The Natural History Museum's Collections and Research Data Locator
http://flood.nhm.ac.uk/cgi-bin/locator/
The Natural History Museum, London released this data locator in December 2001. The data locator currently includes information from 22 different electronic databases that users can now search all at once. Searches can be performed by genus, species, or partial name; and results can be limited by database type. Results include all records and images the museum has online. [AL]
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National Coastal Condition Report [.pdf]
http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/nccr/index.html
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently released this report on the condition of coastal ecosystems. The report combines data from a variety of government agencies conducting ongoing monitoring to "present a broad baseline picture of the condition of coastal waters." The report finds that the "[o]verall condition of the nation's estuaries was fair based on seven basic indicators of ecological condition." The text of this introductory Web page states that printed copies of the report and fact sheet can be obtained by calling the listed phone number, but both can also be accessed online by clicking on the hyperlinks "Fact Sheet" or "Continue to National Coastal Condition Report Download Site." [AL]
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American Society of International Law: Wildlife Interest Group [.pdf]
http://eelink.net/~asilwildlife/index.shtml
"The purpose of the American Society of International Law's Wildlife Interest Group is to contribute to the objective of conserving endangered wildlife species by helping to strengthen international wildlife treaty regimes, regional accords and national legislation that implements international treaty regimes." The site focuses on scholarly reports and publications, available online for members and non-members alike. Two potentially useful resources are a link to the annual International Wildlife Law Conference and a bibliography of literature on the topic of environmental change and its impact on species, ecosystems, and agriculture. Although the information originates from the field of law, the information presented may be of interest to a scientific audience as well. [AL]
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Environment Australia's Biodiversity Clearing-house Mechanism
http://chm.environment.gov.au/
Developed by Environment Australia, this Web site is intended to foster the sharing of scientific and technical biodiversity information. Anyone can post information to the site; therefore, the Commonwealth of Australia does not accept responsibility for information obtained from the site. To reach the searchable database, users will need to follow the Biodiversity Information Manager links after reading the disclaimer. A feature that is particularly helpful to frequent site visitors, or those looking for the most current biodiversity information, is the listing of all information posted within the last 60 days. [AL]
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AlgaeBase
http://www.algaebase.org/
AlgaeBase is an organization "committed to providing free access over the internet to information on algae." Users may search this database for algae species of interest by scientific or common name. Results are cross referenced with synonyms, and some species include photos. A nice feature of this site is that the images can be searched separately to assist those who are only interested in results that include photos. [AL]
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The Whole Brain Atlas
http://www.med.harvard.edu/AANLIB/home.html
The Whole Brain Atlas is "an information resource for central nervous system imaging," sponsored by the Departments of Radiology and Neurology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, the Countway Library of Medicine, and the American Academy of Neurology. The images are arranged in cases, by series that show normal aging, or in progressive stages of various brain diseases. The cases can be selected and navigated from the home page or through the Java-based Atlas Navigator. To be more user-friendly, the site also includes features such as a Neuroimaging Primer and help pages. [AL]
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Wormatlas
http://wormatlas.org/
This new Web site from the Center for C. elegans Anatomy is still under construction, but many site features are currently active. Although the Handbook of Worm Anatomy is not completed, there are some extremely detailed images that can be accessed through the Handbook link. The site is a repository for a variety of worm resources including abbreviations, scientific protocol, and a link to the Wormbase database of gene mapping and sequencing information. One feature that is under construction is a database of worm anatomy, which will likely add a great deal to the appeal of this site once it is completed. [AL]
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Two on Herbicide Atrazine's Effect on Frogs [.pdf]
Weed Killer Deforms Sex Organs in Frogs, Study Finds
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/17/science/17FROG.html
Hermaphroditic, Demasculinized Frogs after Exposure to the Herbicide Atrazine at Low Ecologically Relevant Doses
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/99/8/5476
These two Web sites discuss current research findings surrounding the use of the weed killer, atrazine, and sex organ deformities in frogs exposed to it. The first is an article from the New York Times that summarizes the recent research report; free registration is required to view the article. The second is the actual report authored by the scientists and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) online journal. The PNAS article can be viewed online or downloaded in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format for printing. The research finds that some frogs exposed to realistic levels of the commonly used herbicide developed multiple sex organs and experienced degeneration of some masculine features. Neither of these reports focus on the potential impact of atrazine on humans, but they do raise it as an important question. [AL]
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