Computerized databases
Freshwater mussel bibliography on the web
K. Cummings, A. Bogan (North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences), G.T. Watters (Ohio Biological Survey), C. Mayer
A Bibliography of the Naiades or Freshwater Mussels (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Unionoida) is being prepared. The goal is to provide a comprehensive list of references to freshwater mussels with an emphasis on North America. The bibliography will contain references to books, chapters, journal articles, obscure "gray literature" (government documents, reports, etc.), popular articles, theses, and dissertations. In addition to title, the bibliography can be searched by numerous topic areas or geographic regions. Over 10,000 references have been entered into a database. Recent funding will allow us to place the database on the Web to make the information readily available to researchers.
Web directory of mollusk collections of the world
K. Cummings, A. Oleinik (Purdue University), J. Slapcinsky (ex. Field Museum), T. Kompare
A searchable directory of museums with collections of recent and fossil mollusks has been compiled and placed on the web. The list includes over 50 museums in 30 states or provinces of the U.S. and Canada and 35 others from 25 countries in South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The list includes the name, address, phone, fax, and e-mail address of the curator and institutional acronym. Information is being added on the number of specimens and the geographic scope of each collection. The collections list is accessible on the INHS World Wide Web server.
Freshwater mussel/host database
K. Cummings, G.T. Watters (Ohio Biological Survey), C. Mayer
A database of freshwater mussels (Unionoida) and their hosts has been compiled and will be placed on the INHS World Wide Web server in 2000. To date, over 1,000 mussel/host relationships have been entered. Information with each record includes the species and family of both mussel and host, evidence for the host relationship (field identification, lab transformation, etc.), and the literature citation and page number for the original work.
Directory of freshwater mussel researchers
K. Cummings
A searchable directory of freshwater mussel researchers has been compiled. The list includes over 400 individuals from throughout the U.S. and Canada and from various countries in South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The list includes the name, institution, address, phone, and e-mail address. Plans for the coming year include adding information on specific research interests of each researcher. This unionid researchers list is accessible on the INHS World Wide Web server.
Biographies of freshwater malacologists on the web
K. Cummings
A web site of historical figures in Malacology is being compiled and is now available. A photograph and biographical data are included for each past researcher. A short bibliography of publications related to freshwater mollusks is also included. This list of famous malacologists is accessible on the INHS World Wide Web server.
Freshwater mussel genera on the web
K. Cummings
A web site illustrating all of the freshwater mussel genera of the world is now available. Future additions to the site will include information on the type of the genus, species lists for each genus and information on type species. The freshwater mussel genera list is accessible on the INHS World Wide Web server.
Type catalogue of freshwater mussels (Unionoida) of the world
K. Cummings
A type catalogue of freshwater mussels (Unionoida) of the world is in preparation. To date, over 3,000 nominal taxa have been entered into a computerized database. The database contains information on the original name, author, date, citation, page number, reference to figured specimens, type locality, deposition of type material, and names used in earlier monographs. Photographs of some of the types have been scanned and added to the database. The literature citations are linked to a computerized bibliography containing over 10,000 references on freshwater mussels. The database will be placed on the INHS World Wide Web server in 2001.
Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) database: Internet access and geographic information system
R. E. DeWalt, T. N. Kompare, C. Favret, D. W. Webb, J. L. Aycrigg, and C. A. Mayer
The INHS maintains nearly 6.5 million specimens in its insect collection, the 9th largest in North America. To increase the utility of these collections and present them to a wider array of users, we have mounted a large scale effort to capture specimen label data, link this information to a Geographic Information System (GIS), and provide access through the Internet. The National Science Foundation awarded a 2-yr. collections computerization grant of $171,000 to several researchers in the CBD and Center for Wildlife Ecology (Co-PIs R. E. DeWalt and K. R. Zeiders) to aid with this effort. We chose to focus on the aquatic orders Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies), and Trichoptera (caddisflies) (EPT). EPTs demonstrate a range of sensitivities to watershed disturbance. Currently, 80,000 records, comprising an estimated 600,000 specimens, have been databased. A searchable database and interactive mapping at multiple scales will be ready for use by summer 2001. Components are currently under construction, but the stonefly database and some static maps are available. Compilation of EPT specimen records will provide a valuable tool for assessment of historical changes in the regional EPT fauna, for construction of reference conditions relating to species presence, and increase the efficiency of use of the collection by systematists and aquatic ecologists.
Illustrated database of typhlocybine leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae).
C. Dietrich
Comprising over 6,000 described species (including nearly 300 in Illinois), Typhlocybinae is one of the largest leafhopper subfamilies. This group includes important pests such as the potato leafhopper, white apple leafhopper, and several species of grape leafhopper. Identification of species in this group is difficult even for a specialist because there are no comprehensive keys. The database under construction will facilitate identification of species by providing illustrations of diagnostic characters and information on host plants and distributions.
The organisms of Illinois: a database for the people of Illinois
S. R. Hill
According to one estimate, at least 53,754 species are known from Illinois. Some groups (e.g., vertebrates, flowering plants) are well known; others (e.g., insects and fungi) are poorly known. 150 years of data in the form of many papers, reports, and carefully documented collections of specimens, have been partly compiled into a searchable database of the organisms in Illinois available to the public. Partial funding for the project was obtained from the former National Biological Service [NBS] to gather the information by taxonomic group and to make it available on the Internet. The primary reason for the project was to help stabilize the names in use for Illinois species of plants and animals and to provide a useful and concise reference for those attempting to work with the Illinois biota. The best-known (and more "popular") groups of plants and animals (>15,000 species) were entered into the database with 25 fields of information (including full scientific name, taxonomic group, synonyms, common names, whether threatened or endangered or not, literature references, whether native or not, and comments). This included (among the animals) all of the vertebrate groups (830 species), mollusks (319 species), sponges (12 species), cnidarians (9 species), annelids (164 species), spiders (516 species), and significant numbers of other invertebrates including insects (over 7000 species entered). Among plants, this includes all known flowering plants (3046 species), ferns and their relatives (109 species), conifers (22 species), mosses and liverworts (504 species), and algae and diatoms (1326 species). Groups still awaiting entry include the majority of the fungi, mites, protozoans, bacteria, flatworms, and many more insects. The information is available on the following web site: http://ellipse.inhs.uiuc.edu/ILspecies/
Bibliography of Aquatic Annelida
M.J. Wetzel
A bibliography of aquatic Annelida of North America, including the groups Acanthobdellae, Aphanoneura, Branchiobdellae, Hirudinea, Oligochaeta, and selected Polychaeta presently is being compiled. This annotated bibliography includes journal articles, books, scientific reports, meeting and symposium proceedings, and government documents that address the systematics, ecology, taxonomy, distribution, and physiology of aquatic worms. To date, over 4,500 citations have been entered into a computer database; those published during the years 1993 through 1999 are accessible via the INHS World Wide Web server.
Global Directory of Annelid Systematists, Ecologists, and Field Zoologists.
M.J. Wetzel
A directory and database of systematists, ecologists, and field zoologists who conduct research on freshwater, estuarine, marine, and terrestrial Annelida is currently being prepared. Searchable fields in the database include institutional affiliation, postal and electronic mail addresses, web sites, telephone numbers, and a summary of the researcher's areas of taxonomic, systematic, ecological, and geographical interests and expertise. To date, the database includes over 275 scientists from 38 countries. Information provided by respondents to questionnaires distributed at the International Symposia on Aquatic Oligochaete Biology has been included in this database, which will soon be available via the world wide web. Contact information for over 100 active researchers is available via the INHS World Wide Web server.
Nomenclature of Aquatic Annelida in North America
M.J. Wetzel, K.A. Coates
The American Fisheries Society Committee on Names of Aquatic Invertebrates (CNAI) prepares checklists of names to achieve uniformity in vernacular and scientific nomenclature. Committee members M.J. Wetzel (INHS) and K.A. Coates (Bermuda Biological Station for Research), serve as co-chairs the AFS CNAI subcommittee on aphanoneuran and clitellate Annelida; with contributions from three other systematists, this subcommittee is compiling the list of scientific and common names of non-polychaete annelids occurring in the United States and Canada. To date, over 830 species among 27 families and 195 genera are included. A working draft of this list, accessible via the INHS World Wide Web server has been posted to solicit comments and published distribution records of annelids for inclusion in a volume to be published in 2001-the fifth in a series of AFS publications documenting the nomenclature of aquatic invertebrates.