Scott's Botanical Links--January 2006

January 30, 2006 - Micro*scope - Internet Resources for Microscopy

micro*scope is a "communal web site that promotes information on the biodiversity of microbes." Microbes make up much of the world studied by the scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole. Images and information on aquatic organisms are available by browsing scientific name lists, habits, hierarchical links and direct search. Most of the illustrations are mid-level resolution, but larger zipped images are available. Use is free for non-profit educational purposes. The site is organised by systematic groups according to the cu*star system that they developed. (***1/2) -SR

January 27, 2006 - Union of Concerned Scientists

Union of Concerned Scientists is an independent nonprofit alliance of more than 100,000 concerned citizens and scientists. The UCS is a proponent of using rigorous scientific analysis along with innovative thinking as a basis for developing public policy. The Union was founded in 1969 by faculty members and students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who were concerned about the misuse of science and technology in society. Their website is one of science information. They are hoping to propel more people into scientific advocacy--not a bad idea if you think that reputable science deserveds to be represented in deciding public policy. Many topics are covered and most of them are not controversial to scientists. (***1/2) -SR

January 26, 2006 - Algal-ED

Algal-ED is a visually oriented educational site on freshwater algae targeted principally for undergraduate and advanced high school students, but the extensive images, descriptions and movies are useful for professionals and educators as well. A Java-based Key to Common Freshwater Algae facilitates accessing the Algal Genera Description Pages and Image Library, and online movies (which require Quicktime from Apple). This is an excellent site for freshwater algae, featuring many species of protists and cyanobacters. The contact person for this is Peter A. Siver at Connecticut College. (****) -SR

January 25, 2006 - Microscopy

Microscopy by Graham Matthew features excellent microscopic images of a myriad of themes -- the most prevalent being aquatic life of ponds and streams, displayed using a variety of microscopes and optical conditions. The subjects include single-celled protozoans, insects, small animals and a variety of algae. The images are well composed and feature three pages of higher plant images using microscopic and macroscopic imaging. The diatom circle displays a mid-1800s assemblage of diatoms painstakingly arranged in a circle, used for optical testing--a very classical microscopic imaging subject. (***) -SR

January 24, 2006 - Oxford: Virtual Field Herbarium

The Virtual Field Herbarium of Oxford University highlights the creation of your own tropical plant field guide as a model for developing information on tropical environments. A central feature of the virtual herbarium is their plant image database -- browsable by family, name, location of species, image origin, and more. A handy glossary accompanies this, as well as some steps, references and case studies for constructing your own field guide. There is a lot of data here, highly accessable information, numerous excellent images and plant descriptions. (****) -SR

January 23, 2006 - Morfologia de Plantas Vasculares

Morfologia de Plantas Vasculares is an Argentinian site of the Universidad Nacional de Nordeste that covers essentially all features of plant morphology from cellular to systematic. Their presentation of this material is quite complete and well illustrated. From what I took time to translate, this is an excellent web site and should be useful for much of the Spanish speaking botanical world. The site has neo-classical coverage, which is to say that it incorporates modern cell biological structure into the context of exploring seed plant organization. The site is currently about half complete -- worth browsing regardless of language. (***1/2) -SR

January 20, 2006 - Nashville Natives

Nashville Natives LLC is a commercial group specializing in ecological restoration. In addition to various ecological inventories and promoting understanding of Tennessee wildlife, they are involved in restoring a variety of state and local parks, and are involved in a number of initiatives involved with the sales of "iris" license plates. Providing funding for ecological improvements and restoration is an essential part of making environmental improvement sustainable. -SR

January 19, 2006 - Henriette's Herbal Medicine Pages

Although I featured this site before, it has moved and enlarged over the last decade. The site include full online herbals from the 1800s, a forum with extensive archive, over 7000 images, and much more. The site is text intensive, thus still reflecting its origins in the "early Internet" (like this site?). New features include a modern blog and its new contents show the true dynamism of the site, by Henriette Kress in Helsinki, Finland. (****) -SR [I feature this site for its ethnobotany and informational purposes; for medical advice, consult your physician.]

January 18, 2006 - DFMO: Duke Forest Mycological Observatory

"The Duke Forest, lying near the eastern edge of the North Carolina piedmont plateau, is one of the nation's premier outdoor laboratories for studies on effects of environmental change, different land use histories, and the dynamics of naturally evolving forest communities." Since 2000, an ongoing examination of the fungal community has been conducted to assess the impact of environmental change on fungal diversity. This site describes proposed experiments, context of the study and some early results. Site by Dr. Rytas Vilgalys. (***1/2) -SR

January 17, 2006 - Duke Mycology: Mushrooms of North Carolina

"The fungi shown on these pages may be found in the forests of central and coastal North Carolina. The photos and collections were made during the fall of 1995 as part of a class assignment for Introductory Mycology (Bot 220, taught by R. Vilgalys) at Duke University." The images on this site represent the best student photos, identified to genus and species, and browseable by order. Follow a link to Rytas Vilgalys' Duke Mycology lab site to see current information on the tree of life for mushrooms. (***1/2) -SR

Past, past links (by date):

2006: January

2005: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

2003: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

2002: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

2001: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

2000: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

1999: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

1998: January*, February*, March*, April*, May*, June*, July, August, September, October, November, December   (*Leigh's links)

1997: January, February, March, April, May, June, September*, October*, November*, December*    (*Leigh's links)

1996: February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Or search by: Subject Index

http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/bot-linx/jan06.shtml