Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods)

News and Notes

News and Notes
Brief on label data standards published

Field trip to the Onefour grasslands

Summary of the Scientific Committee meeting

Survey office disruption

Second spider newsletter published

Canadian Biodiversity Network

Members of the Scientific Committee

Project Update: Arthropod Fauna of soils 2001

The Quiz Page

Arctic Corner

Selected future conferences

Requests for Material or Information

Brief on label data standards published

In response to concerns about the variable quality of the information on specimen labels and the difficulty in finding recommendations on issues such as paper quality and weight and print quality and size for labels, the Biological Survey has recently published a brief that addresses these issues.

The abstract from the brief reads as follows:

“The data associated with specimens and recorded on their labels are a permanent record of research that is as important as the specimens themselves. This brief provides recommendations on how to prepare data labels for collections of terrestrial arthropods. Given here are standards for label data, to ensure that the data associated with the collecting event are clearly presented and organized, as well as standards for label preparation, to ensure that the labels are clear, useful and permanent. Labels should provide accurate, unambiguous locality information that includes latitude and longitude. Specific recommendations are also provided on how to format information about the date, collector, collecting method and habitat that should appear on labels, and about unique identifier codes if used. Guidelines for preparing computer-generated specimen labels are given, as well as recommendations on paper and printers for both dry (pinned) specimens and wet specimens (preserved in fluid). Label data should be in a format that maximizes the efficiency with which the data can be extracted into databases, data retrieval systems and geographic information systems.”

Paper copies of the brief are available from the Survey Secretariat. The brief is also be available electronic format on the Survey’s web site.

[Wheeler, T.A., J.T. Huber and D.C. Currie. 2001. Label data standards for terrestrial arthopods. A brief prepared by the Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthopods). Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthopods) Document Series No. 8, ISBN 0-9689321-0-X. 20 pp.]

Field trip to the Onefour grasslands

The Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada substation at Onefour, Alberta was the scene of this summer’s Survey-sponsored grassland arthropod collecting expedition.

Co-organized by Survey members Rob Roughley and Kevin Floate, a total of 16 entomologists and their families made the trek to Onefour from locations in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and North Dakota.

Upon arrival, participants spread out to search the surrounding short grass prairie, badlands and Milk River valley for arthropods using yellow pan traps, sweep nets, soil cores, black lights and even aquatic dip nets in the few places where water could be found.

Despite the dry conditions, everyone came away with something of interest. A complete summary of the trip will appear in the 2002 Grasslands newsletter (March) with a tentative list of arthropod identifications.

The Onefour expedition is the first in what is hoped will be an annual series of expeditions to promote the Survey’s Grasslands Project. The primary goal of the Project is to coordinate research on the diversity, ecology and impacts of the arthropods of Canadian grasslands, with the long-term objective of publishing the results of this research in a series of book volumes.

Information on the Grasslands Project is posted on the Internet at: http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/bsc/english/grasslands.htm. See also Wheeler, T.A. 2001. Project update: Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands. Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods) 20(1): 14-15.