webpage to Resources & Conservation Management website.
National Biological Information
Infrastructure (NBII)
www.nbii.gov/
A part of the USGS
Biological Informatics Program. Information is broken down into several
categories, such as "Current Biological Issues", and "Biological Disciplines"
(botany, fisheries, reptiles, amphibians, aquatic resources, genetic
biodiversity) The website includes a searchable database
NatureServe
www.natureserve.org
A non-profit conservation organization that
represents "an international network of biological inventories known as natural
heritage programs or conservation data centers…" Has a searchable database that
offers up statistical information. Emphasis on rare and endangered species and
threatened ecosystems.
SIRIS
(Smithsonian Institution Research Information
System)
www.siris.si.edu/index.html
The Specialized Research
Bibliographies database contains some 15,500 citations specializing in
cephalopods, marine mammals, history of the Smithsonian, as well as Museums
Studies research. Searches lead to citations of articles, not the articles
themselves.
Statistical Resources
on the Web
www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stats.html
A U of M
Documents Center website. Contains a section on Agriculture and
Environment.
Tree of Life Web
Project
http://tolweb.org/tree/phylogeny.html
A
collaborative effort by "biologists from around the world. The ToL project was
originally designed for biologists. However, given the response of
non-biologists to the project, including middle and high school students, we are
encouraging authors to include information of interest to non-biologists." The
website offers information about phylogeny and biodiversity of different
organisms, and carries links to webpages of related information.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
www.fws.gov/
Contains information as well as links to many
resources about the protection and conservation of fish, wildlife and plants,
and their habitats. There is a website about endangered species as well. Note
that the Search field does not necessarily yield hits for existing information.
U.S.G.S. Biology Resources
http://biology.usgs.gov/
There's a great deal of information
spread out over different programs and "resources" that require some digging
around. Under the heading of Science, the USGS Biology Programs covers
8 subject and species categories, such as "Invasive Species Program". It also
has a link to NBII (National Biological
Information Infrastructure). Under the Science Center
Locations, there is a map of regional offices across the country. Click on
any area for more information.
Wildlife
without
Borders
http://www.fws.gov/international/dicprograms/wwbp.htm
The
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has developed three "partnership programs" with
the cooperation of "other nations." Programs covered are Species,
Global and Regional. FWS seeks to develop programs that will
support conservation efforts, wildlife management training, and improve the
coexistence of humans and wildlife.
BirdLife International
www.birdlife.org
"... a global alliance of conservation organizations working together for the world's birds and people" (source: homepage). Offers news about all things pertaining to birds, and a searchable database of basic information. Under the link, Data Zone, bird species can be searched for by family, genus, species, common name, IUCN Red List category, among other features.
BirdNet, the Ornithological Information Source
www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET/index.html
A service of the Ornithological Council, a public information organization involving 10 North American professional ornithological societies. This is a webpage of links to bird webpages, societies, organizations, special interest groups. Though portions of the webpage have been updated as recently as June 2003, there are several dead links still listed.
UM Museum of Zoology, Birds Division
http://www.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/birds/bird_index.html
Contains information about the research collection of the Birds division and links to a few websites about birds. There's a well-illustrated section on bird anatomy. Includes links to bird information on the Animal Diversity Webpage
CephBase
www.cephbase.utmb.edu/
A searchable database hosted by the
University of Texas Medical Branch. There is data on the life history,
distribution, catch and taxonomy "on all living species of cephalopods".
Includes an image database of some 1521 images.
CLEMAM
www.somali.asso.fr/clemam/index.clemam.html
A searchable
database of European marine mollusca. The database is taxonomically oriented,
covering the area of the eastern Atlantic, mid-Atlantic, and the Mediterranean
and Baltic seas. Not a comprehensive database. There is a backlog of older
references.
crustacea.net
www.crustacea.net
Australian website that allows for the
searching of "crustaceans of the world." There is the option of using the search
feature or going to a page where there is a list of crustacea arranged by Order.
UM Museum
of Zoology, Mollusk Division
http://www.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/mollusks/index.html
The site is
under construction, but still contains some useful information. The Cool Sites
section has 4 categories of information: General Malacology, Freshwater
Mollusks, Terrestrial Mollusks, and Marine Mollusks. There is also a section on
recent publications from the Division.
American Fisheries Society
www.fisheries.org
Founded in 1870, and considered the oldest
professsional society representing fisheries scientists. The Resources/Links
site and the Education site contain links to other websites, such as
Fisheries/Natural Resources, which has links to related sites.
FishBase
www.fishbase.org/home.htm
Developed at the World Fish
Center in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and other partners, and with
support from the European Commission. Searchable database.
Fisheries Research
Library
www.hti.umich.edu/f/fishery
The Digital Library Production Service (DLPS)
has joined with the Michigan
Fisheries Division Library to offer access to the Fisheries Research
Library. There are approximately 1,900 reports currently online. The Fisheries
Research Library is fully searchable and freely available to the public.
NOAA Fisheries
www.nmfs.noaa.gov
A division within the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. A webpage primarily of links, including links to
websites about endangered species and commercial fisheries.
UM Museum of
Zoology, Fish Division
http://www.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/fishes/fish_index.html
There's an
online searchable catalog of the division as well as links to other online
databases about fish. There is also a short list of Fish division
publications
insects.org
www.insects.org
This is a graphics-heavy website that offers
basic, user-friendly information about insects. It has a few links to societies,
organizations, university departments, museums that have an interest in insects.
International Society of
Arachnology
www.arachnology.org/
Contains an index of
arachnids by order, which includes common names, illustrations and "special
spider pages." There is also an "Arachnids by Subject" webpage that has links to
other sources of information.
UM Museum of Zoology,
Insects Division
http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/
Some of
the information on this webpage include the MES Publications' Entomology Notes,
taxonomic holdings, a pictures archive and links to other websites. A small part
of the division's collection of specimens has been cataloged into databases as
lists of species.
The Mammal Society
www.mammal.org.uk
Provides some basic information on the current population and conservation status of British mammals, along with some educational materials and advocacy resources.
Mammal Species of the World
www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/
Produced by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History and the American Society of Mammalogists, the website "can be used as a convenient on-line reference for identifying or verifying recognized scientific names and for taxonomic research."
Center for Plant
Conservation
www.centerforplantconservation.org
The CPC is
"dedicated solely to preventing the extinction of U.S. native plants." It is a
network of over 30 botanical institutions, and maintains the National
Collection of Endangered Plants. The website has links to participating
institutions, news, plant websites.
Forest Conservation Portal
http://forests.org
The website began as a PhD research project
and was formerly known as Forests.org, Inc. Currently, it's a project of
Ecological Internet, Inc., a webpage of links and news about forest
conservation. There is a search engine that allows for broad search terms, such
as "rainforests", or "logging" in 2 categories, Internet and forests.org
archive.
Rainforestweb.org
(World Rainforest Information
Portal)
http://rainforestweb.org
Created by the Rainforest Action Network,
this webpage is a source of information about the world's rainforests by linking
to other websites. Covers various aspects of rainforests, from animals to
plants, to rainforest destruction.
University of Michigan,
Herbarium
http://herbarium.lsa.umich.edu
Includes extensive
links to other websites on plant, nomenclature, and mycology resources, and
more. Also contains links to other herbaria and museums.
Center for North American
Herpetology
http://naherpetology.org
A non-profit
organization promoting the study of amphibians, reptiles, crocodiles and
turtles. Includes links to other herpetology websites, news, upcoming meetings,
publications and a searchable, but not comprehensive, database.
AmphibiaWeb
http://amphibiaweb.org
This website was created in conjunction
with the UC Berkeley Digital Library Project. It offers online retrieval of
information on amphibian biology and conservation. You can search by Genus,
Species, Vernacular Name, Family, Order, and Country. Results give basic
information and a brief list of references.
DAPTF
(Declining Amphibian Populations Task
Force)
www.open.ac.uk/daptf/index.htm
"The DAPTF was established in 1991
by the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the World Conservation Union
(IUCN)." The Latest News portion of the website includes references to
publications in the field of amphibian populations. There is also a link to the
website's newsletter, FrogLog.
The New Reptile Database
http://www.reptiliaweb.org/
"This database is intended to
provide information on the classification of all living reptiles by listing all
species and their pertinent higher taxa. The database therefore covers all
living snakes, lizards, turtles, amphisbaenians, tuataras, and crocodiles. It is
supposed to be a source of taxonomic data, thus providing primarily (scientific)
names, synonyms, distributions and related data." (source: FAQ)
UM Museum of
Zoology, Division of Reptiles and Amphibians
http://www.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/herps/herp_index.html
There's a
history of the division, plus links to other herpetology websites. The Maps
of Michigan Reptiles and Amphibians contains actual specimen data, and
includes a map and photo, as well as call and status if applicable.
Unfortunately the webpage hasn't been updated since 2000.
Animal Info - Information on
Rare, Threatened and Endangered Mammals
www.animalinfo.org
Searchable website, though the indexing is not very logical. Includes links
to other websites, organizations and pubications.
Center for
Applied Biodiversity Science
www.biodiversityscience.org/xp/CABS/home
CABS supports Conservation International in
identifying and responding to "elements that threaten the earth's biological
diversity." It enlists the expertise of scientists in collecting and
interpreting data, and develop strategic plans for conservation.
CITES (Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora)
www.cites.org
Created at am IUCN meeting in 1963 for the purpose
of ensuring that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants
does not threaten their survival. Membership is voluntary. The website covers
the activities of CITES, with links to other resources and official documents.
Conservation
International
http://www.conservation.org/
A U.S. based
organization created to "conserve the Earth's living heritage..." CI works in
over 40 countries to support plant and animal diversity.
EE Link: Endangered Species
http://eelink.net/EndSpp
EE-Link is a participant in the
Environmental Education and Training Partnership of the North American
Association for Environmental Education, with support from the Environmental
Protection Agency. The Endangered Species site includes links about U.S. policy
and treaties.
IUCN (International Union
for the Conservation of Nature)
www.iucn.org
Also know as the World
Conservation Union. IUCN is considered the world's largest
conservation-related organization. The website contains information about
programs, events and publications. The next 3 webpages are related to the IUCN.
IUCN Red List
of Threatened Plants
www.unep-wcmc.org/species/plants/plants-by-taxon.htm
Searchable
database. "The vast majority of plant taxa listed in the 1997 IUCN Red List
of Threatened Plants have not yet been evaluated against the revised
Red List Criteria, and are therefore not included here. To find out the
conservation status of plants, users must search both (the IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species database) and the UNEP-WCMC Threatened Plants
database."
(source: www.redlist.org/info/introduction.html)
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
www.redlist.org
Provides taxonomic, conservation
status and distribution information on taxa using the IUCN Red List Categories
and Criteria. Note that only birds and mammals have been comprehensively
assessed; "the vast majority of plant taxa listed in the 1997 IUCN Red List of
Threatened Plants have not yet been evaluated against the revised Red List
Criteria, and are therefore not included here. To find out the conservation
status of plants, users must search both this database and the UNEP-WCMC
Threatened Plants database." (source:
www.redlist.org/info/introduction.html)
NOAA Fisheries
www.nwr.noaa.gov
Detailed information, including maps,
Federal Register notices and listing status of the following salmon: Chinook,
Chum, Coho, Pink, Sockye, Steelhead, as well as information about marine fishes
and Green Sturgeon.
UNEP -
WCMC (United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation
Monitoring Centre)
www.unep-wcmc.org/
A multi-faceted webpage that
includes news, international policies and agreements, publications, and a species database. UNEP-WCMC also
addresses the relationship between trade and the environment. See also Project Proteus, an environmental
information service coordinated by UNEP's Division of Early Warning and
Assessment (DEWA).
USDA Forest Service,
Watershed, Fish, Wildlife, Air and Rare Plants
www.fs.fed.us/biology
A webpage from the US Forest Service
homepage. Also includes information about threatened and endangered species.
World Conservation Union (IUCN)
www.iucn.org
Also known as International Union for the
Conservation of Nature (IUCN). See entry above.