Research Guides: GeoSciences Resource Guide: Biodiversity

Select Biodiversity Databases

BIOSIS Previews (OhioLINK access)
BIOSIS Previews (Biological Abstracts)¸ a leading source of life science information¸ collects abstracts and bibliographic references to worldwide biological and medical literature. Biological Abstracts contains references to journal items focusing on vital biological and medical research findings¸ pharmacological studies¸ and discoveries of new organisms. Approximately 5¸500 international journals are reviewed for inclusion¸ representing virtually every life science discipline
Coverage: 1969 - present
GeoRef (Engineering Village)
GeoRef¸ produced by the American Geosciences Institute¸ is a comprehensive geosciences database containing over 3 million bibliographic records to the geoscience literature of the world. Among the subjects covered in GeoRef are: environmental and engineering geology¸ hydrology¸ economic geology¸ geophysics¸ petrology¸ paleontology¸ marine geology and oceanography¸ and mineralogy. Over 3¸500 journals are reviewed for indexing in the GeoRef database as well as books¸ maps¸ government reports¸ conference papers¸ and theses and dissertations. The geology of North America is covered from 1669 to the present¸ and coverage dates back to 1933 for the rest of the world. Over 100¸000 references are added to GeoRef annually.
GreenFile
GreenFILE offers well-researched but accessible information covering all aspects of human impact on the environment. Its collection of scholarly¸ government and general-interest titles include content on the environmental effects of individuals¸ corporations and local/national governments¸ and what can be done on each level to minimize negative impact. Topics covered include global warming¸ green building¸ pollution¸ sustainable agriculture¸ renewable energy¸ recycling¸ and more. GreenFILE is multidisciplinary by nature and draws on the connections between the environment and a variety of disciplines such as agriculture¸ education¸ law¸ health and technology.
Scopus (Elsevier)
Indexing¸ abstracts¸ and citation searching for science and social science scholarly literature. Scopus covers 14¸000 titles across 4¸000 publishers¸ providing access to over 25 million abstracts going back to 1966 and 5 years of cited reference back years¸ building up to 10 years by the end of 2005. Coverage: 1966 - present
Web of Science
Web of Science is a multidisciplinary database with searchable author abstracts¸ covering the journal literature of the sciences. It indexes 5¸300 major journals across 164 scientific disciplines¸ covering approximately 2¸000 more journals than its SCI print and CD-ROM counterparts¸ with all cited references captured. Coverage: 1965 - present

Endangered/Threats to Biodiversity

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
Endangered Species Act
When Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973...
EPA - Endangered Species Protection Program
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species.
Marine Protected Areas Atlas
Interactive tool to help users visualize the locations and coverage of global marine protected areas.
Terrestrial Protected Areas database
World Bank Data
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Terrestrial protected areas are totally or partially protected areas of at least 1,000 hectares that are designated by national authorities as scientific reserves with limited public access, national parks, natural monuments, nature reserves or wildlife sanctuaries, protected landscapes, and areas managed mainly for sustainable use. Marine areas, unclassified areas, littoral (intertidal) areas, and sites protected under local or provincial law are excluded.

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

Animal Diversity Website
An online database of animal natural history, distribution, classification, and conservation biology at the University of Michigan
Encylopedia of Life
Online resource bringing together information about all life on Earth including text, images, video, sounds, maps, and data
Index Nominum Genericorum
All generic names of plants together in a single list to reveal homonymy between groups.
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In addition, ING includes bibliographic citations and information about the typification and nomenclatural status of generic names.
Index to Organism Names (ION)
Contains the organism names related data gathered from the scientific literature for Thomson Reuters' Zoological Record® database.
The International Plant Names Index
Database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of seed plants, ferns and lycophytes
LPSN
List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature
Myco Bank Database
An on-line database aimed as a service to the mycological and scientific community by documenting mycological nomenclatural novelties (new names and combinations) and associated data.
World Register of Marine Species
Aims to provide the most authoritative list of names of all marine species globally.
ZooBank
The official registry of Zoological Nomenclature.

Specimens and Datasets

Biodiversity Heritage Library
The Biodiversity Heritage Library improves research methodology by collaboratively making biodiversity literature openly available to the world as part of a global biodiversity community.
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The BHL consortium works with the international taxonomic community, rights holders, and other interested parties to ensure that this biodiversity heritage is made available to a global audience through open access principles.
The Biota of North America Program
Includes a taxonomic data center and plant atlas.
ESDIS/NASA - Biodiversity, Conservation, and Protected Areas
The Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) Project is responsible for providing scientific and other users access to data from NASA's Earth science missions
Global biodiversity Information Facility
Open access to biodiversity data
IDigBio
Data and images for millions of biological specimens are being made available in electronic format for the research community, government agencies, students, educators, and the general public.
Paleobiology Database
Provides scientists and the public information about the fossil record
Neotoma Database
An online hub for data, research, education, and discussion about paleoenvironments.
NEOMAP
Use MIOMAP/FAUNMAP to produce interactive maps of geographic occurrences of mammal taxa

Explore your back yard

Cincinnatian Fossils and Stratigraphy
Created by Steven Holland of the University of Georgia, website aims to document the described fossils of the type Cincinnatian.
Dry Dredgers
Cincinnati has the oldest continuously operating fossil club in North America! Join today.
Geier Collections & Research Center (Cincinnati Museum Center)
Invertebrate and Vertebrate Paleontology and Zoology collections.
Lloyd Library and Museum
Mission to collect and maintain a library of botanical, medical, pharmaceutical, scientific books and periodicals, and works of allied sciences that serve the scientific research community.