Australian Biological Resources Study
Issue 24
Australian Biological Resources Study, June 2001
ISSN 0814 B8880
As stated in the last issue of Biologue, Mr Ian Cresswell took up the position of ABRS Director in late December 2000, replacing Dr Geoff Dyne who acted in the position pending Ian's arrival. ABRS would like to thank Dr Dyne for his contribution during 2000 and wish him all the best for the future. Mr Cresswell's contact details are:
Mr Ian Cresswell
Director
Australian Biological Resources Study
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601
Ph: (02) 6250 9506
Fax: (02) 6250 9555
E-mail: abrs@deh.gov.au
The ABRS is now located in the Parks Australia South Branch of Parks Australia Division of Environment Australia. Mr John Hicks is the Assistant Secretary of Parks Australia South, and Mr Peter Cochrane is the Director of National Parks. Parks South Branch includes ABRS, the Australian National Botanic Gardens, Beecroft Ranger Station (Defence area), Booderee National Park, Calperum Station, Norfolk Island National Park and Botanic Garden, and National Reserves System Section.
As advised in the last issue of Biologue, the ABRS is changing the Participatory Programme grants from financial to calendar years. See Grants News for a detailed schedule of the next grants round in 2002/2003.
Following changes to the Advisory Committee structure last year, you will find the list of new members who were appointed by the Minister of Environment in December 2000 in this issue of Biologue.
Since the implementation of the restructure in 2000 ABRS subprogrammes have progressed well. See below for information on each subprogramme and the latest activities and products. ABRS not only seeks to train young people in taxonomy through the Participatory Programme, but also through offering temporary contract jobs to graduates to assist with the completion of a number of internal projects. The current employees include:
Communication Subprogrammes
ABIF-Fauna
ABIF Joint Subprogramme Leader (Fauna)
Ph: (02) 6250 9436
Fax: (02) 6250 9488
E-mail: abrs@deh.gov.au
Australian Faunal Directory (AFD)
Feedback on the AFD, the main section of ABIF-Fauna web site, has been very positive and rewarding. As resources have allowed, additional taxa have been prepared and new facilities developed. These include data for an additional 4,000 species in eight groups - such as the Acarina, Odonata and Thysanoptera; new illustrations and distribution maps; options to download checklists; further development of underlying structures for automatic searches and links; upgrade to the site maps; and links to explanations of data format. As Biologue goes to press, the new web files are being loaded on the Web site.
See: http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/fauna/afd/
Census of Australian Vertebrate Species (CAVS)
An automated search and report facility has been developed to extract relevant CAVS data from the AFD and to display the data on the ABIF-Fauna site. When the required new and updated CAVS data is provided from other sources, it will be incorporated into the AFD files. The mammal and bird sections should be available online shortly. Data for the Amphibia and Reptilia should be available later this year.
Platypus Version 3
Platypus is the software platform used to compile, manage and generate the data for the Web site. Over 40% of the estimated described Australian fauna has now been databased using this software package. Platypus is also being used to database taxa worldwide, including compilation of a world database of over 14,000 Protist taxa.
Platypus has been upgraded to 32 bit and extensively revised. Version 3 was released late last year and various minor upgrades have been released since. The new look Platypus includes many additional features, such as a graphics database, options for alphabetic or user-defined order of taxa in the checklist, new import and export options, and methods of data selection. The checklist can now be used also to manage botanical names. The 32 bit format has also allowed us to improve many functions, especially the speed of operation, and to tidy up many of the forms. The Help facility has also been extensively upgraded. An option to include palaeontological data will be released shortly.
Platypus v.3 may be downloaded from the Web and trialed free of charge. See:
http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/software/platypus/
ABIF-Flora
ABIF Joint Subprogramme Leader (Flora)
Ms Helen Thompson
Ph: (02) 6250 9445
Fax: (02) 6250 9448
E-mail: abrs@deh.gov.au
The Australian Biodiversity Information Facility (ABIF) is a Web-based source of authoritative information on Australia's biodiversity.
ABIF-Flora plans to database published taxonomic volumes of the Flora of Australia, Fungi of Australia and Algae of Australia for delivery on the Internet. ABRS has already collaborated in the funding and production of database projects such as the Australian Marine Algal Name Index, Census of Freshwater Algae in Australia, Checklist of the Lichens of Australia and its Island Territories, Catalogue of Australian Fungi which are currently available on the Internet and which will be linked to ABIF-Flora. The Flora of Australia volumes of the Proteaceae, Casuarinaceae and a number of smaller families are nearly ready for delivery, but further developmental work on the database delivery is still required.
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The Flora material will also be linked to the Australian Plant Name Index (APNI) database currently maintained by the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) and the Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research (CPBR). Links to the National Plant Photographic Index of the ANBG will be developed. Access to the Flora data will be either through the ABRS website or through the APNI database. The ABIF-Flora data will be readily accessible to the Australian Virtual Herbarium (AVH) through its ANBG/CPBR links. The electronic Flora will be stored in a database format, and will be searchable within the constraints of the data. Because there are no plans to database individual character states within taxon descriptions, there will be limitations to what can be retrieved through a search. |
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Data fields will include:
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At present the data is not available, however it will soon be made available through either the ABIF-Flora site of the ABRS website or through APNI. The data is delivered as an entire Flora treatment (for the specified taxon) when accessed through APNI, or delivered as subsets/larger sets of information when generated by a query from the ABIF-Flora site.
ABIF ENQUIRIES. We welcome any suggestions or enquiries that you may have about ABIF, including enquiries from authors who may wish to make their data available on or linked to this site. Please contact abrs@deh.gov.au (Fauna & Protists) or abrs@deh.gov.au (Flora).
Species Bank
Subprogramme Leader
Ph: (02) 6250 9435
Fax: (02) 6250 9555
E-mail: abrs@deh.gov.au
As an new initiative of ABRS, an easy-to-use species bank resource is presently under development. It is a Community resource aimed at providing information on species of interest to the Community, ranging across all taxa from protozoans to higher plants and animals within the Australian Region. It will be freely available on the web, and pitched at a level appropriate for 9-10 year-old onwards. Treatments will comprise 350-500 words of authoritative information, under a set of headings, with a photograph and distribution map, and where possible, sound and video footage. Further reading will be linked to URLs where possible, to keep interactivity on the net at a high level. Topics and other search terms associated with each species treatment will form the basis of an educational overlay particularly relevant to environmental education. A feedback mechanism will assist in identifying and understanding the needs of the Community, with the aim of enabling the Community to take ownership in the programme.
An assessment of the web for similar material suggests a niche for such products, for searches on 127 major taxa of higher plants and animals showed that only 15 sites of 7600 sites examined had material similar to that proposed [an information file on some 600 sites was assembled during this search and is available on request]. Approaches are being made to the builders of the 15 sites, as potential partners in a consortium approach to assembling the proposed website. Such partnerships will be critical in diminishing the overall cost to any one contributor, including ABRS. The projected number of species treatments in the first three years is in the order of 2500-3000.
Scientific Subprogrammes
Fungi of Australia Subprogramme
Subprogramme Leader
Dr Cheryl Grgurinovic
Ph: (02) 6250 9446
Fax: (02) 6250 9448
E-mail: abrs@deh.gov.au
The focus of the Fungi subprogramme has been the completion of the Fungi of Australia, Volume 2B, Catalogue & Bibliography of Australian Macrofungi 2. Basidiomycota p.p. & Myxomycota, as well as editing some initial chapters for Fungi of Australia, Volume 29 p.p. Hygrophoraceae and Volume 13 p.p. Phyllachoraceae.
The internet accessible version of Fungi of Australia, Volume 2A, Catalogue & Bibliography of Australian Macrofungi 1, is now available on the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne website (http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/fungi/cat/). The Interactive Catalogue of Australian Fungi includes all records from Volume 2A as well as corrections, additions, and changes to the taxonomy of fungi that have occurred subsequent to Volume 2A's publication.
Just released is the Lucid interactive key, 101 Forest Fungi by Dr Tony Young, which is a joint publication between ABRS and Knowledge Books, Qld. This CD contains a key to 101 fungi that commonly occur in Eastern Australian forests. It has extensive notes and images accompanying each species and also includes general information on characters used in identifying fungi. See Latest Products for a special deal on buying this CD.
Forthcoming publications:
Protists Subprogramme
Subprogramme Leader
Ph: (02) 6250 9436
Fax: (02) 6250 9488
E-mail: abrs@deh.gov.au
Development of an ABIF-Protists web facility is on track and contracts to compile the data and develop the site have been let. It is anticipated that the site should be online in the second half of 2001.
Invertebrates
Joint Subprogramme Leaders
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Dr Alice Wells |
Ms Pam Beesley Ph: (02) 6250 9434 Fax: (02) 6250 9555 E-mail: abrs@deh.gov.au |
As indicated in our October Biologue Report, the ABRS Invertebrates Subprogramme aims to 'target online community access guides and keys, especially for those taxa for which such tools are not presently available in any medium, supply information at several levels for ABIF, and bring closure to several outstanding projects '
Progress in this direction includes:
Lichens and Bryophytes Subprogrammes
Subprogramme Leader
Dr Patrick McCarthy
Ph: (02) 6250 9447
Fax: (02) 6250 9555
E-mail: abrs@deh.gov.au
Lichens
Editing of the third lichen volume (Flora of Australia Volume 58A) is now complete. It is hoped that this volume will be published in mid-2001.
An updated online Checklist of the Lichens of Australia and its Island Territories was completed in February 2001 and is available at: http://www.anbg.gov.au/abrs/lichenlist/introduction.html
A richly illustrated booklet, Key to the Genera of Australian Lichens: Apothecial Crusts, is now available as Flora of Australia Supplementary Series No. 11 from ABRS.
Editing of the fourth lichen volume of the Flora (56A) will begin in mid-year. A contract has been let to Prof. Jack Elix (ANU) to complete Flora treatments of Lecanoraceae and Porpidiaceae for this volume.
Bryophytes
Scott Gilmore (previously at Australian National University) has joined ABRS for 9 months on a temporary contract basis to edit parts of the first moss volume of the Flora of Australia (Vol. 51) and prepare treatments for the second volume (52A).
From mid-year, priority will be given to completing and publishing the first moss volume as quickly as possible.
Vascular Plants Subprogramme
Subprogramme Leader
Dr Tony Orchard
Ph: (02) 6250 9443
Fax: (02) 6250 9448
E-mail: abrs@deh.gov.au
Substantial progress has been made with the Flora of Australia programme with both Acacia volumes having gone to press in the first half of 2001. Flora of Australia volume 11A, Mimosaceae, Acacia Part 1, edited by Annette Wilson, has gone to press. It contains introductory essays, keys to all species, and descriptions of 462 species, with the usual maps, distributional information, ecology, and illustrations. The companion volume, Flora of Australia volume 11B, Mimosaceae, Acacia Part 2, contains the remaining 493 species. The companion CD, WATTLE, containing a LucID key to all Australian Acacia taxa, is also in production. The three Acacia products will be marketed as a package by mid-year. The Acacia project, dealing as it does with Australia's largest genus of flowering plants, has been a major project for ABRS for many years involving collaboration and cooperation between a large group of researchers, editors, illustrators and photographers from many institutions, and between them they have produced a series of products which bring great credit to Australia's taxonomic community. We can be very proud of the result.
Katy Mallett is progressing the first Flora volume on grasses (Poaceae), and it is anticipated that this will be ready to go to press mid-year.
ABRS, with the Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, was a successful tenderer for populating the Environment Australia Species Profiles and Threats (SPRAT) database, for use as a management tool for the new EPBC Act. The database will contain information on populations, habitats, biology and perceived threats to rare and endangered species, and will be a key management tool for biological managers. Two temporary staff, Ms Jasmyn Lynch (seconded from Environment Australia), and Mr Lee Halasz, have been engaged to carry out this work, under the supervision of Tony Orchard.
The vascular flora group is also involved with Species Plantarum, Flora of the World, of which two additional parts were published in March 2001. Part 4 Schisandraceae describes an essentially Asian family of the Illiciales. Part 5 describes the monotypic rush family Prioniaceae, a close relative of Juncaceae from southern Africa.
Tony Orchard is working on the final stages of editing Nature's Investigator, The Diary of Robert Brown in Australia 1801-1805. This year is the bicentenary of this pivotal voyage, in which Matthew Flinders completed the first circum-navigation of Australia. Brown and other naturalists on board Investigator made major plant, animal and geological collections. These events will be commemorated in various places around the country over the next year or two, and the Brown Diary will be published to coincide with these celebrations.
A poster and series of information leaflets on the Floral Emblems of the Australian Commonwealth, States and Territories has been produced as a joint ABRS/Australian National Botanic Gardens project, and is now available. See Latest Products for details on purchasing your copy. The poster features very attractive paintings by Sydney-based artist Marion Westmacott.
Algae Subprogramme
Subprogramme Leader
Dr Tony Orchard
Ph: (02) 6250 9443
Fax: (02) 6250 9448
E-mail: abrs@deh.gov.au
Nearly all chapters for the Algae of Australia volume 1, Introduction book are now in-house, and the missing parts are expected very soon. A contract has been let with Mr Alex George, former Executive Editor, Flora of Australia, to edit this work. It is expected to go to press early in 2002. As for the introductory volumes of Flora of Australia and Fungi of Australia, this volume will provide an overview of the orders and families within Australia, including their ecology, distribution, taxonomy and economic aspects. There will be a glossary of terms to be used in future descriptive works, and detailed bibliographies. A useful precursor to the Algae of Australia series will be the book Marine Plants of Australia, jointly published by ABRS and University of Western Australia Press in November 2000. This work is discussed elsewhere in this Biologue.
The Department of Environment is currently redeveloping its web site, and the ABRS has participated in this by reviewing its current site to conform to the Departmental format. It is anticipated that the new web site for Environment Australia, and hence ABRS will be online after June 2001. In the meantime, ABRS will continue to update the old site www.anbg.gov.au/abrs as much as possible to keep stakeholders informed until the new site is formally launched.
For some years now the Combined heads of Australian Herbaria (CHAH) and its technical committee, HISCOM, have debated the merits and technical issues surrounding the concept of having all Australian herbaria specimens databased and accessible over the Internet. That concept has taken a major step forward in the past 6 months with the peak body of Environment Ministers (ANZECC) agreeing to the concept of building an Australia's Virtual Herbarium (AVH).
The long-term vision of the AVH includes a comprehensive online information resource of Australian plants and Australian botany. ABIF-Flora is a participant in the AVH and will be a significant contributor to the AVH information base.
On behalf of Environment Australia, ABRS hosted a joint meeting of CHAH and HISCOM at the Australian National Botanic Gardens on the 5th and 6th of March 2001. The meeting worked through both the policy and technical setting that will be required to turn the dream of the AVH into a reality. All state, territory and Commonwealth herbaria are now actively working to ensure the funding is secured to make the project happen. It is hoped that a decision will soon be made that will see the project fast-tracked.