Selected General Biology Resources

Selected Reference Books

• Henderson's Dictionary of Biological Terms  (Ref. QH 13 .H38 1989)
  "Pronunciation, derivation, and definition of terms in biology, botany, zoology, anatomy, cytology, genetics, embryology, physiology."
  
  
• Encyclopedia of Life Sciences  An in-depth online synthesis of modern biology to elucidate and filters the key literature to made the transition from textbooks to primary publications.   The over 4,000 articles are written by leading experts in the field, peer reviewed, and divided into three different categories indicating their level of complexity: 
  
  • Introductory
  • Advanced
  • Keynote
    .
    Oxford Reference Online-Biological Sciences is collection of reference works published by Oxford University Press. You can either search the entire collection or specific titles.
    
    The Biological Sciences include the following:  
     
  • A Dictionary of Animal Behaviour
    407 entries covering every aspect of animal behavior and includes terms from the related fields of ecology, physiology and psychology. Clear, concise entries are backed up by specific examples where appropriate, covering all aspects of behavior from aggression to courtship
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  • A Dictionary of Biology
    Over 5,000 entries include biographies of key scientists, it provides comprehensive coverage of biology, biophysics, and biochemistry, as well as key terms from medicine and paleontology. There are also feature articles on important topics, such as genetically modified organisms.
    
    
  • The Oxford Companion to the Body
    Over 1,000 entries provide concise and readable accounts of the structure and function of all the major systems of the body and the causes of disorders that affect them. Interwoven with this coverage of the science of the body, are entertaining and informative articles on social and religious attitudes to the body, and its significance for artists, philosophers and writers.
    
    
  • A Dictionary of Ecology
    6,293 entries written in a clear, accessible style, on all aspects of ecology and related environmental scientific disciplines such as biogeography, genetics, soil science, geomorphology, atmospheric science, and oceanography. Coverage is wide-ranging and includes plant and animal physiology, animal behaviour, pollution, conservation, habitat management, evolution, environmental pollution, climatology and meteorology.
    
  • The Encyclopedia of Underwater Life
    A breathtaking insight into underwater life, this Encyclopedia offers unrivalled coverage of the fish and aquatic invertebrates. It describes in detail the anatomy, behaviour, habitat, breeding, and conservation status of species: from microscopic, single-celled organisms swept along by water currents to gigantic powerhouses of the deep. Fascinating feature articles examine some of the strangest and most interesting aspects of these species in more depth, such as the origins of coral reefs; the cycle of the salmon; and how fish produce and use artificial illumination.
    
     
  • A Dictionary of Genetics
    The 7,000 entries that include terms from a wide range of disciplines which entwine with genetics, including molecular biology, cell biology, medicine, botany, and evolutionary studies. Its 7,000 cross-referenced definitions are supported by an excellent collection of line drawings, tables, and chemical formulae. 
      
     
  • The New Encyclopedia of Birds is the definitive single-volume guide to birds of the world. Entries prepared by a team of renowned biologists and conservationists give a systematic account of every family, covering their form and function, distribution, diet, social behaviour, and breeding biology. With one-eighth of all bird species now under threat, special attention is given to environmental and conservation issues.
    
    
  • A Dictionary of Plant Sciences
    This is the most comprehensive and up-to-date dictionary of botany available. Drawing on the information contained in the acclaimed Oxford Dictionary of Natural History, the text has been fully revised to give wide coverage on topics including biochemistry, plant physiology, cytology, ecology, genetics, evolution, bio-geography, earth history, and the earth sciences. There is worldwide coverage of taxonomic groups: one-third of the entries are devoted to taxa, from bacteria and fungi to the main groups of flowering and non-flowering plants.
    
    
  • A Dictionary of Scientists
    Over 1,300 entries From Archimedes and Copernicus to Stephen Hawking and Stephen Jay Gould. Spanning over 2,500 years, it covers all areas of science, from physics and astronomy to medicine and ecology, including key figures in the fields of mathematics and technology. Offering clear explanations of the science itself as well as its historical significance, the dictionary includes coverage of all Nobel Laureates in physics, chemistry, physiology, and medicine. 
    
    
  •  Dictionary of Zoology
    The over 5,000 entries on all aspects of the study of animals for students and amateur naturalists. There is wide coverage of all relevant topics including animal behaviour, genetics, evolutionary studies, ecology, physiology, genetics, cytology, Earth history, and zoogeography.
    

General Biology Databases

Biological Abstracts
Biological Abstracts is the leading abstracting and indexing reference publication for life sciences information. Produced by Biological Abstracts, Inc. (BIOSIS), the database includes bibliographic references (records) with abstracts derived from over 3,700  life sciences research journals published worldwide with over 350,000 new citations added each year.  Print 1926-1990 Online 1991-

General Science Full Text
Abstracts from general scientific  journals as well as popular science magazines. 1984- . Some Full Text coverage begins in 1995.

PubMed
PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine, provides access to over 11 million MEDLINE citations back to the mid-1960's and additional life science journals. PubMed includes links to many sites providing full text articles and other related resources.

Science Direct
Science Direct offers access to the Elsevier Science journal collection covering a wide variety of subject areas and disciplines. Over 1,800 journal titles with full text access to the over 400 journals on the Minnesota Unique Title List. Coverage is from 2000 to the present.

JSTOR
Indexes the following six ecology journals:

Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics
Ecological Applications
Ecological Monographs
Ecology
Journal of Animal Ecology
Journal of Ecology
The "moving wall" represents the time period between the last issue available in JSTOR and the most recently published issue of a journal. It is specified by publishers in their license agreements with JSTOR, and generally ranges from three to five years. In calculating the moving wall, the current, incomplete year is not counted.

Locating Journals  

 UST Current Biological Periodicals
List of all current print and electronic biology journals owned by UST libraries as well as closed holdings of print journals no longer subscribed to.

Electronic versions of Selected Biology Resources

Life Sciences Dictionary, BioTech
This free resource was developed by BioTech staff members and contributors. It is continually under construction. Currently, most of the 8300+ terms deal with biochemistry, biotechnology, botany, cell biology and genetics.

The Origin of Species
by Charles Darwin

Selected Biology Web Sites

WWW Virtual Library Biosciences

Comprehensive Biology Sites  

Return to Subject Guides

Last Updated November, 2007
Comments or Questions,  to: embelisle@stthomas.edu