ATM - Assembling a taxonomic monograph: The lichen family Graphidaceae

对生物多样性进行编目是一项艰巨的任务。在地球上生活的3000万种物种中，只有200万种被描述过。随着发现和描述物种的分类学家数量的减少，传统的方法不足以完成这项任务。该项目实施了一种新颖的专题工作方法，即对一组生物体的所有物种进行编目，在这种情况下，Graphidaceae是热带最大的地衣真菌科，有近2000个物种。ATM概念，汇编分类学专著，汇集了来自各大洲的最大可能的研究人员群体。目标是在全球范围内出版一系列涵盖整个家庭的专著。该项目将形态分类学的传统方法与进化研究的最新进展相结合，并包括一个强有力的培训和推广组成部分，为生命百科全书提供信息。通过整合地球仪各地的大批研究人员，该项目致力于实现将在科学界内外获得广泛接受的统一概念。现代化的电子工具和网络传播使数据可以广泛获取，将其纳入《生命百科全书》解决了公众对生物多样性研究日益增长的兴趣。该项目是一项为期10年的努力的一部分，旨在收集和调动与美国研究收藏中的生物标本有关的科学信息。该项目的图像和数字化数据将被纳入在线国家资源，如社区战略计划所述，可在http://digbiocol.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/digistratplanfinaldraft.pdf上查阅。

Cataloging the diversity of life is an enormous task. Of the 30 million species inhabiting this planet, only 2 million have been described. With a decreasing number of taxonomists, the researchers who discover and describe species, traditional approaches are not sufficient for this task. This project implements a novel approach to monographic work, that is cataloging all species of a group of organisms, in this case Graphidaceae, the largest family of lichenized fungi in the tropics, with close to 2000 species. The ATM concept, Assembling a Taxonomic Monograph, brings together the largest possible group of researchers from all continents. The goal is a series of monographs covering the entire family on a global scale. The project combines traditional methods of morphological taxonomy with the latest advances in evolutionary research and includes a strong training and outreach component that feeds into the Encyclopedia of Life. By integration of a large group of researchers around the globe, the project works towards unified concepts that will receive broad acceptance among the scientific community and beyond. Modern electronic tools and web dissemination make the data broadly accessible and their incorporation into the Encyclopedia of Life addresses the increased public interest in biodiversity research.This project is part of a 10-year effort to digitize and mobilize the scientific information associated with biological specimens held in U.S. research collections. The images and digitized data from this project will be integrated into the online national resource as outlined in the community strategic plan available at http://digbiocol.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/digistratplanfinaldraft.pdf.