E.B. FEDOSEEVA, A.V. BORISSENKO. Zoological Museum of Moscow State University: research, history, and education - useful information on the Internet and on CD.
The goal of the project is the concise representation of data concerning the research and educational activities of the Museum, its deposits, exhibition, history, and publications. The data sources are: the book by Rossolimo, O.L., 1991, Two centuries in the collections of the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University. M.: Moscow University Press 264 pp., (in Russian); entry books of museum pieces (animal specimens, illustrations); research materials and photographs; reports of research sections, of the Circle of Young Naturalists and Lectorium; abstracts of published research and popular-science editions. The website will be subdivided into five main parts: history of the Museum; exhibition structure; deposits; research activities, and education. "History", in addition to providing a chronological sequence of main events, contains information on s ientists, sponsors and artists who contributed to the formation of the Museum's collections and interior. "Exhibition" (ca. 7,500 items) should help teachers to choose topics for excursions and lectures listed in "Education". "Deposits" includes information on the collections representing animal groups (over 4,5 million inventory items) and the Museum's library as well as on the collections of animal painters V. Vataghin, N. Kondakov, G. Nikolsky, and A. Sichkar. "Research" outlines the research conducted b sections and individual scientists, and provides an annotated list of the most important Museum publications, including catalogues and periodicals on animal taxonomy and biodiversity. "Education" gives an overview of excursions and lectures, the activities of the Circle of Young Naturalists, modern textbooks and popular-science publications in Zoology, prepared by the Museum's staff. Creation of a renewable website and CDs will facilitate access to materials accumulated throughout the last two centuries an promote further research and educational collaboration.
Zoological Museum of Moscow State University, Ul. Bol'shaya Nikitskaya, 6, 103009, Moscow, Russia, Tel. +7 (095) 203-2712, Fax +7 (095) 203 -2717.
E.E.KHURSHUT1, T.V. SALIKHOV2, B.G. KAMILOV3. The Key of fishes of Uzbekistan.
Before the ecological crisis unfolded in the Aral Sea basin, the fish fauna by 1960 comprised 61 species. In the span of 40 years, two species (including 1 endemic) vanished, and 8-10 species (including 5 endemics) are in critical state. However, the fish fauna has been enriched with the introduced species. The present ichthyofauna consists of 72 fishes. Some introduced fishes are new to the fauna of NIS and not described in available keys. Besides, revisions of some taxa have been carried out. The key of fishes of Uzbekistan was prepared considering all these changes. The available key and lists of fishes inhabiting Uzbekistan are out-dated. Taking into consideration all these changes, a Key of Uzbekistani Fishes has been prepared, including its electronic version. This version of the key in HTMLhelp format is used for training ichthyologists and ecologists at Chair of Ecology of Biology Faculty of National University of Uzbekistan. The guide consists of the key, illustrated outlines with the description of the morphology, biology, distribution and status of each species and relevant bibliography. Currently, this guide (in HTML format) is being arranged on the site http://nixuz.narod.ru is started. The work on the English and Uzbek versions is being carried out.
1Institute of Zoology, Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, Niyazova, 1, Tashkent, 700095, Uzbekistan;
2Chair of Ecology, Biology Faculty, National University, Vuzgorodok, Tashkent, 700095, Uzbekistan; 3Institute of Aquaculture, Chilonzor-10, 21a, Tashkent, 700123, Uzbekistan.
M.V.LEONOV, D.Ju.MALININ. Automatical monitoring and downloading of elecronic data for Umbelliferae family from Internet.
One of the problems facing designers, as well as administrators, of thematic Internet sites, is the search for new sources, and monitoring changes in sites containing relevant information. Manual search using searching machines and catalogues takes a lot of time and often gets on one's nerves even if additional services offered by some searching systems are available. Such a problem occured in our work on developing the section "Umbelliferae in Internet" of the joint site of the Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics and Botanical Garden of Moscow State University. A set of programs in Perl was developed, which sufficiently facilitates such monitoring. In particular, a multifunctional spider-type program was developed for keywords-search in the Internet, a list of such keywords being given in a special file. The results of the search are accumulated in an intermediate database, while the process is controlled by several parameters. Using a base of prior references, our Spider looks through relevant pages for the given keywords; the depth of this search is one of the parameters. Another parameter determines whether the files found will be saved on the hard disc. Further parameter allows downloading an arbitrary numbers of files in accordance with a prespecified list of URL's. Still further parameter controls the filtration of all pages in accordance with a prespecified date, thus allowing the monitoring of changes in relevant pages. All this economizes on user's time.The second item for automation is the formation and executing of queries in a database not providing the user with convenient means to form complex queries. For instance, some type specimen bases do not allow a query on a family; therefore, to learn whether the base contains information on any genus of the Umbelliferae, one is supposed to ask for all genera (about 400 separate queries). Similarly, addressing the database of the Missury Botanical Garden (as well as many others having similar interface), the user has to press 10 to 15 buttons in order to get full information on a taxon. A series of programs in Perl has been developed automatically generating and executing queries in such databases; almost every database needs its own program. In our view, this set of tools should also be useful for developing and maintaining thematic sites devoted to other taxons. Support: grant RFBR 00-07-90066.
The Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics of Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia Tel. (095) 939-56-33, Fax (095) 939-25-96, email: leonowmw@cs.msu.su
G.LEVKOVSKAYA, N.ANIKOVITCH, N.ANISUTKIN, E.BELIAEVA, A.BOGOLUBOVA, V.STEGANZEVA, Yu.STEPANOV, V.I.TIMOFEEV. The Internet archaeology-palaeobotany-palynology stone age - early neolithic database for the former USSR area (http://www.peterlink.ru/~stepanov/gml).
The Archaeology-Palaeobotany-Palynology Databases on Early and Middle Palaeolithic (BARPP-A) and on six chronological, archaeological and palaeogeographical periods of Upper Palaeolithic-Mesolithic (BARPP-B1-BARPP-B7) are organized for former USSR (FSU) territory due to the Russian Human Foundation financial support (grants 96-02-00425 of 1996-1997 and 98-01-0031a of 1998-2000 years).The Upper Palaeolithic databases contain the data on following chronological, archaeological and palaeoecological periods: BARPP-B1 (43000-37000 years B.P.) - Initial Upper Palaeolithic, extremely dry and cold climatic stage; BARPP-B2 (36000-25000 years B.P.) - Early Upper Palaeolithic, the Late Valdai megainterstadial; BARPP-B3 (24000-20000 years B.P.) - Middle Upper Palaeolithic, the period between megainterstadial and maximum of Late Pleistocene glaciation in the Europe and Siberia; BARPP-B4 (19000-15000 years B.P.), Late Upper Palaeolithic, maximum of Late Pleistocene glaciation in the Europe and Siberia; BARPP-B5 (14000-10000 years B.P.), Final Upper Palaeolithic, Late glacial climatic period. The Holocene part of the BARPP contains the data on Mesolithic and Early Neolithic. The databases (BARPP-A and BARPP-B) contain most Palaeobotanical and Palynological information on Palaeolithic sites of FSU. 12 maps, presented in the BARPP, show the geographical location of 18 Early Palaeolithic, 51 Middle Palaeolithic, 111 Upper Palaeolithic and the first (85) of Mesolithic sites with this information.The Databases includes not only palaeobotanical and palynological information on archaeological layers but some archaeological data, pollen diagrams and floristic tables of archaeological steryle layers, geological profiles, palaeoclimatic curves, different dating (palaeomagnitic, C14, ESR, TL), European Pollen Database (EPD) text forms with about 90 items describing each key site (geographical location, bibliography, addresses of the researches, etc.) and the text forms with information on archaeological complexes, climatic stratigraphy, etc. Especially important part of BARPP present the data (partly non published yet) on best stratified famous in the world, archaeological sites such as key Early and Middle Palaeolithic group sites of Korolevo (Transcarpatian) and Kudaro (South Osetia), Middle and Late Palaeolithic group sites of the Dniestr basin (Ketrosy, Korman4, Molodova 1, 5) and Anuj river at Altai (Denisova, Anuj 2, Ust-Karakol 1), Upper Palaeolithic group from the Don river (Kostenki group sites), Mesolithic group from Eastern Latvia (Lubana lowland) or from Upper Volga (with tens archaeological sites) etc. The correlation of Palaeolithic archaeological sites on the base of palynological data with global climatic stages (with Greenland Pleistocene isotope O16/O18 curve) is geven in the BARPP. Such correlation transformate the local archaeological sites or local key archaeological areas in the world standard geoarchaeological territories. The BARPP contain some new data on Palaeoecology of transition period from the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic, some new SEM-information on plant-gathery, etc. The information of the BARPP may be interesting to the libraries, teachers, students, specialists on Palaeolithic and wide range of scientists (palynologists, palaeoclimatologists, palaeogeographists, palaeozoologists, quarternary geologists, etc.).
Institute of History of Material Culture RAS, St-Petersburg, Russia; email: stepanov@peterlink.ru/gml
А.N. NASEKA, N.G. BOGUTSKAYA, M.B. DIANOV, A.M. KOMLEV & A.L. LOBANOV. Database in Internet: Freshwater fishes of Russia (www.zin.ru/animalia/pisces).
Project is aimed to establish the first review on the freshwater fishes of Russia and neighboring territories in the form of interactive multimedia information retrieval system (IRS). Data are presented in various formats (text, images, video).The IRS can be an efficient tool to retrieve data from different areas of theoretical and applied ichthyology, and natural resource management and protection. The present IRS is designed as a digital zoological monograph based upon a data hyperbase and its structure includes: nomenclature and synonyms, bibliography, detailed diagnostic and morphological descriptions, distribution maps, illustrations of characters, key to taxa, protection status and species images. It is already available in its part containing a list of families, genera and species both native and introduced and data for nomenclature and original descriptions. In preparation is the advanced software to provide an unlimited interactive access to the database in parallel with the ongoing data updating. Support: RFBR grant N 04-07-90304.
Zoological Institute RAS, Universitetskaya nab., 1, St. Petersburg, 199034 Russia, email office@zin.ru
T.A.OSTROUMOVA. Interesting botanical sites in the Internet.
I visited more than 500 WWW-sites of botanical gardens, herbariaetc. Most of them contain a little information for botanists,there are however some very interesting databases and referencepages. The global reference book on plant nomenclature the IndexKewensis is available free, and also the Gray Card Index(nomencalture of American plants) and the Australian Plant NameIndex, the latter is of very high quality. Global revisions oflarge families are rare - Leguminosae (ILDIS), Umbelliferae (GNOMat the Moscow University), Casuarinaceae, Oleaceae. The IndexNominum Genericorum and the Index Nominum Supragenericorum areavailable. There are many floristitc lists of different scale,e.g. Flora Europaea. New York Botanical garden supports the IndexHerbariorum (it isn't complete now). Some herbaria publishedtheir lists of type specimens and photos, lists of herbariumspecimens, partial or comprehensive. Botanical gardens sometimespublish catalogues of living collections and seed lists. Sitescontaining much information on collections are listed on ourpages www.botanik.cs.msu.su/COLLECTIONS. Among bibliographicalsites I mention the Kew Record of Taxonomic Literature and theLibrary of USDA. Many journals publish in the Web tables ofcontents and abstracts, among them Academic Press and SpringerVerlag. The best guide on botanical WWW-addresses is the InternetDirectory for Botany (authors - Shunguo Liu, Ramio Lampinen andothers). A large list of Russian WWW-addresses is inPetrozavodsk, a great deal of proper botanical information ispublished by Central Siberian Bot. Garden. RFBR grant 98-04-49264."Universities of Russia" grant 990552.
Botanical Garden,Moscow State University, Moscow 119899, Russia. Tel. (7-095)9393471, Fax (7-095)9392450, email: ostroum@2.botgard.bio.msu.ru
A.A.PROKHOROV, M.I.NESTERENKO, M.V.KASHTANOV, E.A.PLATONOVA. The Information-Searching System " Botanical collections of Russia in the Internet ". Collection funds of endangered plants. Collection funds of the greenhouses.
The main purpose of the project is the creation of accessible source of the information on collections of botanical gardens and arboretums of Russia. The task of the project is the generalization of the data on endangered plants, and also on collections of the greenhouses. On the basis of the Red book of USSR and Red book of RSFSR is prepared and the questionnaire is dispatched in botanical gardens for investgation of rare plants collections. The obtained data are handled with usage of the program for registration of collection funds of botanical gardens "Calypso" used as the tool for an Information-Searching System (ISS). The preparation of lists of plants, cultivated in greenhouses based on data of Botanical garden of BIN (St.Petersburg). Now ISS on collections of rare plants includes the information on collections of a number of gardens already given the data (http://media.karelia.ru/~gardens/look/rare.htm). Our ISS is updated according to Czherepanov S.K. 1995. To adapt the given approach for anothers taxonomical systems we have counted irrelevant, in connection with usual taxonomical priorities at learning of Russian flora. Therefore fragment "Collection funds of rare and disappearing plants " also is selected in the separate searching system. "The Collection funds of the greenhouses " are selected in connection with necessity to divide plants, cultivated in the open and closed soil, since the way of cultivation determines possibility of usage of the given material at introductionl. More detailed data on concrete samples the user of an ISS can receive in an appropriate botanical garden. The ISS gives all items of information on the address, telephones, faxes, e-mail and web-sites.
Supported by RFBR No: 00-07-90281
Petrozavodsk State University Lenina av., 33, Petrozavodsk, Karelia, Russia 185640 phone +7 (8142) 718405, fax +7 (8142) 711000
e-mail: alpro@onego.ru, website http://hortus.karelia.ru
A.B.Shipunova1, A.B.Shipunov2. The experience ofthe creation of hypertext descriptional keys for WWW.
Technology for the creation of hypertext descriptional keys based on original format has been worked out. Any of descriptional key's text may be transformed into this format. Perl-scripts converted this formatto HTML-document, where all references to items arehyper-references. Moreover, initial format is easilyconverted to PDF. Thus, our technology allowed thesemi-automatic creature both WWW and fine printeddocuments. Examples are on site `Herba': http://herba.msu.ru.
1Moscow State University, 119899, Moscow, VorobyevyGory, MSU, Botanical Garden, (095) 939 email: plantago@herba.msu.ru;
2Moscow South-West High School, 101000 Moscow, 26Bakinskih komissarov str., 3, (095) 434 2644, email: plantago@herba.msu.ru
D.SLAVINSKY & V.LEVCHENKO. The Structure of Biodiversity Resources in INTERNET.
The INTERNET information concerning different aspects of biodiversity snowballs last years. In fact, the such data doubles every year. At that, the matter of presented data changes too; for example, the part of educational sites grows. Russian language sites are not enough developed still unfortunately, English language sites represent already now the interconnected system of links for different field of interests. There are, for example, different flora and fauna resources and the sites devoted to the fields of systematics, theoretical investigation, education and other. Hence, one of the task for the Russian bioinformatic enthusiasts is to establish Russian language net on biodversity taking into consideration the advances of foreign colleagues. Of course, the such net have to be included in the common system around the world. We are engaged last year with the such activity within a framework of the above approach. The theoretical articles as well as directory of biodiversity sites (several tens of links now) can be found in the site (http://www.spb.ecology.net.ru/entry/biodiversity/biodiversity.htm) developed by us.
Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry of RAS, St.Petersurg, 194223, Russia; phone/fax: +7 812 5523219, e-mail:
dslav@iephb.nw.ru
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Web-page prepared by
Zoological Institute RAS &
BioNET International
Last web-page update: 3rd April 2001