Biology
This guide provides selected library resources, either in print or online, for biology, including molecular, ecological, environmental biology, genetics, and microbiology.
Reference
. Products available to registered McMaster Students/Staff/Faculty Only are marked with a
.Encyclopedias
Encyclopedias usually provide lengthy articles, giving background information and often bibliographies.
Encyclopedia of Animals: a Complete Visual Guide
THODE Reference (lower level) QL 7 .E54 2004
Encyclopedia of Biodiversity
THODE Reference (lower level) QH 541.15 .B56E53 2001
Encyclopedia of Biological Chemistry
THODE Reference (lower level) QD 415 .A25E53 2004
Encyclopedia of Environmental Biology
THODE Reference (lower level) QH 540.4.E52 1995
Encyclopedia of Evolution (e-book) 
Also available in print - THODE Reference QH 360.2 E54 2002
Encyclopedia of Genetics / editor, Jeffrey A. Knight ; project editor, Robert McClenaghan.
THODE Reference (lower level) QH 427 .E53 1999
Encyclopedia of Genetics / editors-in-chief Sydney Brenner and Jeffrey H. Miller ; associate editors William J. Broughton ... [et. al]
HEALTH Reference QU 13 .E561 2002
Encyclopedia of Human Biology
HEALTH Reference QH 302.5.E56 1997
THODE Referene (lower level) QP 11.E53 1991
Encyclopedia of underwater life : aquatic invertebrates and fishes (e-book)
Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia
THODE Reference (lower level) QL 3 .G7813 2003
McGraw-Hill Concise Encylopedia of Bioscience
THODE Reference (lower level) QH 302.5 .M378 2005
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & technology (20 vols.)
THODE Reference (lower level) or MILLS (2nd Floor) Q 121 .M3 2002
Dictionaries
These titles give definitions of terms and may also provide brief additional background information.
Cambridge Dictionary of Human Biology and Evolution (e-book)
also: THODE Reference (lower level) QP 34.5 .M24 2005
Oxford Dictionary of Biology (e-book)
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Bioscience (e-book)
Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology
HEALTH Reference QH 575 .D5538 1999
Oxford Dictionary of Ecology (e-book)
Dictionary of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics
THODE Reference (lower level) QH 540.4 .L56 1998
Dictionary of Gene Technology : Genomics, Transcriptomics, Proteomics
THODE Reference (lower level) QH 506 .K333 2004
Dictionary of Theoretical Concepts in Biology
THODE Reference (lower level) QH 302.5 .R63
Oxford Dictionary of Plant Science (e-book)
Dictionary of Plant Tissue Culture
THODE Reference (lower level) QK 725 .C34 2006
Oxford Dictionary of Zoology (e-book)
Henderson's Dictionary of Biology
HEALTH Reference QH 13 .H496 2005
THODE Reference (lower level) QH 302.5 .H65 1999
Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
THODE Reference (lower level) QP 512 .O94 2006
Language Dictionaries
Bird Names : A Translation Index
"This WWW application allows you to search through a database of European(1) bird names for the translation in nine languages: Latin (the scientific name of the species), Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish and Russian. The database currently holds 804 records (species and sub-species)."
Dictionary, French-English, English-French, of Medical and Biological Terms
HEALTH Reference W 13 .L61
Elsevier's Dictionary of Botany : in English, French, German, Latin, and Russian
THODE Reference (lower level) QK 9.E47
Atlases
Color Atlas of Immunology (e-book)
Books
Works of Charles Darwin
The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online
http://www.darwin-online.org.uk
Includes both text and image scans.
The Works of Charles Darwin. Electronic Edition
http://crkn.nlx.com/xtf/view?docId=darwin/darwin.xml
text only.
From Literature.org (text only):
- Darwin, Charles : Descent of Man
- Darwin, Charles : Origin of Species
- Darwin, Charles : Origin of Species, 6th ed.
- Darwin, Charles : Voyage of the Beagle
E-Books
NCBI Bookshelf
Fully searchable e-books in biomedicine
Taxonomy
Animal Diversity Web
"Animal Diversity Web (ADW) is an online database of animal natural history, distribution, classification, and conservation biology at the University of Michigan."
Elsevier's dictionary of the genera of life
THODE Reference (lower level) QH 83 .T77 1999
Encyclopedia of Life
http://www.eol.org/
An ambitious project to provide a website of information for every species.
Enzyme Nomenclature / Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (NC-IUBMB)
This searchable database is the web version of the 1992 print publication by the same title, together with supplements.
International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Tokyo Code)
Mabberley's plant-book : a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses
THODE Reference (lower level) QK 11 .M29 2008
Names of plants
THODE Reference (lower level) QK 96 .G54 2002
NCBI Entrez Taxonomy Homepage
"The NCBI taxonomy database contains the names of all organisms that are represented in the genetic databases with at least one nucleotide or protein sequence."
Plant identification terminology : an illustrated glossary
THODE Reference (lower level) QK 9 .H37 2001
Species 2000
"The goal of the Species 2000 project is to create a validated checklist of all the world's species (plants, animals, fungi and microbes). This is being achieved by bringing together an array of global species databases covering each of the major groups of organisms. ...The existing global species databases presently account for some 60% of the total known species..."
Synopsis and classification of living organisms
THODE Reference (lower level) QH 83.S89
World Biodiversity Database
"The World Biodiversity Database (WBD) is a continuously growing taxonomic database and information system that allows you to search and browse a number of online species banks covering a wide variety of organisms. The 21 species banks accessible through the WBD offer taxonomic information, species names, synonyms, descriptions, illustrations and literature references, as well as online identification keys and interactive geographical information systems."
Articles/Databases
. Products available to registered McMaster Students/Staff/Faculty Only are marked with a
.Databases, Primary
BioOne Abstracts and Indexes
(2000 to present; some journals covered back to 1998)
Indexes 82 journals from societies and non-commercial publishers covering ecology, evolutionary biology, genetics, microbiology, zoology, natural history, etc.
BIOSIS Previews 
(1995 to present; A
vailable through ISI Web of Knowledge.)
Covers all aspects of biology, such as botany, zoology, microbiology, ecology and related fields, such as biomedical, biophysics, biochemistry, bioengineering and biotechnology. Indexes journal articles, conference proceedings, US patents, book reviews, book chapters and software.
Biological Abstracts, 1926-1994
THODE Indexes & Abstracts (2nd floor) ZQH 301.B37
Print version of above.
The Zoological Record, 1928-2001
THODE Indexes & Abstracts (2nd floor) ZQL 1.Z66
Databases, Secondary / Specialized
Agricola
Produced by the United States Department of Agriculture, includes citations from the National Agricultural Library.
Dissertations and Theses (Proquest)
Includes dissertations back to 1861, indexes selective master's theses since 1969. Limited full-text access.
EMBASE
(1980 to present) Similar to Medline, but includes more European sources and greater emphasis on pharmacology
Entrez : Life Sciences Search Engines
Collection of databases developed by National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI): PubMed, PubChem, protein sequence database, gene, genome, genotype and phenotype, etc.
Flybase : A Database of Drosophila Genes & Genomes
"Information in FlyBase is curated from the scientific literature, including unrefereed sources such as abstracts, reviews, and personal communications."
Geobase
(1980 to present.) Includes journal articles on ecology
INSPEC (Engineering Village)
(1969 to present.) For biophysical research.
Print edition: 1898-1968, THODE Indexes & Abstracts (2nd floor) ZQC 1.S3
Medline
(1966 to present; Ovid) Also available through SciFinder, Pubmed (see below):
Pollution Abstracts
(1981 to present.) Indexes the scientific literature and government policies on air, fresh water and land pollution, sewage and wastewater treatment, toxicology and health, etc.
Print edition: 1970-1980: THODE Indexes & Abstracts (2nd floor) ZTD 172.P63
PubChem
"PubChem provides information on the biological activities of small molecules"
PubMed
(1950s to present.) Publicly available database of Medline.
SciFinder Scholar
(1905 to present.) Includes Medline (1950 to present.) SciFinder, primary database in chemistry, covers biochemistry and other related areas. (Limited to Four Concurrent Users)
Web of Science / Science Citation Index Expanded
(1976 to present.) This database covers all sciences and indexes primarily journal articles. Unique features of this database is the "Cited Reference Search".
Methodology / Protocol
See also http://www.protocol-online.org/
Websites
General
BiologyBrowser / Thomson Scientific
http://www.biologybrowser.org
From the publisher of ISI Web of Knowledge, this site provides nomenclature glossary, guide for students on the animal kingdom, and links to life sciences resources. The site can be searched by organism, subject and geography.
Biology Links / Harvard University. Dept. of Molecular and Cellular Biology
http://mcb.harvard.edu/BioLinks.html
Lists of web sites on biochemistry, molecular biology, biochemistry, evolution, and more.
http://www.science.gov
A gateway to science information and research compiled by the the U.S. Government. Search 38 databases and thousands of websites.
SciTopics
Research summaries written by experts in the field, designed to get researchers quickly familiarized with specific topics.
WWW Virtual Library : Biosciences
A gateway to resources for the biological sciences.
Search
Scirus
Scirus searches over 485 million science-specific Web pages
INFOMINE : Biological, Agricultural & Medical Sciences
Created by librarians from various US universities, "INFOMINE is a virtual library of Internet resources relevant to faculty, students, and research staff at the university level. It contains useful Internet resources such as databases, electronic journals, electronic books, bulletin boards, mailing lists, online library card catalogs, articles, directories of researchers, and many other types of information."
Specialized
Animal Diversity Web
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/
"Animal Diversity Web (ADW) is an online database of animal natural history, distribution, classification, and conservation biology at the University of Michigan."
Arabidopsis Information Resource
http://www.arabidopsis.org/
"The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR) maintains a database of genetic and molecular biology data for the model higher plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Data available from TAIR includes the complete genome sequence along with gene structure, gene product information, metabolism, gene expression, DNA and seed stocks, genome maps, genetic and physical markers, publications, and information about the Arabidopsis research community."
Biological Magnetic Resonance DataBank (BMRB)
http://www.bmrb.wisc.edu/
"A respository for data from NMR spectroscopy of proteins, peptides and nuclei acids"
Canadian Biodiversity Web Site
http://canadianbiodiversity.mcgill.ca/
Topics covered include biodiversity theory, Canada's ecozones, pattern of biodiversity, legislation, references, etc.
European Bioinformatics Institute
http://www.ebi.ac.uk/
Freely accessible databases for searching of nucleotide, protein sequences, gene expression data, and much more.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility
http://data.gbif.org/
A free, online database that contains: Species occurrence records (based on specimens and observations) - information about the occurrence of species at particular times and places. and Names and classifications of organisms - information on the names (both scientific and common) used for species and on the classification of those organisms into taxonomic hierarchies.
http://genomics.energy.gov
Genome projects of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science - Including information on the Human Genome Project and Microbial Genome Research.
McCaulay Library Sound and Video Catalog
http://macaulaylibrary.org/
From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology comes the "world's largets online archive of animal sounds and video". Emphasis on birds.
Citation and Style Guides
. Products available to registered McMaster Students/Staff/Faculty Only are marked with a
.Note: Many journals have their own policies on the form of citing references. Their policies take precedence over any general style guide and can usually be found in the information for authors' section of the journal.
Council of Biology Editors (CBE) Style of Documentation in Science and Mathematics. Prepared for Monroe Community College.
Using the CBE to Cite and Document Sources
Scientific style and format : the CSE manual for authors, editors, and publishers.
THODE Reference (lower level) T 11 .S386 2006
American Psychological Association (APA) Style - McMaster Library's Guide
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