Leigh's Links -- August 2000
August 31,2000- Aquatic
Plant Control Support Operations Center
It may be a new day at the IRS, but things are likely to stay the same when it
comes to ACOE and Aquatic Plant Control. APC began in 1899 when water hyacinths acquired a
penchant for federally engineered waterways and drainage projects. Charged with unclogging
its own channels for a hundred years, Florida's Jacksonville District has first class data
to share. The History of APC includes old photos of early hyacinth harvesting contraptions
(1916) up to the advent of the Hyacinth Destroyer fleet of 1941. Check out the invasive
species distribution/density map for the state of Florida and information on specific pest
plant and animal species. Biological, chemical, and mechanical means of vegetation
management are documented. Details of the history of the Removal of Aquatic Growth Program
(RAG), Aquatic Plant Control Program (APC) and the Operations & Maintenance Program
(O&M) are important material, but points off for spelling at this site by Jon Lane,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville, Florida.(***)LF
August
30, 2000 - Earth Observatory
- Science teachers won't leave NASA's "Earth
Observatory" empty handed- where the educational materials are free for
re-publication and use (except when indicated). Here the public can access data and other
scientific information on earth's climate and environmental change. In the plant
department are two articles: "Perspective on Plants" is about using MODIS and
NTSG to monitor plant productivity; "Grasslands Initiative" recovers data to
study grassland primary productivity. Try the on/off Glossary and at least a few of the
plenteous features on oceans, weather events,and land formation at this site by
NASA,Washington,DC.(****)LF
August 29, 2000 -
John C. Semple- WAT Herbarium
- An excellent link for taxonomy courses, the online research of
this professor rounds out any discussion of asters, goldenasters, and goldenrods. "An
Overview of the Asters" sets the story straight on true asters, pseudo-asters, and
symphyotrichoid asters. "The Goldenasters" lists seven (possible) genera and has
North American Distribution Maps of Braduria, Chrysopsis, Heterotheca and Pityopsis.
"Goldenrods" is about the genus Solidago of course, and includes a diverse a
photo gallery of Solidago species and their aspects. Site by J.C. Semple, University of
Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.(****)LF
August
28, 2000 - Pestweb: Insects and Other Organisms
- Pestweb is created for the pest control industry, and accepts
submissions of relevant biological websites. So far links from its basic index of critters
are excellent, but a bit sparse. Still, a cool site design invites clicking even through
areas of no interest. The biological highlight is the high quality image collection of
insects, arthropods, gastropods, vertebrate pests, and plant diseases, rather
misfortunately emblazoned with the company logo. Site by Van Waters & Rogers,
Kirkland, WA.(**)LF
August 25, 2000 - Edible
Sierra Nevada Plants
- Compiled with the provisionless in mind, this noteworthy list
integrates Norman F. Weeden's "A Sierra Nevada Flora," Brother Alfred
Brousseau's photographs and the Berkeley Digital Library Project (CalFlora and CalPhoto),
into a mini-field guide loaded with information. The list is indexed as Alphabetical
Edibles (genus or family). Dichotomous keys are provided. The editor's excellent selection
of references results in a new adaptation of CalFlora for botanical researchers and the
everyday hiker. Site by Rick Moser, San Fernando Valley, California.(****)LF
August 24, 2000 -
Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment and Wildlife Habitat
- The government seems content with the idea of treatment
wetlands as the means to Clean Water Act fulfillment. Case studies of seventeen important
American Constructed Wetlands document their designs, water quality progress, vegetation,
wildlife use, and awards. It seems one thing that hasn't been addressed too closely is
whether a wastewater treatment wetland is good Wildlife Habitat. Biologists concerned with
the eggshell and feather report may avail themselves of a Concerned Citizen Questionaire
at this site by the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Wetlands, Oceans, &
Watersheds; Washington, DC.(***1/2)LF
August 23, 2000 - The History of
Gardening: A Timeline from Ancient Times to the Twentieth Century
- As events in the history of gardening coincide with or are
indistinguishable from important events in the history of plants and people, this superb
timeline contains relevant information for botanists and ecologists beginning 15,000 BCE
(Before Common Era). Links in the text to reference sites expanding the information of the
timeline are outstanding. Discover the earliest used and cultivated plants and plant
products, trends in agriculture, green mythology, and early land management concerns at
this site by Michael P. Garofalo, Red Bluff, California.(****)LF
August 22,
2000 - Biodidac
- Biology professors take note. You may be surprised that the
origin of this internet education co-op stems from the lack of quality biology texts
written in French. More shocking is the Introduction which raises the question, do we need
as many textbooks anymore, when digital libraries are filling up with data and materials
deposited by university scientists for each other's use and tailoring to their individual
course needs? Tomorrow's professor can shop the teaching banks, have all personal
supplemental course materials and notes in digital format for trading, and preferably be
programmed for online sales of research papers etc. So check out the pioneering professors
at this site by Antoine Morin and Jon Houseman, University of Ottawa, Quebec.(****)LF
August
21, 2000 - Henry W. Coe State Park
- Once the home of the Ohlone Indians, once the Coe family
cattle ranch, Henry W. Coe is now northern California's largest state park, containing
80,000 acres, 23,300 of these wilderness area. Not only does this look like a great place
to get away from it all (they say the park seldom fills up) the website is a virtual field
guide to the natural history of California Inner Coast Ranges. The wildflower album is
indexed by common name, scientific name, and color. There are lengthy butterfly lists with
images, and many birds, some with song files- altogether an excellent introduction to a
great natural resource, with plenty of information generally useful to botanists. Site by
the Pine Ridge Association, and by the California Department of Parks and Recreation,
Morgan Hill, California.(****)LF
August 18,
2000 - Cereal Disease Laboratory
- CDL provides comprehensive information on destructive rust
diseases of plants. Professors will find a variety of useful material from life cycles of
Wheat Leaf Rust, Stem Rust (of barley, oat, rye, wheat),Wheat Stripe Rust and Oat Crown
Rust, to the banning of barberry (Mahonia) and other alternate host plants of rusts.
Fusarium Head Blight(Scab) and Karnal Bunt are other important topics; disease geography
and losses are covered. Site by ARS St. Paul Location, University of Minnesota Campus, St.
Paul.(****)LF
August
17, 2000 - One World Journeys
- Not a site for the easily bored, while the pages come into
focus one has time for a snack and to wonder whether this site should call itself
educational, though it is picturesque. Its two main features cover photographic
expeditions in the Sonoran Desert and the Soviet Union's Georgia- and getting through them
provides the additional experience of stroke simulation. With an illustrious staff of
photographers, programmers, and executives, it wouldn't hurt to add a biologist,
ecologist, or some sort of token science figurehead to plump up the actual content at this
"web documentary" by FusionSpark Media, Inc., Clinton, Washington.(***)LF
August 16, 2000 -
Plant and Insect Parasitic Nematode Home Page
- Nematodes, whose awesome numbers gave poetic inspiration to
Cobb in 1914, are the focus of this site concerned with characterization of plant
parasitic species, particularly of the Konza Prairie. There are copious resources for the
nematologist here- images, keys, a manual for molecular identification of nematodes.
Featured nematodes of significance include Corn Nematode and Soybean Cyst Nematode. Learn
about nematodes of concern, good nematodes, and methods for controlling the bad ones at
this site by University of Nebraska Lincoln Nematology, Lincoln, Nebraska.(****)LF
August 15, 2000 - A Forester on
the Suwannee
- Despite the somewhat obscure authorship of this website, it is
a superb beginner's guide to the forests of north east Florida and regions of the Suwannee
River. These are not subjects covered in the roadside literature of Florida. The author
notes that the 40 million yearly visitors to the state consistently zoom past the
mysterious rural region of the North without looking out the window. So along the Suwannee
some things have remained the same as 150 years ago. Anyone with an interest will enjoy
this publication which provides an excellent description of the river and an illustrated
list of associated forest plants. Site by Chouder.(****)LF
August 14, 2000
- NeoFlora Database
- It doesn't take long to stump "the world's largest plant
database" of more than 38,000 entries with normal botanical queries, but if you're
looking for a garden or landscape plant, it may turn up at NeoFlora. Yet its overstated
subtitle and even the term "NeoFlora" suggests the future content of this
web-model creation may run amuck without at least one qualified editor keeping an eye on
things. The model allows for general contributions of plant cultural information as well
as photo submissions to the database. Who will monitor plant identification and spelling
is a good question at this site by NeoInformatics, Seattle, Washington (***)LF
August 11, 2000 -
Agaricales of the Hawaiian Islands
- The National Science Foundation funds this project to survey
the diversity, ecology, and occurrence of the Order Agaricales in the world's largest
oceanic island group. Prior to the project beginning, 100 species of agarics and boletes
were reported for the islands- current fieldwork suggests some 255 species of which 50 may
be native, 25 of these endemic and 5 indigenous!Access great photos and field notes on
these from an alphabetical list of taxa at this site by Dennis E. Desjardin, San Francisco
State University, California; Don E. Hemmes, University of Hawai`i, Hilo, and George J.
Wong, University of Hawai`i, Manoa.(****)LF
August 10, 2000 - The
Fundamental Unit of Life
- This introduction to AP level biomedical cell biology contains
fourteen illustrated chapters hyperlinked to its Glossary. Using electronmicrographs and
labelled scientific drawings, this site offers valuable detail of cytoplasm and
organelles- nice for print outs and supplemental notes. Other extras- a chapter on the
history of biochemistry, cell membranes and transport, signal transduction and receptor
proteins. Site by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes
of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.(****)LF
August
9, 2000 - Canyons, Cultures, and Environmental Change
- An amazing resource for and from several disciplines is the
"Land Use History of North America" presentation on the Colorado Plateau, the
shaping of its landcover and landscape. From the end of the last ice age to the present,
seven key elements of the region's environmental history are used to navigate time,
impacts, and changes, with descriptions of biotic communities and "biological"
tools, maps and places, and articles on paleo-Indians, Archaic Peoples, and explorers, all
from a number of expert contributors. Also illustrated with outstanding photography, this
is a dynamite site by CP-LUHNA (John Grahame, Project Manager), Northern Arizona
University Center for Environmental Sciences and Education, Flagstaff, Arizona (****)LF
August 8,
2000 - The Chile-Heads Home Page
Few diners want to consider what they're really eating, but
today's botanist more than ever needs valuable pepper information before going out for
nouvelle cuisine. This website provides excellent coverage of the practical aspects of
identifying, eating, and growing peppers, along with a first class scientific section on
the biology, botany, and chemistry of Capsicum species. Included are a key to the
domesticated peppers, and sections on the chemical structure of capsaicin and its
medicinal uses. Site by Mike Bowers, UCDavis, California.(****)LF
August 7, 2000
- Native Wildflowers of the North Dakota Grasslands
- From the voluminous content of the Northern Prairie Wildlife
Research Center website, this feature gathers fifteen years of North Dakota wildflower
articles by biologist Harold A. Kantrude. Originally published in local newspapers to
herald the blooming season of each plant, the mini-expositions include the plant's natural
history and nomenclatural notes- a cut above the rest! Great for those studying prairies
and grasslands. Site by the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. (Citation: Kantrud,
Harold A. 1995. Native Wildflowers of the North Dakota Grasslands. Jamestown, ND) (****)LF
florida plants online
www.floridaplants.com
