Mikrotax Introduction

mikrotax.org - a system for web-delivery of taxonomy

Introduction

mikrotax.org is set of websites documenting the taxonomy of microfossils. Each site is a separate entity with its own database, bibliography, image collection, and editors but all the sites are co-hosted and run on the same software system, mikrotax, which was initially developed for the Nannotax website.

The mikrotax project has beens supported by the International Nannoplankton Association, the Micropalaeontological Society and the Cushman Foundation. Funding has been provided by the UK Natural Environment Ressearch Council, The Gulf Coast Section of Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, the International Ocean Drilling Program, the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and the Cushman Foundation

Why mikrotax?

We liked the name microtax but the domain name had already been used by tax avoidance companies. By spelling it with a 'k' we made a unique name, which is very helpful for web searches. Also, mikro is the logical spelling in many languages.

Distinctive features of the mikrotax system

Highly browsable, image-based, user-interface, allowing meaningful exploration of the taxonomy and biodiversity of the groups, as well as retrieval of data on single taxa.
Parallel documentation of original taxonomic descriptions (important for groups in which taxonomy is still being actively researched).
Intelligent handling of geological time, via look-up tables (essential for dealing with the fossil record).
Integration with the Neptune, Triton, CASCADE, and ForCenS databases of occurrence information.
Commitment to developing comprehensive and authoritative coverage of the groups included.
System designed to allow user-developers to work fast and efficiently.
Simple data structure based essentially on a table of data on the taxa plus a collection of identified images. Data can also readily be retrieved from the system in this format. There is significant additional complexity but the core data is maintained in a format which can easily be exported if migration to a different system becomes desirable.
Wide usage - the nannotax and pforams@mikrotax websites have become the prime online resources for these groups and we have hundreds of users per day, including students, industry professionals and academic specialists. This is transforming taxonomic training and consistency.
Sophisticated bibliography and PDF management, the sites aim to provide comprehensive bibliographies of the taxonomic literature on planktonic foraminifera and of a very wide range of nannoplankton and radiolarian literature, with PDF copies whenever this is possible.

The Mikrotax sites

	Nannotax - the first site, and the biggest, providing comprehensive coverage of coccoliths and other calcareous nannofossils. Also including other haptophytes, Parmales and calcareous dinoflagelates. Led by Jeremy Young and Paul Bown.
	pforams@mikrotax - the second site and perhaps the most authoritative since it is largely based on major atlases and has involved many leading taxonomists. Led by the UCL team of Jeremy Young, Bridget Wade and Paul Pearson, and for the Mesozoic by Brian Huber.
	bforams@mikrotax - a developing system for benthic forams, currently focussed on Cretaceous to Recent deep-sea benthic forams. Led by Ashley Burkett and Brian Huber, with a wide group of contributors.
	radiolaria@mikrotax - a developing system for Cenozoic radiolaria. Led by Dave Lazarus, with content largely derived from migration from previous databases.
	Chitinotax - the newest addition, covering Chitinizoa with initial emphasis on the Devonian, led by Sonia Camina
	Acritax - developed by Brian Pedder, this site provides access to the John Williams index cards for Acritarchs. There were plans to extend this to more comprehensive coverage of Cambrian Acritarchs, in particular, but these are on hold.
	Dinotax - extant dinoflagellates. Development of this site is on hold but it does provide an overview of dinoflagellate classification.
	diatoms@mikrotax - Cenozoic marine planktonic diatoms. This is a skeletal site created to allow display of occurrence frequency plots from the Neptune database.

Possible applications

The feature set of the system was designed for handling microfossil taxonomy, in which there is a rather large number of taxa with relatively limited amounts of data per taxon, where images are of central importance to practical use, and where statigraphic range data is of critical interest. It should be suitable for other groups with similar priorities. If you are interested in either helping with our current projects or developing new applications please contact Jeremy Young

People Behind the Project

As the mikrotax project has expanded it has become increasingly important to involve more people in oversight, governance and promotion. We now have the following executive and advisory boards, providing a wide range of expertise. The executive board has responsibility for oversight of the project as a whole, whilst the advisory boards assist with development and promotion of the planktonic foraminiferal and nannoplankton sites.

Executive Board

Haydon Bailey Network Stratigraphic, UK	Paul R. Bown University College London, UK	John Gregory Petrostrat, UK	Richard Howe Morgan Goodall Palaeo Pty Ltd, Australia
Brian Huber Smithsonian Institute, Washington, USA	David Lazarus Museum fur Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany	Jackie Lees Consultant, Houston, USA	Bridget Wade University College London, UK
Jeremy R. Young University College London, UK

Advisory Board - Calcareous nannoplankton

	Claudia Agnini Università di Padova, Italy	Kevin Cooper RPS Group, UK	Tom Dunkley Jones University of Birmingham, UK	Liam Gallagher Network Stratigraphic, UK
Matt Hampton Network Stratigraphic, UK	Emanuela Mattioli Lyon University, France	Dave Rutledge Petrostrat, UK	Jamie Shamrock Exxon Mobil, Texas, USA	David Watkins University of Nebraska, USA

Advisory Board - Planktonic Foraminifera

	Tracy Aze University of Leeds UK	Heather Birch PalaeoVision Ltd., UK	Geert-Jan Brummer NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, NL	Robert Campbell Shell, Texas, USA
Kirsty Edgar University of Birmingham, UK	Isabel Fenton Natural History Museum, London, UK	Felix Gradstein Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Norway	Mark Leckie University of Massachusetts - Amherst, USA	Lizette Leon-Rodriguez Exxon Mobil, Texas, USA
Maria Rose Petrizzo Università di Milano, Italy	Chris Poole University College London, UK	Alessio Fabbrini University College London, UK	Silvia Spezzaferri Université de Fribourg, Switzerland