Scott's Botanical Links

Leigh's Links -- September 1997

Scott's Botanical Links Oklahoma

Past Links:

September 30, 1997- Mycological Resources on the Internet

This branch of the World Wide Web Virtual Library offers everything for the mycologist to the cook, with good information on collecting edible (or identifying poisonous) mushrooms.

The best of the best sites have been selected and annotated for the library which the author, a PhD candidate studying the systematics of insect-pathogenic fungistates, says are "all the websites I know" compiled. Content covers "Collections, Directories, Discussions, Genetics, General, Mushrooms, and Teaching." New sites are added to the About page. General topic resources offer an array of keys, lichen and pathology information, and a link to Fungal Images on the Net, a catalog of 650 species. There are many really interesting levels of this site by Kathie Hodge, Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. (****)LF

September 29, 1997- CyberFlora California

An experimental, collaborative project

 

Enter a word found in the plant name, whether Aster or daisy, or use habitat indicators and terms, and return a series of taxon records that include the query string. Records are returned in entries listed by genus and species, followed by family, common name, brief North American distribution description with a BONAP range distribution map, community association in many cases, California and sometimes Texas distribution, and perhaps the most promising feature of all, accession records of the UC Berkeley Herbarium which are in the process of being imaged for viewing along with the accession information. Imaging herbarium specimens is undoubtedly an important consideration for all herbaria wishing to protect specimens from continuous unnecessary handling. Curators will not want to miss CyberFlora California, a prototype system involving data sets under development by the Kings River Ecosystem Project and Institute of Forest Genetics (USDA Forest Service - Pacific Southwest Research Station) - the California Flora Database - the Flora2k System, under development by the Biota of North America Program and the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group, and the California Wildflowers image collection under development by the UC Berkeley Digital Libraries Project ( note: the former California Wildflowers Image Collection as archived by Scott's appears to be alternately named Brousseau California Flora Pictures, bearing 11,00 images at a new location, and accessible through CyberFlora Home ).
(****)LF

September 26, 1997- Paleolimnology and Diatom Home Pages

Pages organized for students and scientists introduce the subjects diatoms and paleolimnology with electron micrographs and a bit of text, proceeding to annotated links to the important related resources- databases, listservs, announcements, discussions, museums and collections, and "the ultimate" other web sites. Resources are so well chosen as to make this site a leading launch pad for study. Some of the "ultimate" diatoms links are to The Protist Image Gallery ("if you're tired of diatoms"), Emiliania huxleyi ("it doesn't get any cooler than this!" the author writes), and The Toxic Cyanobacteria Home Page ("to scare the kids")- all outstanding sites. Contributions to the site are welcomed by its author, P. Roger Sweets, Indiana University Biology Department, Bloomington, IN. (****)LF

September 25, 1997- Western Wetland Flora

An online field guide was produced under direction of the Soil Conservation Service West National Technical Center in Portland, Oregon, to aid identification of 300 chosen plant species as hydrophyte wetland indicators. Each entry contains a photograph, line-drawing, distribution map, and concise field information and the Guide is complete with an illustrated glossary of terms. Western Wetland Flora is part of a larger USGS Biological Resources Site based at the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. Numerous link resources are offered, both scientific and non-technical, for wildlife of the United States as well as western wetlands. The annotated What's New features a diverse menu of sites such as Butterflies of the United States, North American Center for Reporting Amphibian Malformations, Duck Identification Guide for Hunters, and a Wyoming Rare Plant Field Guide. Overall, there is plenty of field biology at this site by Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Jamestown, ND. (****)LF

September 24, 1997- Wildflowers of the Southern Appalachians (and North Carolina)

"Nothing can be finer than to be in Carolina" mountains, spring, summer or fall, and this wildflower site, part of a larger site promoting the state's natural resources, shows appropriate reverence for the splendor of the Appalachians. Wildflower photos are accompanied by a brief description of the plant's habitat, folklore and local ethnobotanical use. A nice set of links includes the North Carolina Endangered Plants List, blooming times for plants of the southern Appalachians, a fool-proof poison ivy identification page, folk medicine bulletin board, and a profile of William Bartram, first American-born botanist described as one of the first "spiritual naturalists." From the wildflower page, click through to NC Natural Resources, then to the Guide to the Blue Ridge Parkway where the seasonal feature, Fall Color in the Eastern United States, has excellent information about the main forest trees of the southern Appalachians provided by botanists/authors of Fall Colors and Woodland Harvests. Site by NCNatural.com. (****)LF

September 23, 1997- Gateway to the New Crop Resource Online Program

I first came to this site to see the Pawpaw information as this plant is essentially extirpated in south Florida, and found not just a great page, but a new ethnobotanical subject. Try Famine Foods, as author Robert L. Freedman writes, "This botanical-humanistic subject has had little academic exposure, and provides insight to potential new food sources that ordinarily would not be considered." Find also information on importing and exporting plants, farmers markets of the United States, and best of all, the Index of Crop Plants which provides a page of linked information for hundreds of plants. This site is an official World Wide Web page of Purdue University, developed and maintained by Jim Simon & Jules Janick,Center for New Crops & Plant Products, Purdue University,West Lafayette, IN. (****)LF

September 22, 1997- MIT Biology Hypertextbook

The Experimental Study Group, an alternative freshman program at MIT, has combined supplemental materials for MIT's Introductory Biology and other internet resources into an excellent study guide for Introductory Molecular Bio. Chapters cover a Chemistry Review, Large Molecules, Cell Biology, Enzyme Biochemistry, Glycolysis and the Krebs Cycle , Photosynthesis, Central Dogma, Mendelian Genetics, Prokaryotic Genetics and Gene Expression, Recombinant DNA, and a presently developing chapter on Immunology. The chapter notes are well written with carefully selected links to graphics on other tutorial sites. A Core Outline organizes the reading for each unit which has an accompanying set of Questions and Problems. Site by the Experimental Study Group, MIT, Cambridge, MA (****)LF

September 19, 1997- Plant Disease Information Notes

North Carolina State University's Plant Pathology Department web pages offer notes on the major diseases of the important crops and ornamentals of North Carolina and access to important resource pages and other services of the university and state cooperative extension. Currently the department is participating in a nationwide collaborative to provide agricultural producers with a comprehensive listing of new and emerging plant diseases. Information may be submitted to the New and Emerging Plant Diseases Project page. Find also at this site links to the Department of Entomology's North Carolina Insect Notes, archives of the Plant Disease and Insect-of-the-Week at the Clinic, North Carolina Pest News, and the IPM network. On the NCCES Educational Resources pages is a new Guide to Biotechnology in Crop Production with an excellent introduction to the concept of genetic engineering for insect pest and disease control. Site by Plant Pathology, NCSU, North Carolina State Coorperative Extension, Raleigh, NC. (****)LF

September 17, 1997- Hawaiian Alien Plant Studies

More than 4600 alien plant species have been introduced to Hawaii, and this site has been produced to promote public awareness and information exchange for the identification, eradication, or control of the 86 most threatening to Hawaii's native ecosystems. Introductory articles on the impact of alien species and the search for a means to control Miconia calvescens are followed with pages for each of the 86 noxious plants, complete with photographs, botanical descriptions and habitat information, or general family data. An additional bonus is the Flowering Plant Family Access Page which is in itself a short form "flora" of Hawaii. Photos and presentation here are a visual treat. Site by Dr.Clifford W. Smith (Sponsored by the Botany Department and the National Park Service Cooperative Park Studies Unit of the University of Hawaii at Manoa ). (****)LF

September 16, 1997- Links for Palaeobotanists

Annotated links to internet resources, especially for palaeobotanists (with an Upper Triassic bias).

 

Here are five very nicely organized and comprehensive pages of select resources for palaeobotanical pursuits, including and not limited to databases, events, book reviews, other link pages, online palaeobotanists, academic programs, and where to find a job. Specialized topics such as coal petrology and sedimentary rocks are covered, along with evolution, general botany and geoscience. Don't miss this outstanding site by Klaus-Peter Kelber, Mineralogisches Institut, Universität Würzburg, Germany. (****)LF

September 15, 1997- Image Library of Biological Macromolecules

Molecular graphics software and coordinate files from the Protein Data Bank (PDB) at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Nucleic Acid Database (NAD) at Rutgers University were used to generate an image library of RNA and DNA structures, proteins, DNA and RNA protein complexes, and structures of the biopolymer building blocks, nucleotides, base pairs, and amino acids. Image files are accompanied by a plain text file with bibliographic and sequence information, and in some cases additional information includes numbering and distance measures. Most of the molecules can be seen also as stereoisomers. Students of biochemistry will find this an invaluable aid to understanding the peptide bond and DNA replication. Images may be used by citing the library, and authors may contribute to the gallery and the scientific community by contacting the library's author. Site by Jürgen Sühnel, Institut für Molekulare Biotechnologie, Postfach 100813, D-07708 Jena / Germany.(****)LF

September 12, 1997- The Kennedy Space Center Ecological Resources Home Page

The 57,000 ha of land and lagoons of Kennedy Space Center on the east central coast of Florida lie in a biogeographical transition zone of temperate, tropical, and subtropical species. It is also one of the last undeveloped segments of the Florida east coast where one can get an idea of the actual lay of the land that inspired the state's massive coastal dredge and fill activities. Preservation of the unique habitats has been a program of the Biomedical Operations and Research Office at the Center since the mid-1970s. This site documents terrestrial and aquatic vegetation types, soils, jurisdictional wetlands, climate, air and water quality, fire and ecology management, and endangered species of the Center, and is an excellent introduction to fresh and saltwater wetland types through maps, photographs, and descriptive text. Site by the Biomedical Operations and Research Center of NASA/Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, FL. (****)LF

September 11, 1997- Biological Resources/ NBII

From the Biological Resource Division Homepage of USGS, access not only copious publications, fact sheets, organizations, agencies and research, but in particular the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) , a "federation" of electronic resource providers for scientists, fish and wildlife managers, government agencies, and the private sector. The goal of this program is to facilitate the distribution of biological information and data on the internet through cooperating partners. There is a new Taxonomic Resources Expertise Directory (7/31/97), and a list of resources including USGS news releases, World Wide Web Servers with biological information, state-oriented biological information and resources, international activities and information, and the Fish and Wildlife Exchange from the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Virginia Tech, where asssistance is offered in website development for the presentation of information/data.. This could well be the biologist's bookmark of the year! Site by USGS Biological Resource Division, Department of the Interior, US. (****)LF

September 10, 1997- Nonindigenous Aquatic Species

Covering primarily North America, the USGS repository of information on the occurrence of nonindigenous aquatic species (NAS) maintains accurate data in the form of scientific reports, online/realtime queries, spatial data sets, regional contact lists, and fact sheets. Included are invertebrates, vertebrates, plants, parasites and diseases. NAS sightings or observations may be submitted here by a special form. The site is quite an elegant presentation with unfortunately, the last page update shown as May 1996 while many intended sections await further development. It is nonetheless a valuable starting place for research concerning exotic species invasions, and it can only be hoped the work begun here will be continued. Site by the Florida Caribbean Science Center, a research facility of the Biological Resources Division of the USGS , Gainesville, FL. (****)LF

September 9, 1997- Flowering Plant Gateway

No botanist on the internet should be without this handy launch pad to a variety of WWW sources of plant data , accessed by family or a choice of browsing through the classification systems of Cronquist, Takhtajan, and Thorne. Searching here turns up flora-like results, quite unlike a simple internet word search which for something like Digitalis will hit more website companies than Foxglove. The database presently encompasses flowering plants families with all vascular plants soon to be included. Site by the Texas A & M University Bioinformatics Working Group, TX (****)LF

September 8, 1997- Global Land Environments Since the Last Interglacial

Paleo-site summarizes the last 130,000 years of climate and global vegetation cover with maps and hyperlinks to articles by the author, and to the QEN (Quaternary Environments Network) Main Page, whose aim is to provide map information for biogeochemists, archaeologists, biogeographers and those concerned with broadscale ecosystem changes of the last 20,000 years. Four summary maps, a time line, and a description since the last ice age give a brief overview of world changes. More detailed maps and keys to the vegetation types of the world as divided into seven regions are found in The Global Atlas of Paleovegetation by a link to the QEN pages. Site by Jonathan Adams, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN .(****)LF

September 5, 1997- Waterwatch Victoria

School and community groups, landowners, councils, and water authorities work together in a very interesting program in Australia to monitor water quality in catchment areas through team habitat assessments and basic water testing. The procedures and methods are all in the Waterwatch Manual, and hence some excellent information about conducting simple habitat and vegetation surveys, biological surveys, and about using macro-invertebrates and planktonic algae to monitor water quality. High school or undergraduate level students will find this an almost one-stop resource for designing an ecological study and learning some sampling protocols. Site by Waterwatch Victoria, Victoria, Australia. (****)LF

September 4, 1997- Homepage of Peter Franks, Phytoplankton Ecologist

Dive into seven research projects which study the physical processes of the ocean as they effect growth and distribution of phytoplankton populations. Current topics include fronts and plankton production, harmful algal blooms, patterns in distribution, transport in internal waves and production in mixed layers. Peter Franks is an Associate Professor of Biological Oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, working in the Marine Life Research Group.The site provides downloadable manuscripts or reprints by e-mail request and will truly satisfy the seeker weary of coming upon just another abstract. Site by Peter Franks, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA (****)LF

September 3, 1997- The UCMP Express Web Lift

A good introduction to plant groups for beginning Botany can be obtained from this page of UC's Museum of Paleontology. Following the Intro to Phylogeny and Intro to Life is the classification of the plant and animal kingdoms with text and additional linked resources, plus a Lift to Any Taxon for varying amounts of details. A few "construction" gaps are encountered, but it is apparent that this site, previously reviewed as not having much about plants, is well on the way to completing its presentation of the Plantae, all with a well-developed paleontological focus. Site by The University of California at Berkeley Museum of Paleontology. (****) LF

 

September 2, 1997- The Nature of Nova Scotia

The Nova Scotia Museum's natural history site, produced in tasteful webzine form, is filled with lifelike photos of plants and herbarium specimens, animals, and plentiful useful data on the biota of Nova Scotia. There is a Natural History of Nova Scotia -Topics and Habitats section offering more than 100 web pages and 500 pages of downloadable PDF files, for serious seekers into the ecology of the province. Details of habitats are extensive. Learn also about poisonous and medicinal plants of Nova Scotia, the animals of Sable Island, snakes, turtles, salamanders, frogs, butterflies, and mastodon bones. Site by the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History, Halifax. (****) LF

 

September 1, 1997- Scott's Botanical Link-of-the-Day Lives!

Thanks for the emails about my "Botanical Link of the Day" site. I have received some very kind emails asking whether this listserv was still alive and how much the daily botanical link has been missed!

 

After a month and a half search, I have been able to locate an excellent temporary librarian for the site. Leigh Fulghum, President of Florida Plants Online, has agreed to add links to the "Botanical Link of the Day" site at a temporary URL for the next year, until I return from sabbatical. Since there is a sort of a firewall against external additions to OU sites, she will post the links at her site. The new URL is: http://www.floridaplants.com/Scott/ . Leigh's site at http://www.floridaplants.com serves as the home to a growing variety of resources including the Florida Plant Life Resource Library, a Young Naturalist page, and the WWW-VL site on Sustainable Agriculture. Free announcements are provided for Florida Plant and Garden Societies. Her site would easily have qualified for one of my four-star links (if I weren't on sabbatical!), already recognized as a top educational resource site by Education Index [http://www.educationindex.com/award.html]and by Argus Clearinghouse [http://www.clearinghouse.net/ ]. In addition to this, the site is also home of a garden store and bookstore online resource. Lots of content, and it's growing daily. Check it out! In the meantime, I am soon on my way to Australia. I wish each of you well, and will stay in touch. All the best, -Scott