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Issues of Biologue, the ABRS annual Newsletter, are also available.

• Biologue13, 1993
• Biologue14, 1994

• ABRS Bioserv gopher

AUSTRALIAN BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES STUDY

In Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia, it is Sunday, 10-Mar-96 15:17:37 EST

Overall aims and objectives of the ABRS

• What kinds of plants and animals are there in Australia?

• Where are these plants and animals found?

While the majority of grants are made to Australian scientists, some funds are provided to overseas workers with special expertise not available in Australia. Where possible the program aims to develop Australian expertise by the use of overseas workers to train Australians.

The results of this impetus are being published in a series of handbooks, or developed as computer databases.

ABRS Publications

The Fauna of Australia will be a major reference source for scientists, fauna authorities, students and amateur naturalists. The series will present a comprehensive account of the current knowledge of the biology, taxonomy, evolution and history of discovery of the animals which live in Australia in 10 volumes. One volume in two parts is published.

The Flora of Australia, a series of approximately 60 volumes, will describe all the native and naturalised plants found in Australia and its Territories. There are keys for identification, notes on distribution and bibliographic information. Many species are illustrated by line drawings and volumes include colour photographs and a frontispiece which reproduces an original painting of a species from the volume. Volume 1, published in 1981, contains chapters on the history and purpose of the Flora of Australia project, the origin and evolution of the Australian flora and the systematic arrangement of plant families. It includes a key to families of flowering plants and a glossary of botanical terms. Twelve volumes are published.

ABRS lists and databases

• The Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), an index of all scientific names that have been applied to Australian seed-bearing plants and ferns, was published in June 1991. For each generic, infrageneric, specific and infraspecific name, the Index lists the original place and date of publication of the name, its typification and nomenclatural status. It also cites recent revisions where the name has been used. At present the Index contains over 62 000 names. It is held on a computer file and this is being developed to make on-line access to the information as easy as possible. The Index provides much of the background information necessary for taxonomists who are writing for the Flora of Australia or doing revisionary and monographic studies on Australian plants. It is also a useful source of information for ecologists, horticulturists, conservationists and others needing information on the nomenclature and taxonomy of Australian plants.

• The Census of Australian Vascular Plants (CAVP) will form part of the Australian Plant Name Index database. Compiled from data supplied by major Australian herbaria and where possible checked by specialists, it is a list of all accepted species and infraspecific taxa on the Australian mainland and Tasmania. Distribution is given in a system of regions within the States and the Northern Territory. The Census lists 17 548 species and some 2000 infraspecific taxa, including native and naturalised species. The editing of the Census revealed much less stability in currently used plant names than had been anticipated. The CAVP is now maintained and updated by staff of the Australian National Botanic Gardens.

• The Census of Australian Vertebrate Species (CAVS) is a list of scientific and common names along with the State distributions of all described species of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals found in Australia. This list was established at the request of the Council of Nature Conservation Ministers (CONCOM). An updated list, available in printed or electronic form, may be obtained on request. The list is updated at regular intervals in consultation with the staffs of State museums.

• Another zoological list is ecologically based. It is the Rainforest Animals: Atlas of Vertebrates Endemic to Australia's Wet Tropics. This exciting book, co-produced by ABRS and Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Australian National University, was published as Number 1 in Kowari in 1991.

Contacts: