BIS 306: Marine Diversity and Conservation (Maxwell): Species background information

Web sites, guides and encyclopedias

If you have a research question that includes plant and/or animal species or other living organisms, make sure you know both the common and scientific (or Latin) names before you begin your research.

Animal Diversity Web
An online database and encyclopedia of animal natural history, built through contributions from students, photographers, and many others.
BirdLife Data Zone
"BirdLife International is the world’s largest nature conservation Partnership. Together we are 120 BirdLife Partners worldwide – one per country – and growing."
Birds of the World
Birds of the World is a research database that brings together a variety of scholarly and multimedia content into a single platform where biologists and birders can explore comprehensive life history information on birds.
Encyclopedia of Earth
An electronic reference about the Earth, its natural environments, and their interaction with society.
Encyclopedia of Life
The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is a global partnership between the scientific community and the general public and whose goal is to make freely available to anyone knowledge about all the world’s organisms.
Find a Species - NOAA Fisheries
Information about the species managed by NOAA Fisheries, including their biology and population status, where they live, the threats they face.
Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia
Searchable online zoology encyclopedia.
iNaturalist
iNaturalist.org began as a Master's final project in 2008 and in 2011, began expanding the site through numerous collaborations.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Provides taxonomic, conservation status and distribution information on plants and animals.
NatureServe Explorer
An authoritative source for information on more than 70,000 plants, animals, and ecosystems of the United States and Canada.
Visual Resources for Ornithology (VIREO)
VIREO is the world-wide bird photograph collection of The Academy of Natural Sciences representing over 7,000 species.

BIS 306: Marine Diversity and Conservation (Maxwell): Species background information

Web sites, guides and encyclopedias

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