One of my earliest recollections of web resources I came across while studying biology in university was "People- & Planet-Friendly". From this website, I learned about publicly available talks on environmentally-related topics that I could attend for free in Toronto. I attended one, which was conveniently held at my university. There were many people in attendance, all interested in or passionate about the topic.
"People- & Planet-Friendly" has since then been renamed as People and Planet, though today may sometimes be still known as "Planetfriendly". This web resource acts as a gateway to other environmentally related resources, topics and activities across Canada. They have an event listings calendar, a job postings site, and a volunteer postings site. They also provide a directory that organizes information and resources by different themes.
So wherever you are, have a search. You may just be a click away from that green job, volunteer position, or nearby activity!
Friday, February 28, 2014
Thursday, January 30, 2014
A Big Year with eBird
January begins the New Year. For birders, this may also mark the beginning of a Big Year. A Big Year refers to a bird counting competition to see who can see or hear the largest number of bird species in a calendar year.
One way to track bird species is through the online tool eBird. Launched in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, eBird is a real-time, online checklist that can be used to record and keep track of bird species.
While this tool may be used by individual birders for their own personal bird observations, the data that are entered are pooled together and shared with a global community of scientists, educators, land managers, and other stakeholders involved with bird conservation. The collective data that are amassed become an invaluable resource for conservationists, effectively benefiting both birders and the scientific community at large.
One way to track bird species is through the online tool eBird. Launched in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, eBird is a real-time, online checklist that can be used to record and keep track of bird species.
While this tool may be used by individual birders for their own personal bird observations, the data that are entered are pooled together and shared with a global community of scientists, educators, land managers, and other stakeholders involved with bird conservation. The collective data that are amassed become an invaluable resource for conservationists, effectively benefiting both birders and the scientific community at large.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
The Annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC)
Every winter, from December 14 to January 5, bird counts are taking
place. This annual event is the Christmas Bird Count (CBC). First
started in 1900, the counts take place throughout Canada, US, and many countries in the
Western Hemisphere. It is organized by the National Audubon Society,
and carried out by volunteers.
Birds are counted on any one day within these 3 weeks, within a specified 24-km diameter circle, over a 24-hour period. To find and participate in a bird count, check here. Data from these counts over the years can be accessed here.
Bird counting enables a great number of people to go out and collect population and distribution data. It is because of this community effort, and the enthusiasm of bird watchers and volunteers that there are data for birds over time. The data that have been collected and amassed over the years has become an important source of information for scientific research and conservation biology.
Birds are counted on any one day within these 3 weeks, within a specified 24-km diameter circle, over a 24-hour period. To find and participate in a bird count, check here. Data from these counts over the years can be accessed here.
Bird counting enables a great number of people to go out and collect population and distribution data. It is because of this community effort, and the enthusiasm of bird watchers and volunteers that there are data for birds over time. The data that have been collected and amassed over the years has become an important source of information for scientific research and conservation biology.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Books and Reviews on Amazon
When I want to find out more about a what a particular book is about, or browse through books on a specific topic, the first resource that comes to mind which helps me do all this is Amazon.
Amazon is an American-based, international online retailer. While they today offer customers a wide range of products to purchase at discounted prices through their website, they started off with, and was led to fame with selling books.
In addition to being an online bookstore, they enabled customers to participate in writing book reviews and ratings, and posted these alongside professional editorial book reviews. While customer product reviews may be seen as the norm today with other websites that advertise and sell products, it was a novel idea at the time when there was nothing like this around. Amazon may inarguably be one of the first, if not the first to do this. As a result of this long-standing service, and the large customer base, Amazon has become the go-to resource for book reviews.
Amazon is an American-based, international online retailer. While they today offer customers a wide range of products to purchase at discounted prices through their website, they started off with, and was led to fame with selling books.
In addition to being an online bookstore, they enabled customers to participate in writing book reviews and ratings, and posted these alongside professional editorial book reviews. While customer product reviews may be seen as the norm today with other websites that advertise and sell products, it was a novel idea at the time when there was nothing like this around. Amazon may inarguably be one of the first, if not the first to do this. As a result of this long-standing service, and the large customer base, Amazon has become the go-to resource for book reviews.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Open Access Scholarly Articles through the DOAJ
In recognition of Open Access Week, a global event that occurs in October each year, I wanted to write about the Directory of Open Access Journals, which is celebrating its 10th year this year.
The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is an online directory that provides access to peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly articles published from open access journals. The DOAJ defines "open access" using the Budapest Open Access Initiative's (BOAI) definition, as resources that are made freely available to individuals or institutions for use, which includes reading, downloading, printing, copying, and distributing. The aim of the DOAJ is to increase the visibility and use of open access articles, thereby promoting their impact and usage.
The editorial control review process maintains the high quality standard of articles that are included in the directory. As of this posting, there are 9919 journals, over 1 million articles, and 122 countries. The directory can be searched by keywords and publication year, and can be browsed by journal title, subject area, and country of publication.
The influence of open access on society is enormous. It has the potential to remove barriers to accessing information, and contribute to the development of research, benefiting users, researchers, and society at large.
The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is an online directory that provides access to peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly articles published from open access journals. The DOAJ defines "open access" using the Budapest Open Access Initiative's (BOAI) definition, as resources that are made freely available to individuals or institutions for use, which includes reading, downloading, printing, copying, and distributing. The aim of the DOAJ is to increase the visibility and use of open access articles, thereby promoting their impact and usage.
The editorial control review process maintains the high quality standard of articles that are included in the directory. As of this posting, there are 9919 journals, over 1 million articles, and 122 countries. The directory can be searched by keywords and publication year, and can be browsed by journal title, subject area, and country of publication.
The influence of open access on society is enormous. It has the potential to remove barriers to accessing information, and contribute to the development of research, benefiting users, researchers, and society at large.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Barcoding Earth's Diversity
Last month I wrote about the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL), a resource for accessing information for the various
species on Earth. Another initiative that is also attempting to build a
centralized library for the diverse species on Earth is the
International Barcode of Life Project (iBOL).
What this project aims to do is to genetically identify and catalogue species through DNA barcoding. DNA barcoding is a method of using short segments of DNA to identify species. As DNA will vary from species to species, using a common section of the DNA for each species will differentiate between them, thereby identifying the species in question. These DNA barcodes are stored in digital format and can be accessed through the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD).
This project was officially launched on September 25, 2010 in Toronto, Ontario. An international collaboration of more than 25 countries have been committed towards working on Phase 1 (2010-2015), with Canada, specifically, the University of Guelph, leading the way. While the DNA library is being populated with barcodes, scientists hope that one day mobile devices will be available to read the barcodes in the field.
I first heard about DNA barcoding in my university biodiversity class in the early 2000s. It's exciting to hear how far this idea has come. By being able to quickly and accurately identify species, this resource will have huge impacts on species conservation, food inspection, and human health.
What this project aims to do is to genetically identify and catalogue species through DNA barcoding. DNA barcoding is a method of using short segments of DNA to identify species. As DNA will vary from species to species, using a common section of the DNA for each species will differentiate between them, thereby identifying the species in question. These DNA barcodes are stored in digital format and can be accessed through the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD).
This project was officially launched on September 25, 2010 in Toronto, Ontario. An international collaboration of more than 25 countries have been committed towards working on Phase 1 (2010-2015), with Canada, specifically, the University of Guelph, leading the way. While the DNA library is being populated with barcodes, scientists hope that one day mobile devices will be available to read the barcodes in the field.
I first heard about DNA barcoding in my university biodiversity class in the early 2000s. It's exciting to hear how far this idea has come. By being able to quickly and accurately identify species, this resource will have huge impacts on species conservation, food inspection, and human health.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Cataloguing Earth's Diversity
An ambitious goal of creating an accessible, centralized, comprehensive resource for every species on Earth came into being in 2008 with the unveiling of the first 30,000 pages from the Encyclopedia of Life.
The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is an international collaborative project between scientists, international organizations, research institutions, and the general public. Here on this site, you can find for each species, information about their classification, biology, ecological patterns and behaviour, evolution and systematics, molecular biology and genetics, and conservation status.
The goal of EOL is to create pages for each of the estimated 1.9 million known species on Earth by 2017. The website has grown dramatically since its launch with the additions of new partners and multimedia content. Today, there are over 200 global collaborators, and more than 1 million pages of species content created.
Through documenting and aggregating together our current knowledge of all life on Earth, this resource can help us identify gaps, and create new opportunities for research. Through understanding species patterns and connections, this resource can help us with conservation efforts to preserve the diversity of species on Earth. With many more species still yet to be discovered, as well as continually building on our current knowledge of known species, this resource will only continue to grow. The Encyclopedia of Life is a testament to global collaboration of making information about Earth’s biodiversity freely available and accessible.
The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is an international collaborative project between scientists, international organizations, research institutions, and the general public. Here on this site, you can find for each species, information about their classification, biology, ecological patterns and behaviour, evolution and systematics, molecular biology and genetics, and conservation status.
The goal of EOL is to create pages for each of the estimated 1.9 million known species on Earth by 2017. The website has grown dramatically since its launch with the additions of new partners and multimedia content. Today, there are over 200 global collaborators, and more than 1 million pages of species content created.
Through documenting and aggregating together our current knowledge of all life on Earth, this resource can help us identify gaps, and create new opportunities for research. Through understanding species patterns and connections, this resource can help us with conservation efforts to preserve the diversity of species on Earth. With many more species still yet to be discovered, as well as continually building on our current knowledge of known species, this resource will only continue to grow. The Encyclopedia of Life is a testament to global collaboration of making information about Earth’s biodiversity freely available and accessible.
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