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Daniel F. Ring Assistant Professor |
Phone: (248)
370-2498 E-mail: ring@oakland.edu |
Ask A Librarian Feel free to call, email, chat, or stop by the reference desk if you have questions. |
Biological Abstracts (Ref. QH 301 .B37; 1926-1992) and Web of Science (available online through the library home page Express Links) are the places to go for more definitive searches for journal articles as they are international in coverage. A manual search of Biological Abstracts can be a bit cumbersome so ask the reference librarian for help. It is computer searchable, but a fee is usually charged. Available through FirstSearch is Biological & Agricultural Index that covers articles less technical in content. JSTOR provides full text coverage of scholarly journals. Go to advanced and click on zoology. Science Direct has links to some full text journals.
ENCYCLOPEDIAS & DICTIONARIES
Kresge Library has three encyclopedias on this subject. First there is Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia (Ref. QL 3 .G7813 2003), a 17-volume set, each volume devoted to a particular aspect of zoology, e.g., Lower Animals, Mollusks, etc. True to its encyclopedic format, the articles are extensive, written by scholars with many illustrations and pictures. The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Animals (Ref. QL 605.4 .S56 1998) is arranged by common name , i.e., Mammals, Birds, and organized at the family level. Color illustrations with brief entries on range, habitat, size of the higher level animals within each family. The Encyclopedia of Animal Biology (Ref. QL 45.2 .E53 1987) attempts to answer the question "how do animals breathe, feel, move and perform all the bodily functions characteristic of animal life?" It is more about how animals work--their senses, movements, digestion--than any specific animal. Animal Behavior Desk Reference (Ref. QL 750.3 .B37 2001) is an annotated dictionary with terms on animal behavior, evolution, ecology, and biology.
There are also two related encyclopedias on animal behavior. The Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior (Ref. QL 750.3 .E53 2004) is a three volume work. Entries are alpha arranged and are scholarly with bibliographies.The Oxford Companion to Animal Behavior (Ref. QL 751 .O9) is more of an encyclopedic dictionary of terms related to animal behavior.
Here are some online glossaries:
AMPHIBIANS & REPTILES
Kresge Library has several good handbooks of a scholarly nature on this subject. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada (Ref. QL 666 .O6 W7) is a 2-volume set and it is the place to answer questions about snakes: common name, range, size, color, habitat, locomotion, etc. Many pictures and illustrations. Handbook of Turtles (Ref. QL 666 .C5 C34 1995) focuses on the turtles of the U.S., Canada and the Baja California. Arranged by scientific name. Covers range, breeding, habitation, description and economic importance. Handbook of Frogs and Toads of the United States and Canada (Ref. QL 668 .E2 W8 1949) contains the same information as the snake handbook. We also have a number of "field guides," small pocket-sized books useful for identification purposes. I think the best one is The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians (Ref. QL 651 .K56 1979) because of its over 600 color plates. The New Field Book of Reptiles and Amphibians (Ref. QL 644 .C6) is more of an introduction type book than a field book although it can be used for that too. Next in preference is A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America (Ref. QL 651 .C65 1975) and A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians (Ref. QL 651 .S783 1966). These follow a common format, both having the same publisher. For example, they provide information on the identification, range of the species plus subspecies. Numerous plates accompany each volume as do range maps and chapters on capturing and care of the animal in captivity.
Students frequently ask for dissection manuals for various animals. The aforementioned books will not help you at all. We do, however, have The Frog (Ref. QL 688 .E2 W43 1968). Other books of a similar nature may be found under the subject heading "Dissection" in Voyager, the online catalog.
Here are some web sites: AmphibiaWeb
FISH
The library has a limited number of books on fishes, both fresh water and salt. Fishes of the World (Ref. QL 614.7 .W47 1975) is a good place to start. It includes over 2000 entries plus 500 color plates. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Fishes, Whales and Dolphins (Ref. QL 625 .A93 1983) is another choice. It has almost 700 color plates with compact descriptions of each species. The Encyclopedia of Fishes (Ref. QL 614.7 .E52 1998) is divided into two parts: Part 1, "The World of Fishes", has five chapters on behavior, classification, etc. Part 2, "Kinds of Fishes," is arranged by common name, i.e., catfish, wherein one will find information, including color pictures, on the variety of fishes within a family. Fishes of the World (Ref. QL 618 .N4 1994) is arranged by scientific name (see index for common name). Excellent for physical description and biodiversity. How to Know the Freshwater Fishes (Ref. QL 627 .E4 1978) and Guide to Marine Fishes (Ref. QL 621 .P4) are both good for descriptions, either sketches or figure drawings, but short on information. Not limited to fish, The Encyclopedia of Aquatic Life (Ref. QL 120 .E53 1985) provides long articles with color photographs. Over one half of the volume is devoted to fish and whales.
BIRDS
Kresge Library has several excellent titles on birds, ranging from single to multi-volumes. The Handbook of North American Birds (Ref. QL 681 .P35) is the best treatment of an encyclopedic nature. The articles are long, usually up to ten pages and cover every aspect of the species, such as description, range, eating habits, distribution, migration, etc. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Birds (Ref. QL 672.2 .I45 1990) is arranged by order. First, color illustrated are provided and then short "capsules" of information on breeding and habitation. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Ornithology (Ref. QL 672.2 .C35 1991) is not a good place to find entries on a certain kind of bird, but to get information on such topics as breeding, migration and range, population and so on. Birds' Eggs (Ref. QL 675 .W32 1994) provides color pictures of over 500 bird eggs from around the world and information on breeding and range. The Summer Atlas of North American Birds (Ref. QL 681 .P74 1995) provides "abundant maps" of 450 species. If you are looking for a dictionary of scientific bird names, see A Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names (Ref. QL 677 .J55 1991). For migratory birds see The Atlas of Bird Migration (Ref. QL 689.9 .A88 1995). Excellent one-volume encyclopedias includes the Encyclopedia of Birds (Ref. QL 673 .E53 1985); The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds (Ref. QL 681 .T43 1980); Bird Families of the World (Ref. QL 676 .B6213); and The World Atlas of Birds (Ref. QL 676 .W92 1974). They serve to bridge the gap between scholarly treatments and field manuals. The National Geographic Complete Birds of North America (Ref. QL 681 .N28 2006) is the latest book on this topic.
We do have four titles of the field guide genre, the best being The Birder's Handbook (Ref. QL 681 .E37 1988). It intersperses one to two page essays on topics such as "polygyny" or "tool using" with field guide information on 650 species of birds. Its only drawback is that it contains no color plates. For these, the reader is referred to National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, Eastern Region (Ref. QL 681 .B77 1994) and Western Region (Ref. QL 681 .U33 1994); and A Field Guide to the Birds (Ref. QL 681 .P45 1980) which covers eastern and central North America.
Bringing our topic closer to home, the Birds of Michigan (Ref. QL 684 .M5 B57 1994) offers color pictures plus information on 400 species of birds. We also have Michigan Bird Life (Ref. QL 684 .M5 B3) and The Birds of Michigan (Ref. QL 684 .M5 W6), both dated but still authoritative books on the subject.
Be sure to browse in the QL 681-696 area for birds of different countries.
Here are some web sites: All About Birds
HERPETOLOGY
MAMMALS
There is no better place to start exploring this topic than Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals (Ref. QL 701 .G7913 1989), a 5-volume work. One advantage of this title is that each animal, such as koala, is written by an expert in the field. Articles are about 5 to 10 pages with color photos. Next in importance is Walker's Mammals of the World (Ref. QL 703 .W222 1983), a 2-volume set. It covers the same range of mammals although in more limited scope. A World List of Mammalian Species (Ref. QL 708 .C67 1980) is useful to identify the species of a family and geographic habitation. On a more regional level, we have The Mammals of North America (Ref. QL 715 .H15), a two-volume set which summarizes taxonomic studies of North American native mammals from 1492-1977. Under bats, for example, one would find such information as maps denoting locality, detailed skull drawings and narrative on body measurements.
On the state level, we have Michigan Mammals (Ref. QL 719 .M5 B35 1983) which has some unique features, one being that it covers mammals which were once native to Michigan but are now extinct. Coverage for each mammal is extensive: recognition, measurements and weights, distribution, skeletal drawings and references.
For a more compact treatment there is the "field guide," The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mammals (Ref. QL 715 .W49 1996) which follows the same format of other Audubon guides.
There are several other books on mammals in the QL 701 - QL 737 area, some of which have geographic distinctions.
ENTOMOLOGY (INSECTS)
American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of American North of Mexico (Ref. QL 474 .A76 2000) is the place to begin your search. Allegedly aimed at the non-specialist, it is more suitable for the specialist. Taxonomically arranged, it has extensive illustrations and photographs. An Introduction to Entomology (Ref. QL 463 .C71 1967) is dated (1924) and more like a text book. Nonetheless, it is useful because it goes beyond mere identification and will tell you something about the development of an organ. We have two field guide: The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders (Ref. QL 473 .M54 1980) and A Field Guide to the Insects of America North of Mexico (Ref. QL 464 .B65). Insects of the Great Lakes Region (Ref. QL 473 .D85 1996) which examines insects of the Great Lakes, their distribution, habits, population, etc. For everything you ever wanted to know about fruit flies, see Handbook of the Fruit Flies of America North of Mexico (Ref. QL 537 .T42 F66 1993) and Genome of Drosophila Melanogaster (Ref. QL 537 .D76 L56 1992).
ENDANGERED SPECIES
The Encyclopedia of Endangered Species (Ref. QH 75 .E49 1994) describes over 700 animals worldwide that are threatened by extinction. Covers mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, mollusks, invertebrates, plants. For North American species only, see The Official World Wildlife Fund Guide to Endangered Species (Ref. QL 84.2 .O35 1990; 4 volumes). The library also has two books on Michigan endangered species: A Guide to Michigan's Endangered Wildlife (Ref. QL 84.22 .M5 E94 1992) includes one to two page entries on each species plus color pictures. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife of Michigan (Ref. QL 84.22 .M5 E63 1994) has comprehensive articles with bibliographies and sketches.
BIOCHEMISTRY
Kresge Library owns most of the extant reference books on this subject. The Encyclopedia of Biochemistry (Ref. QP 512 .W5) includes general and specific articles in chemistry, physics, mutation and diseases as related to biochemistry. Aimed at the general reader, the articles are seldom more than two to three pages. This book is woefully out-of-date but still the only encyclopedia in existence. The library owns two dictionaries which are more up-to-date. The Dictionary of Biochemistry (Ref. QP 512 .S73) contains about 12,000 short entries drawn from over 200 textbooks and biochemical journals. The Concise Encyclopedia Biochemistry (Ref. QD 415 .A25 B713 1997) is a translation and update of an earlier German edition. It differs from previous titles in that entries are much longer. There are several handbooks available which offer detailed information, the most comprehensive being the (CRC) Handbook of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Ref. QH 345 .H347 1975). Nine volumes in length, its scope includes Proteins, Nucleic Acids, Lipids, and Physical and Chemical Data. A one-volume handbook is the Biochemists' Handbook (Ref. QD 245 .L6). The value of this may be questionable since it is quite old. It does, however, present both tabular data and short articles. Finally, Data for Biochemical Research (Ref. QP 520 .D37 1986) presents chemical and physical data in tabular form.
OTHER REFERENCE BOOKS
Animal Behavior Desk Reference. (Ref. QL 750.3 .N37 2001)
This book is a dictionary of animal related terms.
INTERNET RESOURCES
Meta Sites
Internet Resource Guide for Zoology
This site has a search engine, but there are several other approaches: animals, subjects (very complete), systematics, conferences and so on. It is really a wonderful site.Yahoo's Zoology
This site is arranged by categories such as nomenclature or ornithology. The site listing is interesting as there are links to people such as Richard Dawkins, Konrad Lorenz and an email directory.Academic Info: Zoology Gateway
There is a lot more here than it appears. Pay particular attention to General Links and Reference Desk.
Resources
MIT's Biology Hypertextbook
A Biology textbook on-line which of course covers aspects of zoology.WWW Virtual Library-Biosciences
There are only six sites here but they are good for quick links such as fish or entomology. Includes both zoology and biology sites.BUBL LINK: Zoology
An eclectic site arranged by topic, such as Biodiversity, Animal Characteristics, Raptors.Zoology
Divided into Invertebrate and Vertebrate Zoology.
Internet Public Library's Zoology
An alpha list of resources.Scirus
Identifies web and journal sources.Animal Diversity Web
Covers these animal kingdoms:
- Amphibians
- Arthropods
- Birds
- Bony Fishes
- Echinoderms
- Insects
- Mammals
- Mollusks
- Reptiles
- Sharks
Google Directory Zoology
Can search by categories, .ie., chordates, or first letter.WildFinder:Mapping the World's Species
Oakland University, Kresge Library
2200 N Squirrel Rd., Rochester, MI 48309
(248) 370 - 4426