Skip to Main Content
University of Texas University of Texas Libraries

Marine Science

Databases & Networks

Unique Databases & Networks

GBIF - the Global Biodiversity Information Facility - is an international network and data infrastructure funded by the world's governments and aimed at providing anyone, anywhere, open access to data about all types of life on Earth.

OBIS is a global open-access data and information clearing-house on marine biodiversity for science, conservation and sustainable development.

ToxInfo.io - Free resource for searching databases on toxicology, hazardous chemicals, and environmental health.

ToxTutor - information.

Free, self-paced tutorial that provides plain-language introduction to toxicology.

The World Foraminifera Database

This World Database of all species of Foraminifera ever described (recent and fossil), is part of the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), a global initiative to provide a register of all marine organisms.

World Ostracoda Database

This World Ostracoda Database is part of the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), a global initiative to provide a register of all names of marine organisms living today (or extinct since a geologically short time). But the World Ostracoda Databasealso includes freshwater and fossil taxa. The present database has the following objectives:

  1. to provide an authoritative list of the world's Ostracoda taxa (species, genera, families…), with focus on the recent taxa, but also with information on fossils,
  2. to provide a list of papers published on ostracods, and
  3. to provide a base link to other online databases.

World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)

The aim of a World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms, including information on synonymy. While the highest priority goes to valid names, other names in use are included so that this register can serve as a guide to interpret taxonomic literature.

The content of WoRMS is controlled by taxonomic and thematic experts, not by database managers. WoRMS has an editorial management system where each taxonomic group is represented by an expert who has the authority over the content, and is responsible for controlling the quality of the information. Each of these main taxonomic editors can invite several specialists of smaller groups within their area of responsibility to join them.

Recommended Databases for ...

Texas Data Repository - publish, track and discover data

Texas Digital Library (TDL) - collects, preserves and distributes scholarly output of member institutions; tool to facilitate scholarly communication and preserve the scholarly legacy of Texas. 

Texas ScholarWorks - scholarly and research works of the University of Texas at Austin, reflecting the intellectual and service environment of the campus.

Aquatic Commons - thematic digital repository covering the natural marine, estuarine /brackish and fresh water environments.

Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) - digitization component of the Encyclopedia of Life; a consortium of 12 major natural history museum libraries, botanical libraries, and research institutions organized to digitize, serve, and preserve the legacy literature of biodiversity.

Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) - cooperative digital library for resources from and about the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean.

Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)

Digital Sanborn Maps 1867-1970

HathiTrust Digital Library - partnership of academic & research institutions, archiving and sharing millions of digitized collections from libraries around the world.

Library Digital Collection, USGS, National Wetlands Research Center.

NOAA Institutional Repository - a digital library of scientific literature and research

University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC) - more than 300 digital collections of several disciplines, rare books, photographs, etc.

World Digital Library - Significant materials from around the world.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Generic License.