Transcript - Kenneth M. Klemow

ONLINE POLYCLAVE KEY FOR THE PLANTS FROM THE KIRBY PARK NATURAL AREA, WILKES-BARRE, PA.
Breanne
a
Dibble ,
a
Johnston ,
a
Orelien ,
a
Thompson ,
a
Klemow ,
Matthew
Theodore
Jeffrey
Kenneth
and Matthew
aBiology Department, bComputer Science Department, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766
b
Zukoski
Background
Accomplishments – PDA device
People wishing to identify plants in their natural settings
typically turn to published resources like technical manuals or
field guides. Advances in computing technology have made it
possible to create online taxonomic keys that preclude the need
to carry printed resources into the field. Conceivably, online
keys are not limited to specific taxa, and can incorporate
illustrations with text. They can lead users to a more rapid
identification.
Through the use of the software WebZip, the
Dichotomous Key was successfully downloaded
to a desktop computer. From there, the entire key
was transferred to a Compaq PDA and is useable.
One online system, initiated in 1997, is the Kirby Plant Key.
That system used a dichotomous approach to facilitate
identification of the vascular plants from the Kirby Park
Natural Area, an 80-acre riparian woodlot in Wilkes-Barre, PA.
Accomplishments: Polyclave Key
Characteristics for 61 species of wildflowers were added to the polyclave key database using the Putty
program and mysql database format. As of March 2006, the polyclave key is fully functional and accessible
through the web.
The wildflowers menu page was edited to follow the newly created database table.
Broken hyperlinks were fixed and new links were created.
Since the key was downloaded, it is able to be
used offline. The user has the ability to take the
PDA into the field and use the key to either
identify a plant, or get information about a known
species.
The next step is to use WebZip to successfully
transfer the polyclave key onto the PDA. Once
this task is accomplished, a user will have mobile
access to both keys in field research.
The key consists of text linked to pictures that leads the user
through a series of choices to an identification. Over the past
nine years, the Kirby Key has undergone refinement and
expansion by teams of Wilkes University Biology Students.
The URL is:
http://wilkes-fs1.wilkes.edu/~kirbypl/
A second key was developed in 2001 by groups of Wilkes
Computer Science majors, following a polyclave format. The
user creates a profile of the unknown plant using a series of
drop-down menus connected to database stored on the Wilkes
mainframe. Plants fitting the profile appear after the database
filters the query. The polyclave key is posted to the web at
http://mathcs.wilkes.edu/~kirbyprk/
Figure 1: View of the Polyclave Key home page.
Figure 2: A sample page showing the scroll-down
menus used for identification of wildflowers.
Statement of Problem
1: As of September 2005, portions of the database
pertaining to the flowering herbs were not populated.
Significance
2: The dichotomous key is formatted for a standard
desktop or laptop computer. Shifting the key to a PDAbased format would greatly enhance its use in the field.
These keys enable a user to identify a diverse group
of plants (gymnosperm trees, hardwood trees and
shrubs, grasses, wildflowers) using a single,
comprehensive, online resource.
Objectives
These keys can serve as an educational tool to help
people that lack botanical background, or provide a
useful identification guide to field research.
We sought to:
Converting the key into a PDA format allows it to
be truly usable as a field-based tool.
1. Complete the polyclave version by updating the
database and filling in the previously created shell.
2. Transfer the dichotomous key onto a PDA device,
making it useable in the field without an internet
connection.
Figure 3: A sample page showing a typical results
page after a species search.
Figure 4: A sample page that shows an identified
species and general information about the species.
This project can be scaled-up to include all of the
plants in Pennsylvania. It thus fits one objective of
the Pennsylvania Biodiversity Partnership’s
Biodiversity Conservation Plan under development.