Tree of Life Web Project
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| Content | |
|---|---|
| Description | Tree of Life Web Project |
| Contact | |
| Authors | David Maddison, Katja-Sabine Schulz, and Wayne Maddison |
| Release date | 1995 |
| Access | |
| Website | http://www.tolweb.org |
The Tree of Life Web Project is an ongoing Internet project providing information about the diversity and phylogeny of life on Earth.[1][2]
This collaborative peer reviewed project began in 1995, and is written by biologists from around the world. The site has not been updated since 2011, however the pages are still accessible.[3]
The pages are linked hierarchically, in the form of the branching evolutionary tree of life, organized cladistically.[1] Each page contains information about one particular group of organisms and is organized according to a branched tree-like form, thus showing hypothetical relationships between different groups of organisms.
In 2009 the project ran into funding problems from the University of Arizona. Pages and Treehouses submitted took a considerably longer time to be approved as they're being reviewed by a small group of volunteers, and apparently, around 2011, all activities ended.[3]
History
The idea of this project started in the late 1980’s. David Maddison was working on a computer program MacClade during his PhD research. This is an application that give insight in species due phylogenetic trees. He wanted to extend this program with a feature that the user could browse through phylogenetic trees and zoom into other lower or higher taxa.[4]
Hence, this association was not unique in a stand-alone application. The researchers came with the idea to export the application into the world wide web and this was realized in 1995. Since 1996, over 300 biologists from around the globe added taxa web pages into the phylogeny browser.[4] Because of this huge amount of data it is now necessary to assign full-time staff members to this project.
Quality
To ensure the quality of ToL project, the board makes use of peer-review. The pages that are being reviewed will be sent to two or three researchers that are specialized in the particular subject.[4] Besides, it is also possible to visit the personal page of the author. If this is not accessible then the institution is always at the footnote.[5]
See also
- Catalogue of Life
- Charles Darwin
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Tree of life (science)
- Open Tree of Life
- Wikispecies
References
- ^ a b "The Tree of Life Web Project" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1668: 1–766. 2007.
- ^ "Tree of Life project grows more leaves and branches". EurekAlert. 2006.
- ^ a b "Tree of Life Growth Monitor". tolweb.org. Retrieved 2017-06-22.
- ^ a b c "Tree of Life Peer review". tolweb.org. Retrieved 2017-09-09.
- ^ "Exploring Phylogeny at the Tree of Life Web Project" (PDF). Springer Science. 3: 668–674. 2010.
External links
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