Seaweeds Online

Posted on Updated on

The Natural History Museum after dark
The Natural History Museum after dark

Recently I was lucky enough to go to the Natural History Museum in London for the launch of their Seaweed Collections Online. Jane Pottas and Jo Wilbraham have spent the last year collecting images and information from 14 different institutions aiming to make seaweed data from regional herbariums more accessible (see the RBGE write-up here).

Seaweed Collections Online front page
Seaweed Collections Online front page

The team selected aound 150 different species of seaweed from the c.650 species found around the UK. Species were selected for reasons such as their conservation status (rarity), if they provide an ecosystem service (such as an important habitat) or if their distribution is changing (perhaps through environmental change).

Peacocks tail
Padina pavonica
Green sponge ball
Codium bursa

   430 images of specimens of seaweeds which were collected between the 1840s and 1964 were photographed from the Manchester Museum collection for the project and are now available through the online catalogue.

Bonnemaison's Hook Weed
Bonnemaisonia hamifera
Laminaria digitata
Laminaria digitata

 

Leave a comment