Electronic Field Guides By Teheitha Taylor Lawson State Community College

What are Field Guides? Field Guides are documents that contain photographs or accurate drawings along with clear descriptions of plants or other species. Field Guides are used by scientists, students, and citizens to help them identify species they encounter Field Guides vary by size based on the intended audience and the geographic area covered

Electronic Field Guides Field guides that are put into an electronic (digital) format are called Electronic Field Guides. There are field guides on CDs and on Web sites on the Internet. Electronic field guides can be created through the use of scanners, digital cameras, image processing software, and Web site creation software.

Electronic Field Guide Examples n/field_guides/animal_homes.shtml n/field_guides/animal_homes.shtml

Use of Personal Digital Assistants Personal Digital Assistants (PDA’s) can be used to view electronic field guides as well as collect species information in the field

Use of Electronic Field Guides to Help Preserve Biodiversity This link provides an excellent explanation of what biodiversity is: s.pdf s.pdf Authors R. D. Stevenson, William A. Haber and Robert A. Morris believe that proper identification of species is critical to the conservation of biodiversity. They believe that with the use of new technologies and electronic field guides that citizens can participate in biodiversity monitoring. This increase in monitoring can help the scientific community gather more data in a timely manner and it helps citizens connect with the environment.

Other Types of Field Guides There are other types of field guides that provide pictures and concise information about various things such as products. Companies use guides to explain the uses their equipment. For example: es.html?cmCAT=static_microsite es.html?cmCAT=static_microsite There are buying guides located on the Internet. For example: eras_buyers_guide_p1.html eras_buyers_guide_p1.html

Creation of an Electronic Field Guide Project: Students will create an Electronic Field Guide with Microsoft Word

Works Cited Alonso, A., F. Dallmeier, E. Granek and P. Raven Biodiversity: Connecting with the Tapestry of Life. Smithsonian Institution/Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity Program and President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology. Washington, D.C., U.S.A. "BBC - Science & Nature - UK Wildlife - Animal homes field guide." BBC - bbc.co.uk. BBC. 27 Jun "Cabela's Field Guides - Outdoor Information." Cabela's Official Website - Quality Hunting, Fishing, Camping and Outdoor Gear at competitive prices. Cabela's Inc.. 27 Jun "CyberTracker." CyberTracker. CyberTracker Conservation. 27 Jun "eNature: America's Wildlife Resource." eNature: America's Wildlife Resource. National Wildlife Federation. 27 Jun "Epinions.com - Digital Camera Buyer's Guide." Reviews from Epinions. Epinions, Inc.. 27 Jun "Ontario's Biodiversity: Field Guides." Explore Ontario's Biodiversity. The Royal Ontario Museum. 27 Jun Stevenson, R. D., W. A. Haber, and R. A. Morris Electronic field guides and user communities in the eco-informatics revolution. Conservation Ecology 7(1): 3. [online] URL: