The mission of the HerpNET project is to bring 300 years of accumulated knowledge of the diversity of amphibians and reptiles on Earth into currency for science and society. Addressing this challenge involves three thrust areas:

1. Advancing technology by deploying a standards-based informatics and collaboration architecture.
2. Enabling collaborative research by using the technology and collaboration framework to develop and deploy HerpNET, a powerful distributed community information network. Collaboration will allow studies of magnitude and impact that was not previously possible.
3. Fostering the education of the next generation of biodiversity informatics scientists, and providing the public with the results of knowledge networking of herpetological biodiversity information. It will bring together promising young scientists at 36 institutions and offer them the opportunity for cross training in information technology, biocollections and biodiversity science, and environmental issues in their broadest context.

Amphibians and reptiles are the environment’s canaries in the coal mine.—Amphibians and reptiles are large, diverse, and ubiquitous vertebrate groups containing about 15,710 described species. They represent nearly 55% of all tetrapods and 25% of all vertebrates, and occur globally in marine and freshwater habitats and on all landmasses except Antarctica. Because most amphibians are closely tied to water as adults and larvae, they are especially sensitive indicators of environmental quality and change. Hence, the declines of many amphibian populations and outright disappearance of others around the world are of urgent concern (Houlahan et al., 2000).

The possible biological consequences are significant. Both groups are critical members of community ecosystems and their presence or absence will affect other members of communities, including humans. Because they are popular laboratory animals and household pets, many amphibians and reptiles have been introduced in areas where they do not occur naturally, with some alarming consequences. For example, the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis; native to sub-Saharan Africa) now has established populations in the eastern and western U.S.; they have decimated populations of game fish and native amphibians by feeding on their eggs (Schwabe 1991, in litt).

List of Participating Institutions