Academy of Natural Sciences, The - An international museum of natural history operating since 1812. Undertakes research and public education that focuses on the environment and its diverse species.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game Surf Scoter Project - Sea ducks called surf scoters are an important subsistence resource. Since the Exxon Valdez oil spill, their numbers have declined. This website reports the findings of research into the life history and migration routes of these birds. The "scoter update" section tracks the travels of individual birds fitted with satellite transmitters.
American Museum of Natural History - One of the world's preeminent institutions for scientific research and education, with collections of more than 32 million specimens and artifacts.
AmphibiaWeb - Access to taxonomic information for every recognized species of amphibian in the world. Species descriptions, life history information, conservation status, literature references, photos and range maps.
Animal Diversity Web - Thousands of species accounts about individual animal species. These may include text, pictures of living animals, photographs and movies of specimens, and/or recordings of sounds. Descriptions of levels of organization above the species level, especially phyla, classes, and in some cases, orders and families. Hundreds of hyperlinked pages and images illustrate the traits and general biology of these groups.
AntWeb - Information and images on the ant faunas of California and Madagascar, and global coverage of all ant genera.
ARKive - Centralised digital library of films, photographs and associated recordings of specie. A leading virtual conservation effort - finding, sorting, cataloguing and copying the key records of species, and building them into a comprehensive and enduring audio-visual record.
Audubon’s Birds of America - The University of Pittsburgh is fortunate to own one of the rare, complete sets of John James Audubon’s Birds of America. While Audubon was creating Birds of America, he was also working on a companion publication, namely, his Ornithological Biography. Both of these sets were acquired by William M. Darlington in the mid-nineteenth century and later donated to the library and both are now available online.
Avibase - Database information system about all birds of the world, containing over 1.4 million records about 10,000 species and 22,000 subspecies of birds, including distribution information, taxonomy, synonyms in several languages and more.
Barcode of Life -
In 2003, Paul Hebert, researcher at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, proposed "DNA barcoding" as a way to identify species. Barcoding uses a very short genetic sequence from a standard part of the genome the way a supermarket scanner distinguishes products using the black stripes of the Universal Product Code (UPC). Two items may look very similar to the untrained eye, but in both cases the barcodes are distinct. One of the most important components of the Barcode Initiative is the construction of a public reference library of species identifiers which could be used to assign unknown specimens to known species.
Bear in Mind - Exhibit of more than 150 documents, photographs, publications, illustrations, artwork, and artifacts chronicling the extinction of the California grizzly bear. Presented by the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Bird Cinema - A video website for bird enthusiasts to watch and share original bird videos worldwide through the web.
BIRDNET - information about ornithology, the scientific study of birds. This site is a service of the Ornithological Council, a public information organization involving ten North American professional ornithological societies.
Birds, Bees and Blooms - A selection of natural history books from University of Glasgow, Special Collections. As well as often being groundbreaking scientific texts, many of these books are beautifully illustrated, charting advances in graphic art from manuscript illumination through to woodcutting, engraving and etching. Acclaimed as outstanding works of art today, these labours of love were often costly to produce: behind many of them are stories of struggles to find specimens and financial ruin brought on by high production costs.
British Ornithhologists' Union (BOU) - One of the world's oldest and most respected ornithological organisations with an international membership stretching across all continents.
Bug Bytes - Insect sound files: samples of sounds recorded from insect grubs, termites, and other subterraneanorganisms, and above-ground butterflies, moths, and mosquitoes.
California Academy of Sciences Diatom Collection - An ongoing project to present taxonomic information, images, records of collections, and references pertaining to diatoms. This work has been supported in part by grants from the National Science Foundation.
California Department of Fish and Game - Manages California's diverse fish, wildlife, and plant resources, and the habitats upon which they depend, for their ecological values and for their use and enjoyment by the public.
California's Wildlife - Biological information for each regularly-occurring amphibian, reptile, mammal and bird in California.
Carl Ethan Akeley - Taxidermist, sculptor, biologist, conservationist, inventor, and nature photographer, noted for his contributions to American museums, most notably to the American Museum of Natural History. He is considered the father of modern taxidermy
Commercial Fisheries - The Fisheries Statistics & Economics Division of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has automated data summary programs that anyone can use to rapidly and easily summarize U.S. commercial fisheries landings. Domestic fishery landings are those fish and shellfish that are landed and sold in the 50 states by U.S. fishermen and do not include landings made in U.S. territories or by foreign fishermen.
Conditioned Taste Aversion - A bibliography on taste aversion learning (in which animals learn to shun foods they associate with nausea) utilizing a variety of journal and on-line searches as well as preprints, reprints and pdf files from colleagues.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Research, education, conservation. Living Bird, the Lab's award-winning magazine, features stunning full-color images by the world's top wildlife photographers. Birdscope, the Lab's newsletter, brings you the latest news and views from Sapsucker Woods.
Cryptozoology - Site dedicated to unknown animals - commonly called "cryptids" - which might possibly exist in nature but whose existence has not yet been accepted by modern science.
Darwin Centre - Houses 22 million zoological specimens stored in alcohol. It is also home to nearly 100 scientists who are undertaking valuable research into the diversity of the natural world.
Defenders of Wildlife - Dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities.
eNature.com - A searchable database identifying more than 4,000 plant and animal species of North America. The species accounts are from the best-selling National Audubon Society Field Guides, Regional Guides, and Nature Guides.
Encyclopaedia of Birdcare - Guidebook to the wild birds that visit your garden and how to care for them.
Endangered Species Update - Published by the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan. A leading forum for information on scientific and political aspects of current threatened and endangered species protection efforts.
EuroTurtle - Sea turtle biology and conservation website.
Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department - Educational sections about the biology, ecology and conservation of fishes and sharks. Photo gallery features the work of world-renowned underwater photographers. Host for International Shark Attack File (ISAF), International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Shark Specialist Group and the Southeastern Fishes Council.
Friends of the Elephant Seal - Features background and images of elephant seals (sometimes called "E-seals"), and information about the Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery and other marine mammals (such as California sea lions, harbor seals, sea otter, and whales). Includes links to related sites.
Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA) - Comprehensive assessment of the conservation status of the world's 5,743 known species of frogs, toads, salamanders, and caecilians.
Guide to North American Bird Songs and Sounds - This guide will help you identify songs and sounds of North American birds. As you step through the guide, you will be asked whether the sound was simple or complex, musical or harsh, etc, a set of choices of sound attributes. For each choice, a list of birds whose sounds conform to this description is given. If you select one of these and click the "Go" button, you will see a pointer to a sound file of that bird, a text description of the sound you will hear, and a sonogram of the sound.
HerpDigest - Electronic newsletter devoted to reptile and amphibian conservation and science.
Hinterland Who's Who - The Hinterland Who's Who wildlife vignettes have been part of Canadian television and popular culture for nearly 40 years. This site provides the complete Who's Who series of 60-second educational vignettes. Also at this site, Who's Who fact sheets describing the appearance, life history, and habits of Canadian birds and mammals and wildlife-related topics such as bird feeding or endangered species.
Horniman Museum - The Horniman has three main collections, Anthropology (Ethnography, 80,000 objects and Archaeology, 10,000 objects) comprising 90,000 objects and Natural History with 250,000 specimens.
Horseshoe Crab - Natural history, anatomy, conservation and current research.
Ichthyology - California Academy of Sciences researchers here delve mainly in the branch of science known as systematics. Systematics deals with the kinds and diversity of living things and their arrangement into a natural classification. See:
Ichthyology Web Resources - This site compiles online ichthyology resources of scientific and educational value in an organised directory.
InfoNatura - A source for conservation information on the birds and mammals of Latin America and the Caribbean - more than 5,500 common, rare, and endangered species in 44 countries and territories.
Insects.org - Insects on the web. This site aims to help you see insects for the miniature marvels they represent and to understand how intertwined our cultures have become with these creatures.
Insects, Disease, and History - Devoted to understanding the impact that insects have had on world history, focusing on the influence of insect-borne disease on history.
International Shark Attack File - A compilation of all known shark attacks that is administered by the the American Elasmobranch Society and the Florida Museum of Natural History. The American Elasmobranch Society is a professional organization comprised of international workers studying sharks, skates and rays.
Invasive Species Initiative - The Nature Conservancy's national program for dealing with harmful invasive plant species on its preserves.
ITIS Data Access (Integrated Taxonomic Information System) - The ITIS is the result of a partnership of federal agencies formed to satisfy their mutual needs for scientifically credible taxonomic information. The goal is to create an easily accessible database with reliable information on species names and their hierarchical classification.
Jane Goodall Archive - Jane Goodall's meticulous note-taking grew into a rigorous long-term study of our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees. All of that data is now being curated and digitized at Duke
University.
JungleWalk.com - Links to animal movie and sound clips. Watch movies of protozoan animal cells and cheetahs hunting, explore bird sounds, and hear blue whale songs,
Marine Mammal Center - Rescue and humane treatment of ill, injured or orphaned marine mammals.
Mites and Ticks - A virtual introduction to mites and ticks provided by the USDA.
Natural History Museums - Some of these sites have virtual exhibits. All have information on museum location, operation, exhibits and contact persons:
Nature Video Archives - Watch video clips from the PBSNature archives. Search by keyword or by program title.
NatureServe - A source for authoritative conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals, and ecological communities of the U.S. and Canada.
NetVet - A selected collection of veterinary medical Internet resources.
Nutty Bircatcher - Provides information on birdwatching, backyard bird feeding, Eastern U.S. birds, comprehensive bird feeder preference chart, suet recipes, spring and fall bird migration timetables, maps of the North American flyways, the do's & dont's of building bird nestboxes, comprehensive guides to identifying birds with checklists.
Ocean Animal Emergency -
Part emergency room, part rehab facility, and part research lab, the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California means the difference between life and death for sick and injured ocean animals. NOVA takes you inside this very special ER to witness the efforts of a renowned team of wildlife veterinarians as they fight to save their animal patients as well as to uncover the cause of a mysterious neurological illness plaguing marine mammals like California sea lions and harbor seal pups.
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center - U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) wildlife experiment station and research refuge. Wildlife research and management includes waterfowl harvest management, wildlife habitat improvement, effects of environmental contaminants, endangered species conservation, migratory bird management, and wildlife population analysis.
Primate Info Net (PIN) - A site for people with an interest in the field of primatology. PIN is maintained by the Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center (WRPRC) Library at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Protist Image Data (PID) - Provides pictures and short descriptions of selected protist genera, especially those genera whose species are frequently used as experimental organisms or are important in studies of organismal evolution and up-to-date information on the morphology, taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of these organisms.
Red List of Threatened Species - IUCN (The The World Conservation Union), through its Species Survival Commission (SSC) has for four decades been assessing the conservation status of species, subspecies, varieties and even selected subpopulations on a global scale in order to highlight taxa threatened with extinction, and therefore promote their conservation. The taxa assessed for the IUCN Red List are the bearers of genetic diversity and the building blocks of ecosystems, and information on their conservation status and distribution provides the foundation for making informed decisions about preserving biodiversity at local to global levels.
Singing Insects of North America - The primary goal of this Web site is to enable users to identify crickets, katydids, and cicadas from America north of Mexico. The males of most species in these groups make loud, persistent calls that attract sexually ready, conspecific females.
Species 2000 - Species 2000 has the objective of enumerating all known species of plants, animals, fungi and microbes on Earth as the baseline dataset for studies of global biodiversity.
Traffic - Working to ensure that the trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Principal U.S. Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.
Washington National Primate Research Center (WaNPRC) - Research conducted at the WaNPRC touches virtually every field of primate biology and medicine, there is particular focus on the neurobiological sciences, AIDS-related research, developmental biology, genomics, immunogenetics, primate models for human diseases, and psychological well-being needs of its primate colonies.
Zoological Record - The world's oldest continuing database of animal biology. It is considered the world's leading taxonomic reference, and with coverage back to 1864, has long acted as the world's unofficial register of animal names. The broad scope of coverage ranges from biodiversity and the environment to taxonomy and veterinary sciences.
About KWSnet
KWSnet is a human-edited subject directory of the web with special attention paid to U.S. national and international news, the arts, culture, media, politics, law, science and technology. It is based in San Francisco, California. KWSnet contains over 120,000 annotated links to resources worldwide. Use Search for, located on each page, to search within this site. Use Ctrl-F to search within individual pages. A Site Index provides a complete alphabetized listing of all pages.
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This webpage last updated on
Tuesday, May 15, 2012 5:33 AM
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