~ 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.

The Cincinnati Dry Dredgers claim the title of the oldest continuously-operating fossil club in North America, bringing together amateur geologists and fossil collectors in the Cincinnati area since their founding. The site features extensive fossil identification guides for trilobites, crinoids, echinoderms, brachiopods, and more, plus field trip photos, member activities, and resources for finding Ordovician-era fossils in the region.

Virginia Tech's Dendrology and Forest Biology site is a comprehensive academic resource for tree identification, featuring factsheets, ID keys, a vTree app, and databases covering superlative and remarkable trees. Built by Dr. John Seiler, John Peterson, and collaborators, it serves as a go-to reference for students, landowners, and naturalists interested in woody plants across North America.

Rachel Sussman's project documenting the oldest living organisms on Earth, from ancient chestnut trees to Siberian actinobacteria, combines scientific curiosity with fine art photography. Each post chronicles her travels to find and photograph these extraordinary subjects, paired with reflections on deep time, survival, and the nature of life itself.

Created by Werner Haberl, this scholarly hub is dedicated entirely to the biology of shrews (Soricidae), featuring a bibliography, photo gallery, newsletter, congress announcements, and a forum for zoologists worldwide. Awarded 'Coolest Science Site' in 1996 and mentioned in BBC Wildlife Magazine and Encyclopedia Britannica Online, it remains a remarkably deep and specialized resource for both researchers and curious naturalists.

Bert Hubert's long-running article explains DNA biology through the lens of a computer programmer, drawing analogies between genetic code and software concepts like error correction, compression, and the halting problem. Originally written in 2001 and revised multiple times since, it became popular enough to spawn a two-hour conference presentation and an upcoming book.

A shrine dedicated to Helicoprion, the ancient spiral-toothed shark whose bizarre whorl jaw has fascinated paleontologists for decades. The site includes speculative audio of how the creature might have sounded and even a campaign to vote Helicoprion into the fighting game SkullGirls, showing real enthusiasm for this prehistoric oddity.

The Desert Springs Action Committee (DSAC) is a volunteer group dedicated to hands-on aquatic conservation and education, focusing on desert fish habitats in Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Death Valley National Park, and Devils Hole. The site also features TKphotos digital image collections covering desert springs, aquarium fish, and regional wildlife.

Oliver Beckstein's academic homepage showcases his computational biochemistry research at the intersection of physics and biology, covering topics like ion channel gating, membrane transport proteins, and molecular simulations. Hosted at the University of Oxford's Structural Bioinformatics and Computational Biochemistry Unit, the site links to publications, software, and his lab at Arizona State University's Center for Biological Physics.

Brian W. Coad, a retired ichthyologist from the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, shares decades of expertise through resources including a Dictionary of Ichthyology, annotated checklists of Canadian fishes, and detailed studies of freshwater fishes from Iran and Iraq. The site is a remarkable reference collection for anyone interested in fish taxonomy, zoogeography, and biodiversity, with content serious enough to be published as academic papers and books.