Biological Sciences:
        A Guide to Selected Resources


The following is a guide to selected resources in the biological sciences available in the Owen Library or through electronic access. It is not intended to be comprehensive. Please consult a Reference Librarian for advice about the best information resources and search strategy for your specific topic.

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias


Cambridge Dictionary of Biology.                              Reference  QH302.5 .C46 1990

Concise Encyclopedia Biology.                                   Reference  QH302.5 .A2313 1996


Concise Oxford Dictionary of Zoology.                     Available Online in NetLibrary


Dictionary of Plant Sciences.                                     Available Online in NetLibrary


Encyclopedia of Biodiversity.                                     Reference QH541.15 .B56E53 2001


Encyclopedia of Bioethics.                                          Reference  QH332 .E52 1995


Encyclopedia of Evolution.                                         Reference  QH360.2 .O83 2002


Encyclopedia of Genetics.                                           Reference  QH427 .E53 1999


Encyclopedia of Human Biology.                                Reference  QP11 .E53 1997


Encyclopedia of Molecular Biology.                          Reference  QH506 .C74 1999


Encyclopedia of Physical Science & Technology.     Reference  Q123 .E497 2002


Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia.                       Reference  QL7 .G7813 2003

Handbooks and Data


Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology.            Reference  QR81 .B46 1984


Biology Data Book.                                                     Reference QH310 .A392


Biomedical Engineering Handbook.                           Reference R856.15 .B56 1995


CRC Handbook of Chemistry & Physics.                   Reference QD65 .H3


Synopsis and Classification of Living Organisms.      Reference  QH83 .S89


Databases


Aquatic Sciences & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA)     Locate in Digital Library under Databases A-Z

Major indexing resource for aquatic sciences literature. Indexes more than 4500 journals, books and reports from 1978 to present. Includes some full-text links.


Biological Abstracts (BIOSIS)                    Locate in Digital Library under Databases A-Z

Indexes over 6000 journals, as well as books, book chapters and review articles in the life sciences. Indexing 1969 to present.


BioOne                                                       Locate in Digital Library under Databases A-Z

Collection of more than 40 full-text scholarly research journals focused on the biosciences.


Elsevier’s ScienceDirect                             Locate in Digital Library under Databases A-Z

Provides indexing of approximately 2800 scholarly journals, with full-text access to over 1500 Elsevier journals.


Web of Science                                            Locate in Digital Library under Databases A-Z

Includes electronic version of the Science Citation Index. Index coverage is 1993 to present. Searchable by keyword, author and cited reference. This is a useful database for identifying related publications, by searching for another publication that cites a known article in their bibliography.


Zoological Record                                       Locate in Digital Library under Databases A-Z

Provides indexing coverage to over 6000 journals, selected dissertations and conference proceedings from 1978 to present. Some full-text links. Scope includes all aspects of zoology, including behavior, biochemistry, ecology, evolution, genetics, habitat, life cycle and more.

Internet Resources


AmphibiaWeb                                                                              http://amphibiaweb.org/

Provides information on amphibian biology and conservation.


Animal Diversity Web                                                                  http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/

Created by students at the University of Michigan. A database of animal natural history, distribution, classification, and conservation biology.


Annelid Resources                                                                       http://biodiversity.uno.edu/~worms/annelid.html

Provides research, taxonomy, faunal lists and other links on Polychaetes, Oligochaetes, leeches, and allies.


Biology Browser (BIOSIS)                                                            http://www.biologybrowser.org/

Quality biology web links, science news and other free biology resources.


Biology Links: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Harvard U.) http://mcb.harvard.edu/BioLinks/biochem.html



Bird Checklists of the United States (USGS)                               http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/othrdata/chekbird/chekbird.htm


Cell and Molecular Biology Online                                              http://www.cellbio.com/

Research protocols links, research labs, recommended links, useful tables and more.


e-Nature.com Online Field Guides                                             http://www.enature.com/guides/select_group.asp

Field guides provide habitat, range, species descriptions and images of flora and fauna.


Entrez Search and Retrieval System                                           http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Entrez/index.html

(National Center for Biotechnology Information)

Provides links to useful databases and data sets, includes GenBank nucleotide sequence and taxonomy organism databases, a protein sequence database, macromolecular structures, population study data sets, genome assemblies, and much more.


FishBase                                                                                      http://fishbase.org/home.htm

Provides detailed descriptions on more than 27,000 species of fish. Search by common or scientific name.


Herpetology.com                                                                         http://herpetology.com


National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII)               http://www.nbii.gov/

Provides access to national, state, local and private biological databases.


The Pennsylvania Flora Project                                                 http://www.paflora.org/


PLANTS Database (USDA)                                                        http://plants.usda.gov/

Provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories. Includes names, plant symbols, checklists, distributional data, species, abstracts, characteristics, images, plant links, references, crop information and more.


The Tree of Life                                                                          http://tolweb.org/tree/phylogeny.html

Provides information about phylogeny and biodiversity.

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