Biodiversity Service & Application Tracker

The IT Center of the Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns - Workshops Tue, 11/10/2009 - 10:21

The IT Center of the Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns (SNSB) is organising IT workshops, e.g. Diversity Collection workshops.

Melastomataceae.Net Tue, 11/10/2009 - 10:10

Melastomataceae occur in all tropical biomes, are abundant, ecologically important, and comprise many horticulturally important species. The family comprises an estimated 3,000 "good" species in the Neotropics, 240 in Africa, 230 on Madagascar, and about 1,000 in Asia. One genus, Rhexia, is endemic in North America. The sister clade of Melastomataceae, Memecylaceae, comprises 500 species, most of them in the paleotropics. The site Melastomataceae.Net will present information on the biodiversity of these two families by providing a portal to open-access databases, starting with MEL names. MEL names is a service for accessing the ca. 13,278 names of Melastomataceae and Memecylaceae with information on recognized species, synonymous names, and literature; MEL occurrence will deliver data on distribution of species and genera. The project was funded by a ECAT seed money award given by GBIF International 2005. The IT infrastructure is based on that developed for LIAS with the underlying database application DiversityTaxonNames as part of the Diversity Workbench framework.

LIAS – A Global Information System for Lichenized and Non-Lichenized Ascomycetes Tue, 11/10/2009 - 10:04

LIAS is a multi-authored information system for the collection and distribution of descriptive and other biodiversity data on lichens and non-lichenized ascomycetes. The goal is
* to provide a working space for cooperation and collaboration of experts on ascomycetes in the Internet
* to establish a multi-authored worldwide database on descriptive data of all ascomycetes
* to design user-friendly web tools for an easier access and remote editing of database records via Internet
* to offer a online database system for multiple usage and therewith dissemination of expert knowledge especially by providing public access to database generated identification keys and natural language description of ascomycetes
* to promote the gathering, furnishing and administration of data by experts in a standard database system which allows an information deposit for individual use only (e. g. for revision) and – after agreement – the public access to the data via Internet
* to promote common standards on descriptive data connected with taxonomic names of ascomycetes to facilitate interoperability and data exchange
The vision of LIAS is to establish a non-commercial global information system of advanced technology where published biodiversity data of all ascomycetes are joint in a multi-authored database and used for the most sophisticated queries.

The Phycology.Net Tue, 11/10/2009 - 10:02

The Phycology.Net has been established as a non-commercial scientific data platform for linking phycological websites in a structured way. The Phycology.Net aims to
* provide access to online data on the biodiversity of algae, especially their taxonomy, distribution, phylogeny, descriptive characters, collections, literature etc.
* inform about phycological institutions, journals, databases (link sections) and persons engaged in phycology
* reach scientists all over the world and invite them to use the platform and to help improving the quality and quantity of data
* maintain a discussion forum for phycological subjects and the further development of the platform itself
* provide access to online data on the biodiversity of algae, especially their taxonomy, distribution, phylogeny, descriptive characters, collections, literature etc.
* inform about phycological institutions, journals, databases (link sections) and persons engaged in phycology
* reach scientists all over the world and invite them to use the platform and to help improving the quality and quantity of data
* maintain a discussion forum for phycological subjects and the further development of the platform itself

The Mycology.Net Tue, 11/10/2009 - 09:57

The Mycology.Net has been established as a non-commercial scientific data platform for linking mycological and lichenological websites in a structured way.
The Mycology.Net aims to
* provide access to online data on the biodiversity of fungi, including lichens, especially their taxonomy, distribution, phylogeny, descriptive characters, collections, literature etc.
* inform about mycological institutions, journals, databases (link sections) and persons engaged in mycology
* reach scientists all over the world and invite them to use the platform and to help improving the quality and quantity of data
* maintain a discussion forum for mycological subjects and the further development of the platform itself

Diversity Workbench Tue, 11/10/2009 - 10:49

The Diversity Workbench is work in progress, aiming at developing a set of information models and application components that collaborate through agreed software interfaces. That is, each component of the Workbench applications uses services from other applications, but at the same time does not need to know about the internal design and implementation of them (encapsulation principle). The goal is increased reuse and collaboration across project and national borders.

Tolkin Wed, 07/09/2008 - 14:00

TOLKIN is an on-line research tool to be shared among several laboratories working remotely. It is an information management and analytical web application to provide informatics support for phylodiversity and biodiversity research projects. As a web-based application, TOLKIN is able to support collaborative projects by providing shared access to a variety of data on voucher specimens, taxonomy, bibliography, morphology, DNA samples and sequences.

ZooBank Thu, 01/17/2008 - 17:41

The scientific names of animal species are crucial to effective global communication about biodiversity, and hence its use and conservation. Without broad agreement on the name of a disease-bearing microbe, vital food species, or threatened animal, we can't even begin to combat, exploit or conserve them. So, in scientific language, humans are Homo sapiens and honeybees are Apis mellifera; and this is true all over the world.

The universal acceptance and adoption of a system for naming animals is an incredible achievement for mankind, and started in 1758 with the publication of the 10^th edition of Systema Naturae by the Swedish biologist Carolus Linnaeus. Exactly 250 years after the very day that the ICZN Code fixes the official start of scientific zoological nomenclature (January 1, 1758), the ZooBank Registration website was officially launched.

The ZooBank Registry is still very-much a work in progress, and will likely remain so over the course of 2008-2009. The development process is intentionally gradual, to allow the creation of a solid foundation with input and support from as much of the active zoological taxonomy community as possible. Several documents outlining various aspects of the history and development of ZooBank are available here.

The ICZN is especially grateful to Thomson Scientific, owners of the Zoological Record, for their help and assistance in creating an early version of ZooBank based on the Index to Organism Names. As ZooBank continues to grow during its early development period, you may wish to link to the current version of the Index to Organism Names - a much more comprehensive listing of zoological nomenclature, cross-linked to relevant literature. ICZN looks forward to a long and mutually advantageous relationship with Thomson Scientific.

TROPICOS Thu, 01/17/2008 - 17:37

W³TROPICOS provides new and improved access to the Missouri Botanical Garden's VAST nomenclatural database and associated authority files. In this release (rev. 1.5), the following information is provided when present (* indicates a hypertext link to additional information about a name or reference):

Names data

Plant name and authors

Group and family placement

Place and date of publication

Type information

*Basionym, with place and date of publication

*Next Higher Taxon, with place and date of publication

*Other uses of this name

*Synonyms of this name, and *References for the alternate usage

*Homonyms and *Infraspecific names for species

Reference

Author(s) of the publication

Date of publication

Title of the article

Journal or book title

Volume and page numbers

Keywords

International Plant Names Index (IPNI) Thu, 01/17/2008 - 17:35

The International Plant Names Index (IPNI) is a database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of all seed plants, ferns and fern allies. Its goal is to eliminate the need for repeated reference to primary sources for basic bibliographic information about plant names. The data are freely available and are gradually being standardized and checked. IPNI will be a dynamic resource, depending on direct contributions by all members of the botanical community.

IPNI is the product of a collaboration between The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, The Harvard University Herbaria, and the Australian National Herbarium