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Science 14 November 2003:
Vol. 302. no. 5648, pp. 1175 - 1177
DOI: 10.1126/science.1088666

State of the Planet

Web Resources on
Biodiversity

To accompany
Prospects for Biodiversity
Martin Jenkins
Science 302, 1175 (2003)
[Abstract] [Full text]
(from the State of the Planet series)

Web Sites of Interest
Previously in Science

Web Sites of Interest on Biodiversity Issues

United Nations Environment Programme: Key U.N. "environment for development" agency undertakes a wealth of activities in the biodiversity arena.

UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre: Information portal on worldwide conservation and biodiversity issues, started as a nonprofit and now under the aegis of the UNEP.

Convention on Biological Diversity: Rich, remarkable site of the U.N. convention includes the text of the convention itself, a "clearing-house mechanism" for worldwide biodiversity and biosafety information, a collection of biodiversity links, and much, much more. Highly recommended.

IUCN -- The World Conservation Union: International scientific and policy organization on sustainable-development issues.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Registry of threatened and endangered plant and animal species. Site includes a number of useful summary tables.

Global Biodiversity Information Facility: Denmark-based project to "make the world's primary data on biodiversity freely and universally available via the Internet."

National Biological Information Infrastructure: Well-stocked Web clearinghouse for data and information on North American biological resources. Includes a superb collection of links on genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity.

National Biodiversity Network: Project to build the U.K.'s first network of biodiversity information.

NatureServe: Nonprofit purveyor of biodiversity information and other conservation-oriented data.

Tree of Life Web Server: Compulsively browseable online rendering of Earth's biodiversity.

AAAS Atlas of Population and Environment: Free online version of comprehensive reference on geographic relationships between population and environment; includes extensive section on biodiversity.

World Resources Institute: Well-known nonprofit organization focusing on sustainable-development issues.

EarthTrends: The Environmental Information Portal: Handsome site from WRI providing gateway to myriad information, including data tables, maps, and other features, on a variety of environmental issues, including biodiversity.

Conservation International Home: A leading nonprofit organization focusing on conserving global biodiversity. Organization's many excellent Web sites include the education-focused Investigate Biodiversity, an effort on biodiversity hotspots, and the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science.

WWF -- The Conservation Organization: Education- and citizen-oriented Web site of the well-known advocacy organization.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization: UNESCO's site includes a natural science portal with in-depth information on the organization's activities regarding human influences on the biosphere.

World Heritage Center: Online headquarters for the UNESCO cultural and natural conservation program.

UK Government Sustainable Development: Interesting site detailing the U.K.'s efforts in sustainable development.

Biodiversity and Biological Collections WWW Server: Browseable site with an abundance of links "of interest to systematists and other biologists of the organismic kind."

The World-Wide Web Virtual Library: Ecology and Biodiversity: Searchable collection of biodiversity resources, hosted by the Society for Conservation Biology.

Selected Previous Science Articles on Biodiversity Issues

Science Special Issues

Special Issue: Human-Dominated Ecosystems
24 July 1997; v. 277, no. 5325: Includes news and six review articles on the biodiversity and ecosystem impacts of human activities.

Special Issue: Bioinformatics for Biodiversity
29 September 2000; v. 289, no. 5488: Collection of articles on how global electronic databases are changing biodiversity studies.

Special Issue: Ecology Through Time: Reviews, Viewpoints, and news about human impacts and ecological patterns over long time scales.

Other Science Articles

Preserving the Tree of Life: Georgina M. Mace et al.
Science 300, 1707-1709 (2003)
[Abstract] [Full text]

Protecting China's Biodiversity: Jianguo Liu
Science 300, 1240-1241 (2003)
[Summary] [Full text]

Direct Payments to Conserve Biodiversity: Paul J. Ferraro and Agnes Kiss
Science 298, 1718-1719 (2002)
[Summary] [Full text]

Biodiversity Update--Progress in Taxonomy: Stephen Blackmore
Science 298, 365 (2002)
[Summary] [Full text]

Economic Reasons for Conserving Wild Nature: Andrew Balmford et al.
Science 297, 950-953 (2002)
[Abstract] [Full text]

Science, Sustainability, and the Human Prospect: Peter H. Raven
Science 297, 954-958 (2002)
[Summary] [Full text]

Mammal Population Losses and the Extinction Crisis: Gerardo Ceballos and Paul R. Ehrlich
Science 296, 904-907 (2002)
[Abstract] [Full text]

Marine Biodiversity Hotspots and Conservation Priorities for Tropical Reefs: Callum M. Roberts et al.
Science 295, 1280-1284 (2002)
[Abstract] [Full text]

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Current Knowledge and Future Challenges: M. Loreau et al.
Science 294, 804-808 (2001)
[Abstract] [Full text]

Can We Defy Nature's End?: Stuart L. Pimm et al.
Science 293, 2207-2208 (2001)
[Summary] [Full text]

Humans as the World's Greatest Evolutionary Force: Stephen R. Palumbi
Science 293, 1786-1790 (2001)
[Abstract] [Full text]

The End for Indonesia's Lowland Forests?: Paul Jepson et al.
Science 292, 859-861 (2001)
[Summary] [Full text]

Conservation Conflicts Across Africa: Andrew Balmford et al.
Science 291, 2616-2619 (2001)
[Abstract] [Full text]

Effectiveness of Parks in Protecting Tropical Biodiversity: Aaron G. Bruner et al.
Science 291, 125-128 (2001)
[Abstract] [Full text]

A Global Biodiversity Map: Edward O. Wilson
Science 289, 2279 (2000)
[Summary]

Nonrandom Extinction and the Loss of Evolutionary History: Andy Purvis et al.
Science 288, 328-330 (2000)
[Abstract] [Full text]

Global Biodiversity Scenarios for the Year 2100: Osvaldo E. Sala et al.
Science 287, 1770-1774 (2000)
[Abstract] [Full text]

Emerging Infectious Diseases of Wildlife-- Threats to Biodiversity and Human Health: Peter Daszak et al.
Science 287, 443-449 (2000)
[Abstract] [Full text]

International Ecosystem Assessment: Edward Ayensu et al.
Science 286, 685-686 (1999)
[Summary] [Full text]

Conservation Targets: Do They Help?: Michael E. Soulé and M. A. Sanjayan
Science 279, 2060-2061 (1998)
[Summary] [Full text]

Planning for Biodiversity: Stuart L. Pimm and John H. Lawton
Science 279, 2068-2069 (1998)
[Summary] [Full text]

Biodiversity Assessment and Conservation Strategies: Albert S. van Jaarsveld et al.
Science 279, 2106-2108 (1998)
[Abstract] [Full text]

Population Diversity: Its Extent and Extinction: Jennifer B. Hughes et al.
Science 278, 689-692 (1997)
[Abstract] [Full text]

A Role for Ecotones in Generating Rainforest Biodiversity: Thomas B. Smith et al.
Science 276, 1855-1857 (1997)
[Abstract] [Full text]

From the JSTOR Archive

Knowing the Earth's Biodiversity: Challenges for the Infrastructure of Systematic Biology: Stephen Blackmore
Science 274, 63-64 (1996)
[PDF] (0.5 MB)

The Future of Biodiversity: Stuart Pimm et al.
Science 269, 347-350 (1995)
[PDF] (1.0 MB)

Biodiversity Studies: Science and Policy: Paul R. Ehrlich and Edward O. Wilson
Science 253, 758-762 (1991)
[PDF] (1.2 MB)

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