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AccessScienceThis link opens in a new windowAccess to authoritative articles in all major areas of science and technology from Encyclopedia of Science and Technology.
Annual ReviewsThis link opens in a new windowCollection of critical reviews written by leading scientists in 40 disciplines within the Biomedical, Life, Physical, and Social Sciences including Economics.
Book CatalogCowles library's online catalog of books and ebooks.
GreenFILEThis link opens in a new windowA bibliographic database of resources in a variety of formats that address environmental concerns.
JournalsDirect access to Cowles Library's journal collection. Search by title or browse by subject. Electronic journals are available through this link.
JSTORThis link opens in a new windowMore than a thousand academic journals and over 1 million images, letters, and other primary sources
Web of ScienceThis link opens in a new windowWeb of Science, a database that provides quick and powerful access to the world's leading citation databases and sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities research content. (Includes: Biosis Citation Index, Currents Contents Connect, Data Citation Index, Derwent Innovations Index, MEDLINE, SciELO Citation Index, Zoological Record, and the Web of Science Core Collection: Arts & Humanities Citation Index, Book Citation Index, Conference Proceedings Citation Index, Current Chemical Reactions, Index Chemicus, Science Citation Index Expanded, and Social Sciences Citation Index.)
Free to all Drake faculty, staff, and students. If there are books, book chapters, or articles that we don't have access to at Cowles, we can almost always get access to these items via another library. Order your items through Interlibrary Loan.
Search libraries across the country. The "Check for Full Text @ Drake" link will take you to an InterLibrary Loan request form.
Other Resources
Aldo Leopold Archive"The written works of one of the most forward-thinking conservationists of the 20th century, Aldo Leopold, are part of the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections. Leopold had numerous interests encompassing "forestry, wildlife management, conservation biology, sustainable agriculture, restoration ecology, private land management, environmental history, literature, education, esthetics, and ethics." He authored several environmental books, including A Sand County Almanac (1949), and created and maintained a huge repertoire of letters and other correspondence, diaries, memoranda, essays, research reports, committee meeting minutes, journals, and county, state, and foreign files. Funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the Aldo Leopold Archives contains digitized resources from Leopold's main body of work from the end of the 19th century until his death in 1948." from Choice, Feb 2009.
Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, from the University of Georgia"The Web site for the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health at the University of Georgia (formerly the Bugwood Network) is actually a portal to 27 hosted sites (including Invasive.org http://www.invasive.org/, CH, Aug'09, 46-6787) that deal with all aspects of invasive species and pests plus some aspects of forest and natural resources management. The center's first goal is "to become a preeminent national and international public service and outreach center," and the creators have achieved it admirably.
The site's main page features a What's New section, which highlights important news items and fact sheets. The Topics section allows users to locate Web sites of interest by various categories, such as Bark Beetles, Prescribed Fire, Weeds, and Wildlife. The databases of forestry, insect, invasive species, and integrated pest management images are a rich source of photographs. Currently, the site offers access to nearly 130,000 images that can be used without charge, with correct attribution, after free user registration. Quality links to other governmental and academic Web sites are well chosen. The BugwoodWiki, organized by categories including Fruits and Nuts, Field Crops, and Diagnostician's Cookbook, should prove to be a valuable resource as it develops and matures. Also noteworthy is the Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS), which aids in the tracking and mapping of the spread of invasive species throughout the US. Users can keep up to date with the center's news through Facebook or via RSS feed. The site has some minor navigational inconsistencies, but overall, it is an excellent resource for obtaining information and images related to invasive species and associated topics." from Choice, December 2010.
Ecological Internet"The mission of the Ecological Internet (EI) has consistently been to "empower the global movement for environmental sustainability by providing retrieval tools, portal services, expert analysis," and opportunities for "eco-action." Created and managed by Glenn Barry, a conservation biologist and political ecologist, Ecological Internet Inc. is a nonprofit organization that uses the Internet to promote and support worldwide conservation issues, ecological sustainability, and restoration."
Freshwater and Marine Image Bank"The Freshwater and Marine Image Bank is a digital collection from the University of Washington Libraries. The images are scanned and maintained specifically by the staff of the Fisheries-Oceanography Library. The site currently contains 21,000 photos related to worldwide ocean and limnological environments from the 18th- through early-20th centuries. The site is fairly easy to navigate, with logical links. However, there can be some confusion since entering one digital collection site gives a user access to all other collections; visitors need to make sure that they remain in the Freshwater and Marine Image Bank when clicking on links.
There are expected collections of images such as Fish Species, Shellfish, and Water Birds. One of the surprising sets of photos is under Stereoscopic Views, which contains some spectacular images of Niagara Falls, the Chicago River, and the Panama Canal, to name a few. Metadata for each photo includes the image date, subject, publication information, copyright, and ordering information. A search option allows users to perform subject or title searches. One nice feature is the Other Sources section, which provides links to related image sites. It is not apparent how often updates are performed, but users can register to receive updates through the feed reader of their choice. The site appears to work well using both Internet Explorer and Firefox. This site offers a useful way to view images from publications that may be too fragile to handle. It is valuable for any student, teacher, or researcher who needs access to historical images related to freshwater and marine subjects." Choice February 2010.
Freshwater Ecoregions of the World (FEOW)"Freshwater Ecoregions of the World, (FEOW) provides a new global biogeographic regionalization of the Earth's freshwater biodiversity. Covering virtually all freshwater habitats on Earth, this first-ever ecoregion map, together with associated species data, is a useful tool for underpinning global and regional conservation planning efforts, particularly to identify outstanding and imperiled freshwater systems; for serving as a logical framework for large-scale conservation strategies; and for providing a global-scale knowledge base for increasing freshwater biogeographic literacy."
"Freshwater Ecoregions of the World is a joint venture between the World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy. In addition to some corporate funding, support comes from the US Agency for International Development through an award for the Parks in Peril Program. As the name implies, the site covers global freshwater issues that are important to all, with the intent to make people more aware of and sensitive to what is happening on this planet.
Users can select an ecoregion from the map, browse a list of ecoregions, or search for an ecoregion. For each region, the site provides detailed, factual information including geographic boundaries, species found in the area, habitats, and climate. The maps and information are very understandable, and the information is collected and displayed uniquely, with no ambiguity in presentation and the right mix of images and text. The bibliography is excellent, and the well-organized site appears to be updated frequently. The images and data seem to come up equally well on Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2.0.0.12. The site is easy to navigate, but in at least one spot, this reviewer was unable to return to a previous page without using "back" on the tool bar. A login option is given, though it is not apparent why one would need a login. This resource is valuable for anyone (especially students or researchers) needing information on freshwater ecosystems and related issues or for keeping up with what is happening to freshwater habitats on Earth." from Choice, March 2009
GAP Analysis Project"The goal of the GAP Analysis Program is to keep common species common by identifying those species and plant communities that are not adequately represented in existing conservation lands. Common species are those not currently threatened with extinction. By identifying their habitats, GAP Analysis gives land managers and policy makers the information they need to make better-informed decisions when identifying priority areas for conservation."
Invasive.org"Invasive.org, a joint project of the University of Georgia's Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health (Bugwood Network) and the USDA Forest Service and USDA APHIS PPQ, aims to provide access to high-quality images related to invasive species. It is one of an array of Web sites that form the university's Bugwood Network http://www.bugwood.org/. This site uses a definition of invasive species that broadly matches those of the US federal government and most environmental and academic organizations.
The database of invasive species covers a wide variety of organisms, including plants, diseases, insects, and many other animals. Its publication section includes a small collection of relevant online books and government reports. The site offers detailed descriptions about the species included and the ecological consequences of species invasiveness, as well as detailed and accessible taxonomic information including order and family, genus, species, authority information, and common names. However, this site is primarily a database of images. Each image comes with a description of the license granted for its use and an attribution for the photographer. The site can also facilitate commercial usage requests. A wide variety of image resolutions are available, with the highest-resolution images (e.g., 1536 x 1024 and 3072 x 2048 pixels) being available only to members. Fortunately, membership is free and can be started without delay. Invasive.org also provides links to selected news items and other helpful Web sites. This site is worthwhile for educators, students, and members of the general public interested in finding images of various invasive species. However, there are other worthwhile Web sites that provide more detail about invasive species, including Invasive and Noxious Weeds http://plants.usda.gov/java/noxiousDriver, a subset of the USDA's PLANTS Database (CH, Sup'05, 42Sup-0242), and the Global Invasive Species Database http://www.invasivespecies.net/database/welcome/." Choice, August 2009.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Species"This authoritative, user-friendly site provides technical information about plant and animal species, updates on legislation and policy regarding species management, and details about species conservation status. Site sections include Endangered Species, Birds, Invasive Species, Pollinators, The Image Library, and Wildlife Fact Sheets. The home page states that "restoring endangered and threatened species to a secure status in the wild is a key objective of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)," and the Endangered Species Program http://www.fws.gov/endangered/ (CH, Apr'05, 42-4630) forms the hub of the Web site.
A search box on the home page allows searching by common or scientific name. Search results provide the species scientific and common names, species group (e.g., birds), listing status (e.g., threatened, endangered, proposed, candidate, or delisted), and current distribution (states). Search results link to the Threatened and Endangered Species System, which is updated daily with species profiles for foreign/domestic terrestrial and freshwater plants and animals. Profiles include nomenclature, taxonomy, overview, an image, links to Federal Register and other regulatory documents, recovery plans, critical habitat, conservation plans, petitions, life history, and other information resources. The Birds section links to the FWS Division of Migratory Birds pages, which provides access to documents about hunting, conservation, monitoring, laws/treaties/regulations for thousands of bird species and includes informative pamphlets about backyard birds useful to consumers. The Invasive Species link points to the FWS Environmental Contaminants Program's page on invasive species. The Pollinators section links to FWS programs that assess, protect, or restore pollinators and their habitats. The Image Library offers a large collection of copyright-free images that will appeal to children and can be useful in writing reports. The Wildlife Fact Sheets point to very current species profiles." from Choice, April 2009
Xerces SocietyThe Xerces Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving invertebrates and their habitat. Its Web site, revamped in 2008, serves as both the society's home page and an educational resource. Society-related areas are chiefly in the About, Programs, News, Our Work, and Support sections located near the top of the main page below a colorful banner featuring gorgeous pictures of invertebrates. Each section has detailed subsections providing important information about the society, including its staff, board of directors, news, advocacy and policy activities, research, and details on becoming a member.
The site's educational areas are where the depth of content becomes apparent. The Invertebrates section profiles about 180 endangered or at-risk species, with an almost entirely North American emphasis. Each species account links to a Red List profile where applicable and provides, among other items, conservation status, identifying marks, references, photo (if available), and additional authoritative links. Unfortunately, last updated dates for the profiles are not always easy to ascertain. The Programs and Publications sections offer additional society- and education-related content. Besides describing the society's work, the programs listed in the Programs section may also have links to relevant authoritative Web pages or reports. The Publications section provides PDF files of the society's many writings, including guidelines, identification guides, petitions, comments responding to federal or state agency proposals, and reports; only the society's books and member magazine are not free to site visitors. Overall, the site is useful for undergraduates who have some training in invertebrates and are interested in conservation. Though focused mostly on pollinators and at-risk or endangered invertebrates in North America, the content is authoritative. The Xerces Society, almost 40 years old, has a worldwide reputation. Its site clearly reflects its mission and provides reliable educational information. From Choice, Jan. 2011.