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Colleagues: Please give the widest possible distribution to the following announcement. Cheers, John Alroy The Paleobiology Database National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis 735 State Street, Suite 300 Santa Barbara, CA 93101-3351 phone: (805) 892-2519 FAX: (805) 892-2510 e-mail: alroy@nceas.ucsb.edu CREATE A PALEOBIOLOGY DATABASE ONLINE SYSTEMATICS ARCHIVE The Paleobiology Database (http://paleodb.org) is the premiere source of paleontological classification and nomenclature data on the World Wide Web, with information on over 81,000 genera, species, and higher taxa. We record names and assignments of invertebrates, vertebrates, plants, and microfossils from all continents and geological periods. To date, more than 60 researchers have contributed to our systematics database. Most of the data belong to Online Systematics Archives that have been created by individual taxonomic authorities. These Archives document comprehensive syntheses of literature data and unpublished revisions. We welcome further contributions from experts working on all taxonomic groups and parts of the geological record. Here are some reasons to contribute data: * Our system works. It's entirely web-based, heavily debugged, and multi-featured. Software development is driven by user requests. New features are added continuously. * Our online classification entry scripts are easy to use and have many error checking safeguards. You can record type specimens, diagnoses, alternative spellings, recombinations, measurements, and digital images. If you have already stored data in an electronic format, we will work with you to upload them. * Our modular taxonomic information pages dynamically compute higher- order classifications, detailed taxonomic histories, and synonymy lists, and display all alternative diagnoses, measurements, and images that you've entered. * You can dynamically compute a hierarchical classification of any group of organisms, including the one you are working on as you work on it. * All of our classification data can be downloaded in standard or ITIS format. * You won't waste time duplicating effort. You can build on the data already in the system, or work remotely with collaborators to build a new archive. * Your opinions count. Our 576,000 taxonomic occurrence data records will be updated automatically with your synonymies and reclassifications. You can reidentify other workers' individual occurrences. Paleoecological and macroevolutionary analyses will benefit from your taxonomic expertise. * As a contributor, you can also enter any amount of spatiotemporal occurrence data. Combined with the systematics, you'll be able fully document everything there is to know about your taxa. * You'll get full credit. Your Online Systematics Archive entry will be described on its own highly visible web page, and can be cited. Current Archives are listed here: http://paleodb.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl? user=Guest&action=displayPage&page=OSA * Thousands of researchers from around the globe will rely on your data for many decades to come. You can make sure everyone has access to the best possible classifications by documenting your expert knowledge. Joining the Paleobiology Database is easy. Just write an e-mail to the Database Coordinator, John Alroy (alroy@nceas.ucsb.edu). Briefly describe your background, explain the scope of your planned archive, and tell us whether you'll be keystroking new data or contributing existing electronic data. Our Advisory Board will discuss your proposal and get back to you with feedback quickly. We'll then create a data contributor account for you, and you'll be ready to get to work right away. Don't miss this opportunity to further your own research and help the international paleontological community. Contact us whenever you're ready.
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