All God's Creatures in One Database.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

A database that pools information on the earth's 1.5 million named animals, plants, and microorganisms will be accessible via the Internet later this year. This resource will be called the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). The facility is the brainchild of the Working Group on Biological Informatics of the Megascience Forum, a body formed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Also involved in the project are the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science Foundation.

Currently, there are a number of separate information sources on biodiversity, including Costa Rica's Inbio, Mexico's Conabio and global …