
One-Stop Web
"Shop" to Find Collections of Biological SpecimensBy Hank Becker January 22, 1999Users of the World Wide Web can now visit a one-stop "shopping
center" for information about the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's collections of biological specimens, from
Anastrepha fruit flies to Zoopthora fungi. The Agricultural Research Service,
USDA's chief research agency, designed the site for scientists. But it will be
useful to teachers, students and administrators--just about anyone who studies
or cares for plants and animals and the range of organisms that affect them. Systematic Collections of the Agricultural Research Service describes in
detail 12 collections under the care of ARS laboratories. The collections are
of animal parasites, fungi, bacteria, insects, nematodes, plants and seeds. ARS curators and other experts discover, name, describe and classify the
organisms. Specimens in the collections form a foundation for studies in
botany, entomology, acarology, nematology, parasitology and mycology, as well
as molecular sciences that draw on these fields. Many of the organisms play
roles as biological controls for agriculture pests. Most ARS systematic collections are the primary U.S. repositories for these
organisms. Several are recognized as part of the U.S. National Museums
series and are maintained by the Smithsonian
Institution in Washington, D.C. The collections include mostly preserved
museum reference specimens. The link to the web version of the systematics publication--as well as
ordering information for the 77-page, full-color book--can be found at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/systematics/systematicintro.htm Not your typical technical publication, the web version has links to ARS
databases associated with the collections, to curators of the collections and
to affiliated organizations such as the Smithsonian Institution. Other links
take browsers to scientific literature references. The web site provides information on the collections purpose, history,
location and size. Also included are major research programs and achievements
of the labs curating the collections. Anastrepha ludens, the Mexican fruit fly, is a quarantine pest of
U.S. citrus. Zoopthora radicans is a fungus that attacks leafhopper
pests. Scientific contact: J. Ralph Lichtenfels, ARS
Biosystematics and
National Parasite Collection Unit, Beltsville, Md., phone (301) 504-8444,
fax (504) 8979, [email protected]. U.S. Department of Agriculture | |