Overview of biodiversity databases in alphabetic order, to enclose existing information. This list is not (never) complete. Some databases listed below are being processed, further suggestions are welcome in the comments below. [CTRL][F] for search.
A
AmphibiaWeb
AmphibiaWeb provides information on amphibian declines, natural history, conservation, and taxonomy.
AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. 2014. Berkeley, California. AmphibiaWeb is available at:
- //amphibiaweb.org (Accessed: May 29, 2014).
AntWeb
AntWeb focuses on specimen level data and images linked to specimens. … Distribution maps and field guides are generated automatically. All data in AntWeb are downloadable by users. AntWeb also provides specimen-level data, images, and natural history content to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL.org), and Wikipedia. Now 2.086.326 specimens listed.
Arctos database museum
Arctos SpecimenSearch enables acces to specimen data from over 80 collections. An integrated acces to collection-management tools.
ASEAN Biodiversity Information Sharing Service
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Biodiversity Information Sharing Service (BISS) or Clearing House Mechanism (CHM) for Southeast Asia.
B
[Please suggest below]
C
Catalogue of Life
Catalof of Life is indexing the world’s known species using data from 143 (april 2014) source databases. Now 1,578,197 species listed.
All Catfish Species Inventory (ACSI)
The inventory is expected to result in the discovery and description of … new species of catfishes. … It will result in the completed taxonomy of a globally diverse taxon, Siluriformes, and later in the completed taxonomy of Otophysi, the clade containing over two-thirds of all freshwater fishes. … classification of catfishes … digital images … identification keys … distribution maps.
CITES-listed species database: Species+
Species+, developed by UNEP-WCMC and the CITES Secretariat, is a website designed to assist Parties with implementing CITES, CMS and other multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). Species+ provides a centralised portal for accessing key information on species of global concern. Organised by region or country. Excel downloads (csv) available with CITES and CMS listed species.
UNEP (2014). The Species+ Website. Nairobi, Kenya. Compiled by UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge, UK. Available at: www.speciesplus.net. [Accessed 23/05/2014)].
Collecting Missions
An agricultural heritage of cultivated plants and their wild relatives with access to original passport data of more than 220.000 samples collected around the world during Bioversity International (before the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources) supported missions.
Bioversity International. Available from www.bioversityinternational.org. Accessed 28 July 2014.
D
[Please suggest below]
E
the Encyclopedia of Life
Global acces to knwoledge about life on Earth. Species, Traits, Measurements, Interactions, Facts, Habitat, Geographic Distribution, Wood density.Encyclopedia of Life. Available from //www.eol.org. Accessed 24 May 2014.
F
Fishbase
Fishbase is a Global Information System on Fishes
FishNet 2
The FishNet network is a collaborative effort among fish collections around the world to share and distribute data on specimen holdings. (Accessed through the Fishnet2 Portal, www.fishnet2.net, 2014-05-29).
Freshwater Ecoregions of the World (FEOW)
Freshwater Ecoregions of the World by The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Copyright 2008 by The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
G
Georgian Biodiversity Database
Georgian Biodiversity Database
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
Global Biodiversity Information Facility is a Free and open acces to biodiversity data. Now 1.454.695 species listed from over 15.000 datasets. Since 2008 more than 1000 papers have been published using GBIF data. //www.gbif.org/ vitited on 23 May 2014.
H
Herbarium University of Vienna
Herbarium WU. Institute of Botany, University of Vienna. Virtual Herbaria.
HerpNET
HerpNET is a collaborative effort by natural history museums to establish a global network of herpetological collections data, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and a GBIF DIGIT grant. Related projects are; Vertnet, ORNIS, MaNIS, FishNet and AmphibiaWeb.
HerpNET data portal (//www.herpnet.org) visited on 23 May 2014
I
Integrated Botanical Information System
IBIS incorporates systems for the integration, retrieval and disemination of biodiversity information. IBIS links the data held in the various collections of the Australian National Botanic Gardens, the Australian National Herbarium, the Australian Plant Image Index and the Australian Plant Name Index. IBIS database,
Australian National Herbarium, Australian Government, Canberra, viewed 29 May 2014, //www.anbg.gov.au/ibis/.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System
Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Partner of Species 2000 and Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) …The ITIS and Species 2000 partnership (Catalogue of Life, COL) … provide the taxonomic backbone to the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL). Retrieved [May, 23, 2014], from the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (//www.itis.gov).
JK
[Please suggest below]
L
Leafhoppers
Development of Interactive Keys and Taxonomic Databases. Internet-accessible Interactive Identification (3I). Typhlocybinae and Delphacidae databases. Multi database search tool;
Typhlocybinae, Cicadellinae, Deltocephalinae, Megophthalminae, North American Fulgoroidea, Delphacidae, Illinois Insect Species in Greatest Need of Conservation, Phalacridae, Curculionidae.
M
World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)
The aim of a World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms, including information on synonymy. While highest priority goes to valid names, other names in use are included so that this register can serve as a guide to interpret taxonomic literature.
WoRMS Editorial Board (2014). World Register of Marine Species. Available from //www.marinespecies.org at VLIZ. Accessed 2014-05-29
Mammal Networked Information System (MaNIS)
The original objectives of MaNIS were to 1) facilitate open access to combined specimen data from a web browser, 2) enhance the value of specimen collections, 3) conserve curatorial resources, and 4) use a design paradigm that can be easily adopted by other disciplines with similar needs. The system just as FishNet, HerpNET and ORNIS referes now to the VertNet portal. Available on manisnet.org, visited 29 May 2014.
N
Naturdata – Biodiversidade online
Naturdata is a Portugese biodiversity portal.
NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life
NatureServe Explorer is an authoritative source for information on more than 70,000 plants, animals, and ecosystems of the United States and Canada. Explorer includes particularly in-depth coverage for rare and endangered species. NatureServe. 2014. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 7.1. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available //explorer.natureserve.org. (Accessed: May 29, 2014 ).
New World Fruits Database
The New World Fruits Database aims at providing easier access to some basic, but often difficult to obtain, information on fruits from the New World (North- and South America). Key information provided includes data on nomenclature, taxonomic and vernacular, on fruit and plant uses and on distribution and origin.
Bioversity International. Available from www.bioversityinternational.org. Accessed 28 July 2014.
O
ORNIS 2
CLASSIC PORTAL has been decommissioned. Please use the new VertNet Beta Portal or ORNIS2 Obtained from the ortisnet.org (Accessed through the ORNIS2 Portal, ornis2.ornisnet.org, 2014-05-29).
P
A Pan-European Species-directories Infrastructure (PESI)
European framework for Species-directories. EU-nomen enables the correct use of species names and their classification, to more accurately manage information on animals and plants. This is the first all-taxa inventory for European species.
PESI (2014). Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure. Accessed through www.eu-nomen.eu/portal, at 2014-05-29
QR
[Please suggest below]
S
South Georgia Marine Biodiversity Database (SGMarBase)
South Georgia Marine Biodiversity Database (SGMarBase)
Species bank Australia (ABRS)
The Australian Biological Resources Study provides online delivery of taxonomic and biological information on species known to occur in Australia
T
TRY Plant Trait Database
TRY Plant Trait Database Available at www.try-db.org. visited on 24 May 2014.
U
[Please suggest below]
V
VertNet
VertNet is a collaborative project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that makes biodiversity data free and available on the web. VertNet is a tool designed to help people discover, capture, and publish biodiversity data. VertNET data portal (//www.vertnet.org) visited on 23 May 2014
W
Wikispecies, free species directory
The free species directory that anyone can edit. An open, extensive database for scientists and non-scientists to reflect the diversity of life on our planet Earth with now 398.684 articles published. There are an increasing number of big, science funded projects, all of which aim to achieve more or less the same thing. Examples include Catalogue of Life and EoL. The main problem with most of these projects is that they are not open to editing, and so the inevitable many errors are “locked in” and difficult to fix. Available at species.wikimedia.org. visited 24 May 2014.
XYZ
NEXT
Please suggest below
Trough the webpage of Bioversity International agricultural databases resources are available;
//www.bioversityinternational.org/e-library/databases/
These include Collecting Mission reports, the New World Fruits Database and references to other plant genetic resources databases and the Seed Information Database.