News Articles
Published: 04-03-2018
The oldest specimen in the MyCoPortal is housed at Purdue and was collected in 1769 in Tierra Del Fuego at the southern tip of South America. It was collected by the Englishman Sir Joseph Banks and Dr. Daniel Carl Solander during the first great voyage of Captain James Cook's ship "The Endeavour". Among the 125 specimens collected at Tierra Del Fuego was one of Berberis...
Published: 03-29-2018
The annual iDigBio Staff Retreat was held on February 23, 2018, at the Learning Center in the Austin Cary Forest outside of Gainesville. The event started at 9 am with an overview of the status of iDigBio given by Program Director, Larry Page. During this presentation, Page highlighted our past accomplishments as well as are current challenges and objectives. He asserted that the connections...
Published: 03-13-2018
Sand Food (Pholisma sonorae)
Photo courtesy of Michael Carters
In the deep, drifting sands of the Algodones Dunes of the American Southwest and the El Gran Desierto of northern Mexico lives a curious plant known as Sand Food. To most, Pholisma sonorae looks more like a mushroom than a perennial plant as it is only visible from April to June when its mushroom-shaped inflorescence...
Published: 02-09-2018
Pacarana (Dinomys branickii)
David F. Schmidt, USNM Dinomys branickii, Smithsonian Institution, NMNH, Mammals
The Pacarana (Dinomys branickii) is a large species of rodent native to South America. It is the only living member of the family Dinomyidae. Dinomyids were more diverse in the past, with around eight fossil genera known. The Pacarana ranges from Colombia to Bolivia and...
Published: 02-09-2018
From the Tropics to the Drawer and Back: Digitized New World Swallowtail Butterfly Specimens Inform Biodiversity Patterns
Contributed by: Hannah Owens from the Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida
As a postdoc at the Florida Museum of Natural History, I am using data from museum specimens to understand why swallowtail butterfly diversity increases as one...
Published: 12-13-2017
Dear iDigBio Enthusiasts,
iDigBio is halfway through its seventh year and has many exciting plans for 2018. Moving forward, we will continue working with the collections community to facilitate digitization, mobilization, and use of specimen data, while continuing to enhance the data search portal. iDigBio’s priorities are to work with additional collections to increase digitization...
Published: 12-12-2017
New Insights from Old Herbarium Specimens
Contributed by Richard B. Primack (Boston University; primack@bu.edu) and Charles G. Willis (Harvard University; charleswillis@fas.harvard.edu)
“Live in each season as it passes - breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit & resign yourself to the influence of each.” Thoreau, in his Journal. 1835
Millions of...
Published: 11-30-2017
by Deborah Paul, Libby Ellwood, Christina Alba, Larry Page
with contributions from our speakers: Dave Tazik, Jennifer McGuire, Anna Monfils, Barry Sinervo, and Elizabeth Martin; and from some participants present at this symposium including (at least): Vince Smith, Mary Klein, Herrick Brown, and Jason Knouft
‘What do we need to leave behind today to position...
Published: 11-21-2017
by Deborah Paul, Ana Dal Molin, and Pam Soltis, with contributions from all symposium presenters. Symposium from iDigBio and Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Brazil
Overview.
Big Data. There are a few different definitions for what constitutes big data. Most involve enormous datasets. But one could easily argue that research datasets are big when you, as an...
Published: 11-17-2017
The third annual WeDigBio (Worldwide Engagement for Digitizing Biocollections) Event took place October 19-22, 2017. WeDigBio is a citizen science event that involves the public in working towards two main goals – to mobilize biodiversity specimen information from collections around the world, and to grow, strengthen and educate our biodiversity community. Specimen information is...
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