This database is being created to produce an identification database of collected and pressed specimens of algae from the Long Island Sound for teaching purposes while at the same time creating an image archive for UConn’s algal herbarium.  The image archive and compendium document all benthic marine macroalgal species in the Long Island Sound. 

The database provides faculty and students with a complete inventory of alga specimens from the Long Island Sound and viewable specimens of each species.  It provides searchable database for identification and teaching purposes.  The site is unrestricted and is open to the public on the WWW.

The University of Connecticut Libraries has collaborated on this project with a number of different people and organizations.  The text of the database is based on the publication “Marine Algae from Long Island Sound the Strait of Belle Isle” from the Northeast Algal Society (NEAS). The original herbarium sheets were photographed from different collections, including

• Dr. Charlie Yarish’s collection housed at the University of Connecticut at Stamford. 
  Contact: Charlie Yarish Charles.yarish@uconn.edu
  
• Millstone Environmental Laboratory, Millstone Env. Lab., Rope Ferry Road
  Waterford, CT, 06385
  Contact: Jim Foertch james_f_foertch@dom.com
  
• Jackson Estuarine Laboratory, University of New Hampshire, Durham, N.H.
  Contact Art Mathieson: arthur@hopper.unh.edu
  

Methods

• The digital images were taken with a Nikon Coolpix 990 digital camera.
• The database was created in SQLyog version 5.19 and has a web interface designed in Coldfusion.
• The server is hosted by the University of Connecticut Libraries.