~ Early Web Links ~

Created by David Ulansey, this long-running reference site compiles hundreds of links to authoritative scientific reports documenting the ongoing sixth mass extinction and global biodiversity crisis. Active since 1998 and last updated in 2021, it covers species loss across vertebrates, insects, plants, and freshwater animals, drawing on sources like the IUCN, UN, WWF, and major scientific journals.

Dr. Randall Whitaker's Observer Web is a comprehensive academic resource dedicated to autopoiesis and enaction, covering the cognitive biology theories of Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela. It offers a tutorial, study plan, bibliography, encyclopaedia, and internet guide for anyone exploring second-order cybernetics, radical constructivism, and enactive cognitive science.

Seabean.com is a dedicated reference site exploring the fascinating world of sea-beans and drift seeds, those tropical seeds and fruits that travel ocean currents for thousands of miles before washing ashore. Visitors can learn how sea-beans float, where they originate, and how to identify specific species like Tropical Almond and Hog Plum.

The Northern California Regional Chapter of SETAC serves students and professionals in environmental toxicology and chemistry, offering local networking, scholarships, and annual meeting opportunities. The site archives newsletters dating back to 2008 and provides information on board members, sustaining memberships, and a student-mentor lunch program.

Stanislaus runs this enthusiastically nerdy site dedicated to prokaryotes and bacteria, complete with a gallery, wiki, and guestbook hosted on Neocities. The playful 'Bacteria Intensive Care Unit' theme and self-described obsession with microbiology make it a charming corner of the web for fellow microbe enthusiasts.

The Virtual Cell is an interactive educational tour of a biological cell, using extensive imagery to guide visitors through cellular structures and components. The included pronunciation guide and visual-heavy layout suggest this is a reference resource designed to help students and curious learners explore cell biology in an engaging, self-guided format.

Housed at the University of Utah's J. Willard Marriott Library, the Western Soundscape Archive offers thousands of audio recordings of animal species and ambient environments across eleven western U.S. states and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Visitors can search or browse recordings of over 570 bird species, frogs, toads, reptiles, mammals, and wild landscape soundscapes contributed by volunteers, government agencies, and conservation groups.

The Kentucky Paleontological Society maintains this hub for fossil enthusiasts in the Bluegrass State, featuring field trip reports, taxonomic fossil photo galleries, and an impressive library of digitized historical geology texts dating back to the 1860s. From Ordovician trilobites to tetrapod trackways, the site covers Kentucky's rich fossil record with resources for both amateur collectors and researchers.

Awkward Botany is an amateur botany blog written for the "phytocurious," covering plant families, weed profiles, horticulture, urban ecology, and plant identification with genuine depth and enthusiasm. Posts like the detailed breakdown of Liatris microcephala and the Weeds of Boise series showcase careful research and a love of plant science that will delight both beginners and seasoned plant nerds.

The Amur Bird Project documents bird research and conservation efforts in Russia's Amur region and Siberia, with detailed field reports on catching, tagging, and tracking species like Bluethroats with geolocators. Run by a team of researchers including Wieland Heim and collaborators, it offers a rare window into ornithological fieldwork in some of the world's most remote wetland habitats.