Research Guides: Animal Science: Web Resources

General Zoology & Animal Science Websites

Animal & Veterinary FDA Web site
(US Food and Drug Administration) Site provides access to information on animal health, veterinary medicine, and animal feeds.
Animal Welfare - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
USDA Animal Care is responsible for upholding and enforcing the Animal Welfare Act and the Horse Protection Act.
Animal Info & Endangered Animals
If you are looking for a specific species, use the Individual Species Index, which includes common and scientific names. Use the Species Group Index to browse through a list of the common names of each species grouped by category (e.g. "Cats").
Animal Welfare Information Center (AWIC)
The Animal Welfare Information Center (AWIC) is mandated by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) to provide information for improved animal care and use in research, testing, and teaching.
Animal Welfare Database
Curated by the Animal Welfare Institute. Focuses specifically on the latest improvements to the housing, husbandry, care and use of animals in laboratory research.
ASCPA Animal Poison Control Center
The National Animal Poison Control Center of the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) can be reached by calling 1-888-4ANI-HELP (1-888-426-4435). The Center consults with animal owners, veterinarians, and others about poisoning exposures and other toxicology issues.
Breeds of Livestock: Virtual Library
Welcome to the Breeds of Livestock resource presented by the Department of Animal Science at Oklahoma State University. This site is intended as an educational and informational resource on breeds of livestock throughout the world.
Endangered Species: Selected Internet Resources
A bibliography by the Science Reference Section of the Library of Congress.
Merck Veterinary Manual Online
(Merck & Co.) Free electronic access to the entire manual plus an additional 300 images, illustrations, and multimedia elements. Access through a browseable table of contents or search the full text. Includes an advanced search, featuring search by topic, species, specialty, disease, and keyword.
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ)
The Museum of Vertebrate Zoology is a natural history museum at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. The museum was founded by philanthropist Annie Montague Alexander in 1908.
NetVet Veterinary Resources and the Electronic Zoo
Large collection of veterinary medical and animal related Internet resources.
New Jersey Wildlife
New Jersey is one of the most biologically diverse states in the country, and home to over 1000 different species of animal wildlife. Its many different ecosystems of coastal marine areas, pine forests, upland hardwood forests, fresh and salt water marshes, as well as 1000’s of lakes and rivers provide ample habitat for its many critters.
NJDA - Animal Health
The Division of Animal Health maintains disease control programs to protect the health and well being of livestock in New Jersey.
NJDEP Division of Fish & Wildlife
The Division of Fish and Wildlife is responsible for all wildlife in New Jersey. Management of both game and nongame species includes the common goals of protecting and managing habitats and wildlife populations and maintaining wildlife diversity.
NJDOH - Office of Animal Welfare
The Office of Animal Welfare is dedicated to promoting and protecting the health, safety and welfare of companion animals in the state of New Jersey. The Office of Animal Welfare works to promote responsible pet care and to ensure that pets do not suffer due to abuse, neglect or lack of proper care.
Recognition and Alleviation of Pain in Laboratory Animals
(Institute for Laboratory Animal Research, National Academy of Sciences) Minimizing animal pain, wherever possible, is important both ethically and legally. The National Academies have developed a free online resource to help those who care for and use laboratory animals, farm animals, and pets to prevent, recognize, and alleviate pain in different types of animals, from non-human primates to fish.
Smithsonian Institution - Department of Vertebrate Zoology
The department holds the largest collection of vertebrate specimens in the world, including historically important collections from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Research in the department provides a solid foundation of understanding for government agencies, conservation organizations, and individuals involved in fish and wildlife management.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Work with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.

Birds

All About Birds
Comprehensive guide to North American birds and bird watching from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Includes Bird Guide with identification, life history, sound and video recordings of each bird, with additional 'Birds of North America' material available to subscribers.
Avibase
Avibase is an extensive database information system about all birds of the world, containing over 17 million records about 10,000 species and 22,000 subspecies of birds, including distribution information, taxonomy, synonyms in several languages and more. This site is managed by Denis Lepage and hosted by Bird Studies Canada, the Canadian copartner of Birdlife International.
BIRDNET
BIRDNET provides information for and about ornithology, the scientific study of birds. The site serves professional ornithologists and the general public. BIRDNET is provided by the Ornithological Council, a public information organization established and supported by twelve Western Hemisphere ornithological societies.
Birds of North America (BNA) Online
Birds of North America (BNA) is the most comprehensive reference for the life histories of over 760 bird species that breed in the United States and Canada.
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Species accounts are written by ornithologists and other experts and are an essential reference for anyone with an advanced interest in birds. BNA accounts have always offered an in-depth, authoritative summary of scientific literature and media. However, in combination with the Macaulay Library and eBird, our restructured species accounts are now accompanied by new sounds, images, and video, and distributional maps and model output generated by eBird.
IOC World Bird List
The IOC World Bird List is an open access resource of the international community of ornithologists. Our goal is to facilitate worldwide communication in ornithology and conservation based on an up-to-date classification of world birds and a set of English names that follows explicit guidelines for spelling and construction (Gill & Wright 2006).

Reptiles & Amphibians

AmphibiaWeb
AmphibiaWeb provides information on amphibian declines, natural history, conservation, and taxonomy.
The Reptile Database
This database provides a catalog of all living reptile species and their classification. The database covers all living snakes, lizards, turtles, amphisbaenians, tuataras, and crocodiles. Currently there are more than 10,000 species including another 2,800 subspecies (statistics). The database focuses on taxonomic data, i.e. names and synonyms, distribution and type data and literature references.
The Center for North American Herpetology (CNAH)
The Center for North American Herpetology serves as a data bank for information about North American amphibians, turtles, reptiles, and crocodilians, and promotes research on them by financial support of selected publications, photography, and any other appropriate medium, as well as the establishment of awards for excellence in research about these fascinating creatures.

Marine Ecology & Biology

Aquaculture Resources
FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department
The Cephalopod Page (TCP)
Contains photographs and thoroughly researched information on many species of octopus, squid, cuttlefish, and other cephalopods.
MarineBio Conservation Society
Website maintained by an organization of volunteer marine biologists, students, professors, and conservation advocates maintains a library of scientific research.
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) or "NOAA Fisheries"
NOAA Fisheries is responsible for the stewardship of the nation's ocean resources and their habitat. We provide vital services for the nation: productive and sustainable fisheries, safe sources of seafood, the recovery and conservation of protected resources, and healthy ecosystems—all backed by sound science and an ecosystem-based approach to management.
National Marine Mammal Laboratory
The Marine Mammal Laboratory (MML) conducts research on marine mammals important to the mission of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with particular attention to issues related to marine mammals off the coasts of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California.

Mammals

Mammal Species of the World (MSW)
Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition (MSW3) is a database of mammalian taxonomy, based upon the 2005 book Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed).

Insects

Bohart Museum of Entomology (UC Davis)
The R. M. Bohart Museum of Entomology is a world class institution, dedicated to teaching, research and public service. The Museum contains the ninth largest insect collection in North America, and is the third largest university collection of insects.
BugGuide.Net
An online community of naturalists who enjoy learning about and sharing our observations of insects, spiders, and other related creatures.
Iowa State Entomology Index of Internet Resources
The Entomology Index of Internet Resources is an attempt to organize the thousands of informational resources available to entomologists.
Nomina Insecta Nearctica
Nomina Insecta Nearctica is a complete synonymical checklist of the approximately 90,000 species of insects of North America north of Mexico published by Entomological Information Services in 1996 and 1997 in four volumes and a CD-ROM containing the database and a search program.

Professional Organizations

American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS)
AALAS is an association of professionals that advances responsible laboratory animal care and use to benefit people and animals.
American Cetacean Society (ACS)
The oldest whale conservation group in the world devoted to education in the field of cetacean research.
American Dairy Science Association (ADSA)
The American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) is an international organization of educators, scientists, and industry representatives who are committed to advancing the dairy industry and keenly aware of the vital role the dairy sciences play in fulfilling the economic, nutritive, and health requirements of the world's population.
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU)
The mission of the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) is to advance the scientific understanding of birds, to enrich ornithology as a profession, and to promote a rigorous scientific basis for the conservation of birds.
American Society of Animal Science (ASAS)
The American Society of Animal Science is a membership society that supports the careers of scientists and animal producers in the United States and internationally. The American Society of Animal Science fosters the discovery, sharing and application of scientific knowledge concerning the responsible use of animals to enhance human life and well-being.
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH)
The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) is an international organization devoted to the scientific fields of ichthyology and herpetology.
American Society of Mammalogists (ASM)
The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was established in 1919 for the purpose of promoting interest in the study of mammals.
American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
The AVMA Web site is the place where veterinary professionals, pet owners and animal lovers go to find comprehensive information on pet care, animal health.
Animal Welfare Institute (AWI)
Since its founding in 1951, AWI has sought to alleviate the suffering inflicted on animals by people. In the organization's early years, our particular emphasis was on the desperate needs of animals used for experimentation. In the decades that followed, we expanded the scope of our work to address many other areas of animal suffering.
Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)
Founded in 1924, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is a nonprofit organization that accredits zoos and aquariums that have met rigorous standards. AZA is dedicated to the advancement of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation.
Center for Biological Diversity
National U.S. group using science, law and creative media to protect the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive.
Federation of Animal Science Societies (FASS)
US society promoting animal agriculture. Details of the society, member directory, newsletters and meetings.
Herpetologists' League
The Herpetologists' League, established in 1946, is an international organization of people devoted to studying herpetology -- the biology of amphibians and reptiles.
Institute for Laboratory Animal Research (ILAR)
The mission of ILAR is to evaluate and to report on scientific, technological, and ethical use of animals and related biological resources, and of non-animal alternatives in non-food settings, such as research, testing, education, and production of pharmaceuticals.
International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ)
The International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ) was formed in 1991 as a supportive organization for the scientific and scholarly study of human-animal interactions.
National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs)
The NC3Rs is a UK-based scientific organisation dedicated to replacing, refining and reducing the use of animals in research and testing (the 3Rs).
Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR)
SSAR, a not-for-profit organization established to advance research, conservation, and education concerning amphibians and reptiles, was founded in 1958.
United States Animal Health Association (USAHA)
Working to control livestock diseases in the United States. News, directory of member organizations, and links.
The Xerces Society: For Invertebrate Conservation
The Xerces Society is a nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. For over forty years, the Society has been at the forefront of invertebrate protection worldwide, harnessing the knowledge of scientists and the enthusiasm of citizens to implement conservation programs.
Zoo Outreach Organization (ZOO) & Wildlife Information Liaison Development (WILD)
ZOO, WILD and SAZARC work together with other institutions and individuals throughout the world in situ and ex situ for the purpose of promoting conservation education, conservation research, conservation welfare, all promoting conservation action.

Taxonomy & Biodiversity

Animal Diversity Web (ADW)
Animal Diversity Web (ADW) is an online database of animal natural history, distribution, classification, and conservation biology at the University of Michigan
Catalogue of Life (COL)
The Catalogue of Life is the most comprehensive and authoritative global index of species currently available. It consists of a single integrated species checklist and taxonomic hierarchy.
Encylopedia of Life (EOL)
A global, collaborative, and open encyclopedia that gathers and makes accessible information about living nature.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international open data infrastructure, funded by governments. It allows anyone, anywhere to access data about all types of life on Earth, shared across national boundaries via the Internet.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)
Taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world.
NatureServe: Association for Biodiversity Information
Information about rare and endangered species and threatened ecosystems. Includes access to technical reports, articles and some data. Also provides links to other useful sites.
Tree of Life web project
The Tree of Life Web Project is a collection of information about biodiversity compiled collaboratively by hundreds of expert and amateur contributors. Its goal is to contain a page with pictures, text, and other information for every species and for each group of organisms, living or extinct.