Ecology, Evolution & Organismal Biology Resources  Tags: ecology evolution biology science environment  

These are just a few of the journals related to the ecological sciences available online from the ISU Library:

• The American Naturalist
• Ecology Letters
• Evolution
• Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
• Trends in Ecology & Evolution

Check the e-journals list for additional journals. If you don't find what you need, check the library catalog to see what journals are available in print. When searching the library catalog for journals, be sure to search by "Serial Title (journals, etc)."

While you can go to the individual journals to find information about your topic, it's much more efficient to search an article database for your topic.  These are the major databases useful for searching topics in the biological sciences.

The ISU Library subscribes to many different databases that are useful to students and faculty interested in biology. Deciding which database to use depends on what you are trying to accomplish. For example, does the assignment require you to find articles from the popular press or scholarly journals?

General Database - Start basic and begin your search here!

• Academic Search Elite
  This is one of the EBSCOHost databases; if you attended high school in Iowa, you've probably used some of the EBSCOHost resources.  It includes popular and scholarly publications.

Subject Databases

The following databases do not contain articles from popular magazines or newspapers. The citations in these databases are from a variety of sources including scholarly journals, conference proceedings, and meeting reports.

• Biosis Previews - Covers virtually every life science discipline: agriculture, biochemistry, biotechnology, botany, ecology, immunology, microbiology, neuroscience, pharmacology, public health, and toxicology. Coverage: 1926 - present.  Can simultaneously search Biosis Previews, CAB Abstracts, and the Web of Science.
  
  
• CAB Abstracts - covers agricultural sciences, animal sciences, biotechnology and molecular biology, entomology, environmental sciences, genetics and breeding, microbiology, parasitology, and plant sciences. International in scope. Coverage: 1910-present
  
  
• Fish and Fisheries Worldwide - covers all aspects of ichthyology and fisheries, and related aspects of aquaculture. Coverage: 1972-present
  
  
• PubMed - Freely available version of MEDLINE. Provides access to human medicine journals and many life sciences journals. Be sure to access PubMed through the library website to view the "Get it@ISU" button in the citation record. Coverage: 1950s - present. More information: PubMed Tutorials and Quick Tours - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/disted/pubmed.html
  
  
• Water Resources Abstracts
  Offers a comprehensive range of information on water-related research topics. This database includes research reported from government agencies, private contractors, research centers, and universities found within journal articles, books, research reports, patents, conference proceedings, and government publications. Coverage: 1967 – present.
  
  
• Web of Science
  Provides access to the Science Citation Index Expanded (1900-), Social Sciences Citation Index (1956-), and Arts & Humanities Citation Index (1975-). Search by keyword or cited reference. A cited reference search will show you who has cited the article since it was published. Check out the Cited Reference Searching tutorial. Can simultaneously search Biosis Previews, CAB Abstracts, and the Web of Science.

• Wildlife and Ecology Studies Worldwide - covers wild mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Coverage: 1935-present
  
  
• Zoological Record - comprehensive index to the zoological literature. Coverage: 1864-present

Other Resources

• Birds of North America Online
  Extensive information about birds. The articles include comprehensive information about bird behavior, migration, habitat as well as other topics. The articles are enhanced with photographs and sound clips.
  
  
• CQ Researcher
  This is a good research to find if you need to find sources that describe the "pros" and "cons" of current issues. Click on "Browse by Topic" and choose "Science and Technology."