--Overview
--Selected Journal Articles
--Handbooks
--Mongolian Biodiversity
--General Biodiversity/Bioassessment Resources on
the Web
--Societies and Associations
Overview
Biological diversityÝ (biodiversity) of living organisms refers
to the richness and variety of the numbers of different species in existence.Ý
It can also refer specifically to genetic diversity, species diversity,
and/or ecosystem diversity, all of which contribute in different ways
to the survival of living things on Planet Earth.Ý Greater biodiversity
means a greater pool of genetic variation, which enables species to
more successfully adapt to environmental changes.
ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ Certain species, such as the crane flies (Family:
Tipulidae) are indicator species.Ý This means that, due to their
relative tolerance or intolerance to environmental pollutants, their
presence in a habitat, or lack thereof, can indicate something about
the general ecological health and water quality of that habitat.Ý The
process of evaluating the relative health of an ecosystem by studying
its biological diversity is called biological assessment (bioassessment).Ý
Dr. Jon Gelhausís research focuses on the study of crane fly species
in the watersheds of Mongolia (particularly in the Lake Hovsgol region).
ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ The following list includes resources on Mongolian biodiversity,
general resources on biodiversity, and resources specifically on the
bioassessment of watersheds.
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Selected Journal Articles
Dallas, H. F. (1997). A preliminary evaluation of aspects of SASS (South
African Scoring System) for the rapid bioassessment of water quality
in rivers, with particular reference to the incorporation of SASS in
a national biomonitoringÝ programme. Southern African Journal of
Aquatic Sciences 23 (1), 79-94.
Diamond, J. M., Barbour, M. T. & Stribling, J. B. (1996). Characterizing
and comparing bioassessment methods and their results: A Perspective.
Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 15 (4),
713-727.
Doledec, S., Statzner, B. & Bournard, M.Ý (1999). Species traits
for future biomonitoring across ecoregions: patterns along a human-impacted
river. Freshwater Biology, 42 (4), 737-758.
Gelhaus, J., Podenas, S. & Brodo, F. (2000). New and poorly known species
of long-palped crane flies (Diptera: Tipulidae) from Mongolia. Proceedings
of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 150 (14), 145-157.
Hannaford, M. J. & Resh, V. H. (1995). Variability in macroinvertebrate
rapid-bioassessment surveys and habitatÝ assessments in a northern California
stream. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 14 (3),
430-439.
Lenat, D. R. & Barbour, M. T. (1994). Using benthic macroinvertebrate
community structure for rapid, cost-effective, water quality monitoring:
Rapid bioassessment. In S. L. Loeb & A. Spacie (Eds.), Biological monitoring
of aquatic systems (pp.187-215). Boca Raton, FL: Lewis Publishers.
Podenas, S. & Gelhaus, J. (2000). A new species of long-palped
crane fly in the subgenus Tipula (Odonatisca) (Diptera: Tipulidae) from
Mongolia. Transactions of the American Entomological Society (Philadelphia),
126 (1), 109-115.
St J Thorne, R. & Williams, W. P. (1997). The response of benthic
macroinvertebrates to pollution in developing countries: a multimetric
system of bioassessment. Freshwater Biology, 37 (3), 671-686.
Theischinger, G. & Kitching, R. L. (1996). The biodiversity of
arthropods from Australian rainforest canopies: Tipulidae, with a description
of the new species Leptotarsus (Macromastix) alfie Theischinger. Entomologist,
115 (3-4), 140-153.
Wong, P. T. S. & Dixon, D. G., (1995). Bioassessment of water quality.
Environmental Toxicology And Water Quality, 10 (1), 9-17.
Zhang, W. (1998). Changes in species diversity and canopy cover in
steppe vegetation in Inner Mongolia under protection from grazing. Biodiversity
and Conservation, 7 (10), 1365-1381.
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Handbooks
Becher, A. (1998). Biodiversity : A reference handbook.Ý Santa
Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Nierenberg, W.A. (Ed.). (1995). Encyclopedia of Environmental Biology.
San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
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Mongolian Biodiversity
--Eastern Steppe Biodiversity Project. (2000). Biodiversity conservation
and grasslands of Eastern Mongolia. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: Mongolia
Biodiversity Project. Retrieved February 19, 2001 from the World Wide
Web:
http://www.un-mongolia.mn/projects/esbp/
Funded by the United Nations Development Programme, the Eastern Steppe
Biodiversity Project has as its goal the preservation of biodiversity
and the sustainable use of the natural resources of the Eastern Steppes
of Mongolia.Ý This website gives an introduction to the project activities,
as well as general information about environmental conservation and
biodiversity in Mongolia.
--Biological diversity in Mongolia: First national report: Global
environment facility. (2000). United Nations Environment Programme,
Convention on Biodiversity. Retrieved February 10, 2001 from the World
Wide Web (download as PDF): http://www.biodiv.org/world/map.asp?ctr=mn
ìChapters I and II contain subjects dealing with Mongolian socio-economic
development trends, environmental status, specific features regarding
climate and negative impacts on the environment.Ý Chapter III contains
brief descriptions of the current state of Mongolian flora and fauna,
as well as, their protection, use, and restoration.Ý The decline of
biological resources, deterioration of the environment, government action
and supervision, institutional strengthening, establishment of legal
and economic bases, extension of the protected areas network, improvement
of management skills, scientific studies, training, information distribution
and monitoring are covered in Chapter IV.Ý
--Finch, C. (Ed.). (1997). Mongoliaís wild heritage: Biological
diversity, protected areas, and conservation in the land
of Chingis Khan. Mongolian Ministry for Nature and the Environment,
United Nations Development Programme/Global Environment Facility, and
World Wide Fund for Nature. Retrieved February 19, 2001 from the World
Wide Web: http://www.un-mongolia.mn/wildher/contents.htm
This is an on-line version of a coffee-table book originally published
in 1996.Ý Discusses six basic natural zones of Mongolia, with characteristic
flora and fauna of each region.Ý Includes beautiful photographs and
maps, and a chapter/page on Lake Hovsgol National Park (which includes
a description of the lake and its surrounding area, size information,
a detailed JPEG map of the lake, visitor rules and entrance fees, and
a legend about the formation of the lake).Ý This is a good starting
place to learn about the natural biological diversity of Mongolia.
--United Nations Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable
Development, Division for Sustainable Development. (1996). Mongolia
Country Profile. Implementation of Agenda 21: Review of progress made
since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development,
1992. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Retrieved February 19, 2001 from the
World Wide Web: http://www.un.org/esa/earthsummit/mong-cp.htm#chap15
This is a status report on the Mongolian governmentís efforts at achieving
sustainable development in Mongolia, as defined by the objectives of
the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in ìAgenda
21.î Includes detailed policy goals and objectives,Ý and statistics
on poverty and the environment.
--Mini-Conference on Mongolian Paleoclimatology and Environmental Research,
November 3-4, 2000. Hosted by Tree Ring Laboratory of Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory and Columbia University, Palisades, New York. Retrieved
March 11, 2001.
http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/trl/Mongolia/conf/.
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General Biodiversity/Bioassessment
Resources on the Web
I. Bioassessment
--Biological indicators of watershed health (2000, September
11). Washington, DC: United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Retrieved February 12, 2001 from the World Wide Web:Ý http://www.epa.gov/ceisweb1/ceishome/atlas/bioindicators/biologicalindicators.html
The EPA's main purpose is to protect life. One way in which they achieve
this goal is by studying biological health. ìAfter much careful study,
environmental scientists have determined that the presence, condition,
and numbers of the types of fish, insects, algae, and plants can provide
accurate information about the health of a specific river, stream, lake,
wetland, or estuary. These types of plants and animals are called biological
indicators. The process of using the study of such species as a way
of evaluating the health of a body of water is called biological assessmentîÝ(EPA,
Biological Indicatiors web site). This site includes a nice page showing
which benthic macroinvertebrates may be found in clean, somewhat polluted,
and very polluted waters.
--Index of watershed indicators. (1999, September 29). Washington,
DC: United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved February
12, 2001 from the World Wide Web:Ý
http://www.epa.gov/iwi/
This site is designed to provide information regarding watersheds all
over the United States.Ý Includes a ìSurf Your Watershedî site (www.epa.gov/surf3/locate/index.html),
whcih you can use to find where your drinking water comes from (which
watershed is its source), and if that source is relatively clean or
not.Ý This is a great site for information regarding what indicators
are used to determine the health of a watershed.
--Lake and reservoir bioassessment and biocriteria: Technical guidance
document. (1998). Washington, DC: Office of Water, United States
Environmental Protection Agency. EPA 841-B-98-007. Retrieved February
12, 2001 from the World Wide Web:Ý http://www.epa.gov/owow/monitoring/tech/lakes.html
This document ìis intended to provide managers and field biologists
with functional methods and approaches that will facilitate the implementation
of viable lake bioassessment and biocriteria programs that meet their
needs and resources...The methods, or protocols, presented here are
organized in a tiered framework, ranging from trophic state surveys
to more detailed bioassessment, allowing users flexibility in designing
programs appropriate to their needs and resourcesî
--Mandaville, S.M. (1999). Bioassessment of freshwaters using benthic
macroinvertebrates: A primer. Halifax, Nova Scotia: SWCSMH. Retrieved
March 10, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Science/SWCS/xv.html#primer1
A report by a volunteer coordinator of the Soil and Water Conservation
Society of Metro Halifax, Nova Scotia (SWCSMH).Ý Chapter 15 covers the
family Tipulidae.Ý A web version of this chapter is located at : http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Science/SWCS/ZOOBENTH/tipulida.html.
--Mandaville, S.M. (2001, January 10). Freshwater benthic ecology
and aquatic entomology homepage. Halifax, Nova Scotia: SWCSMH. Retrieved
March 10, 2001 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Science/SWCS/benthos.html.
This page is includes lots of articles and links on the subject of
biodiversity, especially of lake habitats.
II. Biodiversity
--Bryant, P. J. (1999). Biodiversity and conservation: A hyper-text
book. Irvine, CA: School of Biological Sciences, University of California,
Irvine. Retrieved February 19, 2001 from the World Wide Web:
http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/Titlpage.htm
A web course textbook written by Dr. Peter J. Bryant of the School
of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine.Ý The
book discusses ìthe origin, nature and value of biological diversity,
the threats to its continued existence, and approaches to preserving
what is left.îÝ Because it is a hyper-text book, it includes links to
numerous resources about biodiversity on the World Wide Web.
--Convention on Biological Diversity Homepage. (2001, January
30). Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP).Ý Retrieved February 12, 20001 from the
World Wide Web:
http://www.biodiv.org/
The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, which went into
effect in December 29, 1993, is in essence an ìinternational legal instrument
for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversityî.Ý
This site is the hub for historical information regarding the Convention,
who signed it and when.Ý Great source of information on key documents,
international efforts to preserve biodiversity, and meetings organized
by biodiversity related institutions.Ý Includes a BIOSEEK search engine
for biodiversity web sites.
--Master, L.L. Rivers of life: Critical watersheds for protecting
freshwater biodiversity. NatureServe. Retrieved March 10, 2001 from
the World Wide Web: http://consci.tnc.org/library/pubs/rivers/index.htm
This report, sponsored by the National Heritage Program and the Nature
Conservancy, focuses on freshwater species of fish and mussels that
are in danger of extinction.Ý Out of some 2,100 small watersheds in
the U.S., this report identifies 15% of these areas that would help
conserve these at-risk populations.Ý The report is freely available
for downloading and/or printing in PDF format.Ý
--Natural Resources Conservation Service. (2001) Wetlands: Index
of maps, facts, and figures. Washington, DC: United States Department
of Agriculture. Retrieved February 19, 2001 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/land/index/wetlands.html
This site contains numerous GIF maps of wetlands of the U.S., showing
percentages and numbers of acres in different areas.Ý The data covers
mainly 1997 and 1992, so some comparison of wetland acreages between
those two years is possible.Ý Some maps detail changes in wetland acreage
between 1982 and 1992.Ý
--TreeBASE: A database of phylogenetic knowledge. http://herbaria.harvard.edu/treebase/
A World Wide Web accessible relational database that stores phylogenetic
trees from published research papers.Ý Biologists are encouraged to
submit phylogenetic data to the database for inclusion.
--The Tree of Life Homepage
http://phylogeny.arizona.edu/tree/phylogeny.html
Hosted by the College of Arigculture, University of Arizona, this is
a hub site that links to over 1700 web pages that are part of an international
collaborative effort to document the diversity of life.Ý Pages are linked
and organized according to the evolutionary tree of organisms.Ý As of
February 3, 2001, the page on ìConservation and Biodiversityî at http://phylogeny.arizona.edu/tree/home.pages/conservation.html
was still under construction.Ý The site includes a search engine for
searching by organismal names. As of this writing, the Tipulidae (Crane
Flies) do not have a page of their own, but are included in the discussion
of the Diptera.
--U.S. National Biological Information Infrastructure Web Site Biodiversity
Page. (2000, November 16). Washington, DC: Center for Biological
Informatics, U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved February 12, 2001 from
the World Wide Web: Ý http://www.nbii.gov/issues/biodiversity/
A list of useful links and info on biodiversity.Ý This site, plus all
the rest of the NBII site is worth digging into very deeply!
--United Nations Environment Programme. (2000).Ý Convention on Biological
Diversity.ÝÝ Retrieved February 25, 2001 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.biodiv.org/
The Convention has three main goals:Ý the conservation of biodiversity,
sustainable use of the components of biodiversity, and sharing the benefits
arising from the commercial and other utilization of genetic resources
in a fair and equitable way. This page contains lots of useful information
related to biodiversity and the goals of the Convention.Ý Also contains
a thorough listing of upcoming meetings and a listing for each country.
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Societies and Associations
--Association for Biodiversity Information Homepage. (2001).
Association for Biodiversity Information, presented in partnership with
the U.S. National Biological Information Infrastructure. Retrieved from
the World Wide Web: http://www.abi.org/index.htm
ìThe Association for Biodiversity Information (ABI) is a non-profit
organization dedicated to developing and providing knowledge about the
world's natural diversity. ABI works in partnership with the Natural
Heritage Network-a group of 85 independent programs that collect data
on rare species and ecosystems in the United States, Canada, and LatinAmerica.
Our goal is to provide the scientific information that is essential
for effective conservation actionîÝ(ABI, Homepage). Site includes ìNatureServe:
an online encyclopedia of life,î an online database of ecological information
on species and communities of the United States and Canada.Ý The database
search retrievals seem rather skimpy as of this writing, but as more
and more researchers submit conservation data, this may change.Ý Site
also includes access to data sets, stored at the National Heritage Central
Database, detailing some common species known to occur in the U.S. and
Canada.Ý Alas, data on Tipulidae have not been added to that list yet.
--North American Benthological Society Homepage. (2000).Ý Retrieved
February 19, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.benthos.org/
The North American Benthological Society is an international scientific
organization dedicated to the study of freshwater ecosystems.Ý Dr. Jon
Gelhaus is listed in the taxonomic experts list under the Diptera order.Ý
Includes contact information for other experts in the study of the Diptera,
information on NABS publications, and information on annual meetings
of the Society.
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