Comments for Lyman Entomological Museum

Comment on Pixels versus pages by terry wheeler

terry wheeler — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 16:57:37 +0000

PDF versions are certainly more portable and its very convenient having a decent library along with me when I’m away from the lab. But yes, I definitely prefer doing identification from a hard copy. This is partly because there’s usually no room near my scope for the computer, partly because I find it faster to flip than to scroll when I’m backtracking and second-guessing myself in a key, and partly because I can scribble withering comments on bad key couplets more easily if they’re printed.

Aside from taxonomic works, there is that core set of ecology/theory/quantitative papers that I keep coming back to and those are the current leading candidates for a new stack of hard copies.

And two thumbs up on the smell of paper, especially old books that aren’t too horribly musty!

Comment on Pixels versus pages by Ted C. MacRae

Ted C. MacRae — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 03:59:25 +0000

I’ve always been a bit of an office neat-nick as well – I do end up with piles of papers sometimes, but they are always neat and square!

Regarding papers vs. pixels, I love having pdfs at my finger tips – especially when I’m away from the office and a quick question pops up. However, that only works for the most recent stuff, and as you know taxonomists are more into old literature than just about anybody. Still, I’ve continued to make a printed version of every paper for the binders and cabinets in my office – when I’m steeped in ID work and literature review I find it faster and easier to consult the hard copies.

Plus, I just like the smell of paper!

Comment on Many ways forward: towards a Biota of Canada by terry wheeler

terry wheeler — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 01:22:44 +0000

Thanks, Felix. I think integration and a broad view of the many potential products are key, and it’s one of the things that makes this exercise in 2013 very different than it might have been in the 1970s. The diversity of information and expertise that a wide range of professionals, amateurs, taxonomists, ecologists, bioinformaticians, butterfly watchers, birders, community groups and others can bring to the undertaking is, I think, a great strength. We, as a community, just need to find a way to harness and focus all that expertise and enthusiasm (I’ll hold up Alberta again as a great example with the Alberta Lepidopterists’ Guild and what that group has been able to accomplish in just a few years).

Comment on Many ways forward: towards a Biota of Canada by felixsperling

felixsperling — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 23:44:21 +0000

Great blog posting, Terry. Names ARE the key. And the multiple but INTEGRATED ways forward that you have listed mean that everyone can contribute according to their inclinations and abilities. Thanks also for the plug for the Strickland Museum species pages.

Comment on Many ways forward: towards a Biota of Canada by terry wheeler

terry wheeler — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:59:28 +0000

Hi David. Thanks for posting that link. That paper is a great example of the kinds of tools we have available (or will have available) to facilitate this whole enterprise.

Comment on Many ways forward: towards a Biota of Canada by davidshorthouse716

davidshorthouse716 — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:30:33 +0000

Here’s a pub that expands more on names as key to a big new biology: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2010.09.004

Comment on The printed word. Why I love books by Many ways forward: towards a Biota of Canada | Lyman Entomological Museum

Many ways forward: towards a Biota of Canada | Lyman Entomological Museum — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 18:39:44 +0000

[...] and its Insect Fauna — was published as a hard copy volume. A printed book is a very useful tool. I connect with books in a way that I simply can’t with electronic resources. That being said, there are limitations to a book: it’s not easily updated without being [...]

Comment on Count all the things: towards a Biota of Canada by Many ways forward: towards a Biota of Canada | Lyman Entomological Museum

Many ways forward: towards a Biota of Canada | Lyman Entomological Museum — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 18:39:41 +0000

[...] ← Count all the things: towards a Biota of Canada [...]

Comment on Count all the things: towards a Biota of Canada by terry wheeler

terry wheeler — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 01:43:26 +0000

Hi Greg, Yes, it comes down to what people define as a “piece”, doesn’t it? I suspect we both see a provisional list of the species we DO already know to be in Canada as a single piece that is attainable, at least for the insects and arachnids. We may never describe ALL the species of ALL taxa in Canada but yes, there’s absolutely no point waiting. The leps and beetles are two great examples of big taxa in which the community has managed to work together to compile the current state of the art, substantially updated since 1979, and some other taxa have similarly been covered. We now need to find a way to do that with the remaining orders, and I think that having those first few orders completed may be the motivation needed to get the others moving along. In discussions about all this over the last couple of years it’s been very illuminating to see different people’s views on what we can and cannot do, what we should and should not do, and how best to get there.

Comment on Count all the things: towards a Biota of Canada by Greg Pohl

Greg Pohl — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 23:52:17 +0000

I agree it’s high time for an update on what lives here. But I disagree that we need to do it a few pieces at a time. Canadian entomologists have been adding small bits of information for over a century. Instead of waiting until the last Canadian species gets described before we produce the list, may I suggest that it’s high time to summarize what we already know, as a provisional list. It means setting aside the taxonomic work for a bit, to do some library work and data mining. But it can be done, as has been demonstrated for big groups like Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. We just need to stop focussing on the details we don’t yet know, and recognise that what we already know is worth sharing.