Information Technology, Plant Pathology and Biodiversity

Contents: Preface. I. Setting the scene: 1. The incredible pace of change: information technology in support of plant pathology/P.R. Scott. 2. Development of computer-based systems in systematics/P.H.A. Sneath. II. Handling facts to produce information: 3. Handling the information explosion: the challenge of data management/J.E. Anderson. 4. Modelling taxonomic descriptions for identification/J. Lebbe and R. Vignes. 5. A general structure for biological databases/J. Diederich, R. Fortuner and J. Milton. 6. Putting names to things and keeping track: the species 2000 programme for a coordinated catalogue of life/F.A. Bisby. 7. Keeping pathogens in their place; international plant quarantine databases/I.M. Smith. 8. Handling facts to produce information - emerging trends in biological databases/S.B. Jones. III. Interpreting information to produce knowledge: 9. Effective management and delivery of biodiversity information/R. Allkin. 10. Keeping track of where pathogens are: Geographic Information Systems/P. Blaise. 11. Integrated information management: a multimedia system for crop protection/A. Sweetmore, C.Y.L. Schotman, Bin-Cheng Zhang, S.A. Rudgard and P.R. Scott. 12. Interpreting information to produce knowledge: the role of a professional society/A.C. Newton. IV. Using knowledge to support decision making: 13. Building models of epidemics to help take decisions/M.J. Jeger. 14. Multi-media tools for diagnosing and managing pest and disease problems/G. Norton. 15. Information technology in applied plant pathology - a decision support system for crop protection/B.J.M. Secher and N.S. Murali. 16. From mainframe to micro: information technology in plant breeding/A. Marshall. 17. Developing a model of expertise for a taxonomic expert system/M. Edwards. 18. Information Technology support for decision making - where from here?/J.D. Mumford. V. Computer-based species identification: 19. Interactive keys/M.J. Dallwitz, T.A. Paine and E.J. Zurcher. 20. Archiving biodiversity: information technology applied to biodiversity information management/P.H. Schalk. 21. Development of artificial neural networks for identification/L. Boddy, C.W. Morris and A. Morgan. 22. Mixing elements from different identification systems/P. Bridge. 23. The role of the user in computer based species identification/G.M. Tardivel and D.R. Morse. VI. Applications of computer-based species identification: 24. Computerized insect identification: a comparison of differing approaches and problems/I.M. White and G.R. Sandlant. 25. Automated analysis of insect sounds using time-encoded signals and expert systems - a new method for species identification/E.D. Chesmore, O.P. Femminella and M.D. Swarbrick. 26. A historical review of identification by computer/R.J. Pankhurst. 27. GENCOMEX: a computerized key to identify the genera of asteraceae of Mexico/M. Murguia and J.L. Villasenor. 28. Probabilistic identification systems for bacteria/T.N. Bryant. 29. Identification of yeasts through computer-based systems/R.W. Payne. VII. Passing on knowledge in education and training: 30. Electronic teaching aids for students and practitioners/G.L. Schumann. 31. Making books interactive: an electronic experiment/P. Jones. 32. Crop protection, information technology and ecosystem health/Z.R. Shen. 33. Computer games and other tricks to train field pathologists/T.M. Stewart. 34. The need to rebuild our university education systems on an information technology basis/P.H. Schalk and W.H. Los. VIII. Storing and disseminating knowledge: 35. CD-ROM as a dissemination medium in practice: crop protection case studies in Africa/S.S. M'Boob. 36. Networked communications in extension/R. Ausher. 37. Modern information and communication needs in agriculture for developing countries/S. Nagarajan. 38. Electronic publishing in plant pathology: predicting the unpredictable/R. Campbell and A. McLean-Inglis. IX. Biology and information technology: the road ahead: 39. The life sciences and the information revolution/S. Blackmore. 40. Biology, computers, sex and sorting?/P. Cochrane and C. Winter. Index.

"Information Technology is revolutionizing the handling of biological information. The British Society for Plant Pathology (BSPP) has been at the forefront of several initiatives in handling information electronically, while the Systematics Association (SA) has a long-standing involvement in computer-based species identification. BSPP and SA recognized the opportunity to join forces and develop a combined programme for a conference on these themes, which was held in December 1996 at the University of Kent at Canterbury. This also marked the 21 Anniversary of the Systematics Association's 1975 Symposium Biological identification with computers.

This book presents forty edited and revised papers from that conference. The topics covered are wide-ranging and focus on four themes: handling facts to produce information, interpreting information to produce knowledge, passing on knowledge in education and training, and storing and disseminating knowledge. There are papers on subjects as diverse as biological databases, geographic information systems, probabilistic identification systems and electronic teaching aids. Written by authors from Europe, North and Central America, China, India and New Zealand, the book provides an essential review for plant pathologists and taxonomists, as well as other biologists wishing to keep up with the information revolution."