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Relaunch of antbase.de on http://www.antbase.net 08.08.2006

Dear visitors and friends of antbase.de
Two years after its establishment, antbase.de received financial support from the German Research Foundation (DFG) in order to establish a scientific database on myrmecology. This web-based myrmecology information network has started today on our new address http://www.antbase.net, with a relaunch of our pages in an improved design.

At the same time our systematic pages will be now generated from the SYSTAX databank that is connected to GIBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility). All species data stored in antbase.net will be automaticly forwarded to GIBIF. Important information on the respective taxa can be retrieved by mouseclick from SYTAX or from www.antbase.org.

With our new website we want to enhance scientific discussion about ants, create an online forum for ant-reasearchers of all countries and provide them with information on the ecology and systematics of ants from Asia and the Palaearctis. The new web address has been choosen as our first issue is the exchange of ant data (pictures, keys, sample data, literature, films, stories, researcher portraits and interviews, etc.) between researchers working in Asia and Europe and we wanted to stress our international aims. Over the next two years we will develop a myrmecology information network, especially for ant researchers working in Europe, Asia and the Pacific.

We want to provide digital resources on various aspects of ant taxonomy and ecology in virtual libraries by implementation of innovative procedures for international digital information transfer. This includes digital imaging of ants for the extension of our openly accessible and constantly growing virtual ant museum and the assemblage of databases on scientific literature, ant distribution patterns and taxonomic information with the intention to enhance international scientific communication on ants.

These objectives are supported by the DFG - Scientific Library Services and Information Systems (LIS) that funds www.antbase.net since July 2006 within the framework of the Thematic information networks program. This program is specifically designed to promote the development of efficient information services and innovative information infrastructures for meeting the growing demand of the research community for easily accessible information.

In order to achieve our aims we will intensive our cooperation with international organisations as e.g., ANeT, the international network of ant research in Asia and IUSSI, the International Union for the Study of Social Insects and further cooperate with established internet sites like www.antbase.org, www.antweb.org, or Japanese Ant Imagebase and in close contact with our friends and colleagues from all over the world!

At this stage, we want to warmly thank all researchers that have already been actively participating in our pages and invite the scientific community to take even more advantage of our now extended opportunities for web publishing ant information on www.antbase.net.

We are looking forward to future exchange resulting from both already established and new cooperations. Please feel free to contribute to a growing web of information on our fascinating study organisms!

Martin Pfeiffer Editor and Katrin Deufel Project Manager