A new way of editing a flora

Modern electronic tools have become common tools of most scientists. Flora writers and other botanists producing large manuscripts with a certain fixed structure may go even further and use the so-called Mail Merge option in a word processor such as Microsoft Word™. This tool allows structuring a document strictly, especially for the contributions of invited authors, to pre-format the final layout, and to simplify correspondence with contributors. Contributors fill in a structured Microsoft Excel™ spreadsheet with fixed headings, without any requirements for layout or formatting. The file is then used as data source for a merge document in the word processor. For completion of an entire Flora, such as the Flore Analytique du Bénin (Akoègninou et al., 2006), this iteration was done with 45 authors, producing over 180 different manuscripts, viz. one for each family. Final editing includes a check on correct language, insertion of separately produced keys, figures, references, etc

Invasieve exoten in Vlaanderen en Nederland : resultaten uit het Invexo-project en aanbevelingen voor verbetering van de exotenaanpak

De casus-overkoepelende werkgroep „Voorstel Beleid en Samenwerking‟ inventariseerde de mogelijkheden om beleid in de verschillende regio‟s op elkaar af te stemmen en samenwerking te stimuleren. De resultaten van deze werkgroep staan in dit rapport. Invasieve exoten kennen geen grenzen. Daarom is het nodig dat gemeenten, provincies, regio‟s en landen samenwerken om probleemsoorten te bestrijden en te voorkomen. De Europese Unie stimuleert die grensoverschrijdende aanpak van invasieve exoten. 24 partners uit Vlaanderen en Zuid-Nederland deden mee aan het Invexo-project (Europees Interreg-project IV A, 2009-2012). In dit project werden vier probleemsoorten of soortengroepen in Vlaanderen en/of Zuid-Nederland aangepakt: grote waternavel (en ook waterteunisbloem en parelvederkruid), Amerikaanse vogelkers, stierkikker en zomerganzen

Key elements towards a Joint Invasive Alien Species Strategy for the Dutch Caribbean

Recent inventories have documented no less than 211 exotic alien species in the wild for the Dutch Caribbean. These amount to no less than 27 introduced marine species, 65 introduced terrestrial plants, 72 introduced terrestrial and freshwater animals and 47 introduced agricultural pests and diseases. A list of these species, pests and diseases are found in resp. Debrot et al. (2011), Van der Burg et al. 2012, and Van Buurt and Debrot (2012, 2011). The rate of introductions and establishment of invasive alien species (IAS) worldwide has grown rapidly as a result of increasing globalisation. Invasive species cause major ecological effects (decimating native flora or fauna populations) as well as economic losses to these islands, across sectors such as agriculture (diseases, weeds and vectors), fisheries (fish diseases and the lionfish), industry (rodents and termites), tourism (roadside weedy species) and public health (mosquitos). Recently in Curaçao the kissing bug Triatoma infestans was found; this is a vector for Chagas disease. It almost certainly came in with palm leaves imported from South America to be used as roof covering for recreational beach “palapa’s”