biology

Global Plants Details Plant Type Specimens

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Scientific information on plants is useful for a wide range of studies in the life sciences.  Global Plants, offered by JSTOR, is a very helpful tool in this regard.  Global Plants features plant type specimens that are found in about 300 herbaria located around the world.  The role of herbaria is to preserve plant type specimens.  Now, with Global Plants, it is possible to easily and conveniently learn about plants in a wonderful way.  The database contains over two million high-resolution plant type specimens, digitized with great care by various cooperating herbaria. Entries in the database point to reference books and other primary resources. Plant type specimens are very important as “original vouchers of nomenclature,” according to JSTOR.   Source:  Description by JSTOR.  Global Plants is ready for the entire UA community.  

 

A Tool for Finding Animal Science Research

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Rodgers Library for Science and Engineering subscribes to the complete file of Zoological Record, the premier database for finding references in animal science.

According to the publisher, Thomson, “Zoological Record is the world’s oldest continuing database of animal biology. It is considered the world’s leading taxonomic reference, and 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.”

Zoological Record covers over 5,000 periodicals and includes as well books, reports and meetings. The database dates from 1864 to present. And we will add more years as time moves along.

Zoological Record is accessed from the ISI Web of Knowledge platform along with BIOSIS Previews, Biological Abstracts, Journal Citation Reports, and the Web of Science.

On the Rodgers Library databases page, Zoological Record is listed under the letter “Z” on the lower-right side of the page. On the ISI Web of Knowledge home page, a tab on the top, “select a database,” points to Zoological Record.

This is a major resource for UA faculty and students. It will benefit many for decades to come.

Enjoy! Databases.

UA Arboretum- A Place to Learn About Trees and Shrubs

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The UA Arboretum is a wonderful place to learn about and enjoy trees and shrubs.

Located on a 60-acre site near the Tuscaloosa Veterans Hospital, the UA Arboretum is “a safe haven where the University grows and protects rare, old and endangered　species of both native and exotic plants,” says Mary Jo Modica, arboretum horticulturist.

The UA Arboretum is a part of the College of Arts and Sciences, operated by the Department of Biological Sciences, and the bulk of UA students who use the arboretum in their studies are from the biological sciences. Each semester a few interns work at the arboretum with Modica and caretaker Ken Robinson. But the arboretum also is popular with students focusing on writing, geology, geography and art.

 Tuscaloosa residents also enjoy the arboretum. Visitors can choose from offers greenhouses filled with exotic plants, and two miles of trails for walking among shade trees, wildflowers, a large collection of Southern azaleas and a variety of gardens, from the whimsical children’s garden to a community garden dedicated to promoting the popularity of sustainable, local food crops.

 Modica welcomes faculty and staff use of the UA Arboretum.

Submitted by Cathy Butler
Dialog Editor

Searching for Older Articles in Biology

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Want to search for an older paper in biology? Say a paper written by George H. Denny, the man of Chimes himself? The database BIOSIS Previews indexes the biological literature back to 1926 and covers it to the present.

Click on databases in the left dark grey margin on the Rodgers Library web page. Then click on B then BIOSIS Previews.

Search
Denny George H OR Denny GH in Author
Click on the Search button.

You get
Title: Cholinesterase activity of human leucocytes
Author(s): DENNY, GEORGE H.; HAGERMAN, DWAIN D.
Source: SCIENCE Volume: 123 Issue: (3205) Pages: 987-988 Published: 1956

The BIOSIS full text button leads you to a version of the journal Science we don’t have. However if you use the electronic journal list or the online catalog to search for the journal Science , you will find that we get the electronic journal Science for 1956 in the JSTOR database. What luck!

Of course, you can also search for new articles on biological topics.