Abstract Detail

Biogeography

Wallace, Lisa [1], Alford, Mac [2], Baghai-Riding, Nina [3], Baker, Crystie [4], McCook, Lucile [5], McNair, Daniel [2], Rohnke, Angel [4], Sullivan, Heather [4].

Magnolia grandiFLORA: a Virtual Resource of Plant Diversity in Mississippi.

Historically, easily accessible information about the diversity and distributions of plants in Mississippi has lagged behind other states. For example, a state flora has never been produced and relatively few counties of Mississippi have been characterized in floristic studies. This incomplete knowledge of species diversity in Mississippi has led to inaccurate assessments of biological patterns throughout the Southeast. Here, we introduce Magnolia grandiFLORA, a project intended to provide comprehensive information and resources on plant diversity in Mississippi by digitization of more than 250,000 specimens in seven major herbaria across the state: Delta State University, the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, the Institute for Botanical Exploration, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, Mississippi State University, the University of Mississippi, and the University of Southern Mississippi. Specimen images, label information, and georeferenced locality information can be accessed through customized searches at http://www.mississippiplants.org. Data will also be provided to iDigBio and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.  The resulting list of species will be used by botanists working on the project to complete a checklist of plants for Mississippi that was started by McCook and Kartesz in 2000 and to develop an atlas of Mississippi plants.  The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science has developed new workshops for K-12 teachers that fit into Project WILD, a nationally renowned program for conservation and environmental education. This presentation will highlight current data availability across the collections, preliminary assessments of biodiversity trends, and on-going projects that make use of the developing data sets.  Data produced through project Magnolia grandiFLORA, which is named in honor of the official state tree and flower of Mississippi, is expected to improve understanding of biodiversity in the Southeast by facilitating studies in conservation, ecology, evolution, and systematics and by connecting botanical resources to educational training programs. 

Related Links:
Magnolia grandiFLORA project website

1 - Mississippi State University, PO Box GY, Mississippi State, MS, 39762, USA
2 - University of Southern Mississippi, Biological Sciences, 118 College Dr. #5018, Hattiesburg, MS, 39406, USA
3 - Delta State University, Division of Biological and Physical Sciences, Cleveland, MS, 38733, USA
4 - Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, 2148 Riverside Drive, Jackson, MS, 39203, USA
5 - University of Mississippi, Biology, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS, 38677, USA

Keywords:
Herbarium
Southeast
Digitization
taxonomy
botany education.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Topics
Session: P
Location: Eyrie/Boise Centre
Date: Monday, July 28th, 2014
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PBG004
Abstract ID:462
Candidate for Awards:None