Cleared Leaf Collection
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/collections/plants/clearedleaf.html
The University of California-Berkeley Museum of Paleontology has recently launched this online database of the Daniel I. Axelrod and the Berkeley leaf collections, which contain over 2000 modern leaf specimens bleached and stained to make their venation patterns more visible. Data records for both collections are now online, and images (including a higher resolution mode) will eventually become available for each specimen beginning with those in the Axelrod collection. Using the database is somewhat tricky, but a detailed help page is provided. [RS]
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National Wildlife Health Center Publications and Metadata [.pdf]
http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/pub_metadata/index.html
This Web site from the USGS National Wildlife Health Center contains publications and metadata regarding wildlife disease, necropsy, morbidity/ mortality, etc. A number of documents are available, including a field manual of avian diseases, sea turtle and avian necropsy manuals for biologists working in remote areas (English and Spanish versions available), fish and wildlife mortality reports, conference proceedings, and more. The avian disease field manual is a hefty file (43 MB), but the extra download time beats paying the $48 for a print copy. All the field guides and manuals available from this site include high-quality, well-labeled photographs and easy-to-follow instructions. [RS]
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The Electronic Plant Information Centre
http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/epic/
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew presents the Electronic Plant Information Centre (ePIC), an online resource designed to serve as a single gateway to all digitized plant information generated by Kew. ePIC brings together Kew's major specimen, bibliographic, and taxonomic databases in an easy-to-search interface. Simply enter a scientific plant name into the search engine, and ePIC will retrieve all available information on record, as well as links to related information resources from external organizations. Search results may be downloaded as an email message. More information, including digital images and electronic documents, will be added to ePIC as it become available. [RS]
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Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce: The Indian River Lagoon Species Inventory
http://www.sms.si.edu/IRLSpec/index.htm
Florida's Indian River Lagoon (IRL) is recognized as possibly the most biologically diverse estuarine system in the continental US. The Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce manages the IRL Species Inventory Project, which includes an online database of taxonomic, ecological, and life history information of species in the estuary. Researchers, educators, and resource managers are encouraged to make use of the IRL Species Inventory Project, which will be expanded as research continues. The database includes a search engine with helpful tips, species reports; alphabetized species lists, detailed descriptions of IRL habitats, and more. A photo gallery has been recently added, featuring the work of local photographers. [RS]
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Flora and Fauna of the Great Lakes Region: A Multimedia Digital Collection
http://www.lib.umich.edu/programs/greatlakes/index.html
This Web site offers online access to selected materials from the Fish and Mammal Divisions of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology and from the Fungus Collections of the University of Michigan Herbarium. Intended to facilitate use of the collections by the general user as well as the specialist researcher, this Web site offers four search options: by specific collection or group of collections, a map-based interface that searches materials by county, a project-wide content search, and a search engine for eleven major monographs that include species descriptions of fungi. Materials retrieved include collection records, bibliographic references, field notes, images, distribution maps, species descriptions, and more. [RS]
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ScienceNOW
http://www.calacademy.org/science_now/
ScienceNOW is a regularly updated Web site from the California Academy of Sciences, which features a changing display of Academy research in the natural sciences. Four featured sections -- Headline Science, Academy Research, Where in the World, and Wild Lives -- offer brief overviews of discoveries by Academy scientists and other "headline-making" science news. Each section includes photos and figures, as well as links to related Web sites or news stories. In general, ScienceNOW offers a quick and agreeable way to keep up with Academy projects and news-making natural science research around the world. [RS]
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Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology and Environmental Teratology Information Center Database
http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?DARTETIC.htm
The Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology and Environmental Teratology Information Center (DART/ ETIC) Database is made available by the National Library of Medicine's Toxicology Data Network. The database contains over 100,000 current and earlier literature citations covering teratology and other aspects of developmental and reproductive toxicology. Users may search the database by subject, title words, chemical name, Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number, and author. The Web site also includes a useful help page and sample record for familiarizing oneself with the database. [RS]
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Environment Australia's Online Image Database
http://www.erin.gov.au/media/imagedb/index.html
Environment Australia -- Australia's Department of Environment and Heritage -- has made its extensive collection of photographs freely available for non-commercial use. Researchers and students in the environmental sciences may find this collection of well-composed, high-quality images a useful resource for presentations and publications. Users may easily search the database by keyword, general subject, and/or geographic area. Search results yield a table of thumbnail photos together with summary information for each image. Before publishing an image from the database, users must first contact Environment Australia (via provided Web form). [RS]
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