Project Background
For many years, the online Tree of Life web project (ToL) has been an important source of biodiversity, zoogeographic and taxonomic information for a number of metazoan groups. Through the efforts of several teuthologists in particular, the cephalopod pages have been among the most informative and best curated, and many in the cephalopod and marine research communities, as well as members of the public, have come to rely on them as an invaluable online reference point.
However, the ToL has been deteriorating, access is patchy, and it has not been possible to solve these issues to guarantee ongoing access to the wealth of cephalopod information currently stored there. A new online home for these resources is needed.
CephRef aims to migrate the ToL cephalopod information to a newer, more stable and dynamic platform, with opportunities to update and refresh the content to reflect our current state of knowledge. Like ToL, content will be created and edited by volunteers. The project has been initiated by the AUT Lab for Cephalopod Ecology and Systematics (ALCES) at Auckland University of Technology, in collaboration with several of the main ToL cephalopod contributors.
Our Mission
Preserve Knowledge
Migrate and preserve valuable cephalopod information from the Tree of Life project to a stable, modern platform.
Keep Current
Update and refresh content to reflect our current state of knowledge about cephalopod diversity and taxonomy.
Community Driven
Enable volunteer contributors to create and edit content, maintaining the collaborative spirit of the original ToL.
Open Access
Provide free, accessible information to researchers, educators, students, and the public worldwide.
Partners & Collaborators
AUT Lab for Cephalopod Ecology and Systematics
Based at Auckland University of Technology, ALCES is leading the CephRef initiative in collaboration with international cephalopod experts.
Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
AUT
ALCES
Get Involved
Contribute to CephRef
CephRef relies on volunteer contributions from the cephalopod research community. Whether you're a researcher, educator, or enthusiast, there are many ways to help.
Write Content
Create or update species pages
Share Images
Contribute photography
Review & Edit
Help maintain accuracy