GBA online
INFORMATION
FOR CONTRIBUTORS
(B.J.
O'Shea & M.J. Wigginton)
Introduction
This project aims to provide an illustrated guide to all bryophyte
families (over 120) and genera (over 500) in sub-Saharan Africa,
including the Indian Ocean Islands. As a basis we will use the
guide to neotropical bryophytes, written by Rob Gradstein (hepatics
and anthocerotes) and Steve Churchill (mosses). However, 15% of
African families and 27% of genera do not occur in the neotropics
and so will need to be written in full, and even where families
or genera are common between the two areas, it is likley that few
if any species are common, and in all cases will mean making new
illustrations (copyright of the neotropical illustrations is held
by NYBG, publishers of the neotropical guide).
The original
timescale was to complete the text of GBA by mid to late 2000, with
publication a year later, but it became clear that this date would
not be achieved. After two years about 60% was complete, but two
years further on, the position had hardly changed, and some of the
treatments were already out of date. At this point it was decided
to set up a website with the completed families, to allow updates
to be made, and to provide further encouragement to complete the
missing families. The treatments should be prepared as for printed
publication, and the web-based version will be created from the completed
document.
Work
to be done
You will be supplied with the neotropical descriptions and illustrations
for families and genera common between the two areas. Remember that
a family/genus common between the neotropics and Africa may share very
few species in common, so that the neotropic descriptions may not entirely
match the African situation: experience so far suggests that quite
a large proportion of the text may need to be changed, although it
is still quicker adapting existing text than it is writing from a blank
page. Thus, every part of the descriptions should be scrutinised with
care, checked against African literature, and appropriate amendments
made to both familial and generic descriptions. If possible, specimens
should also be checked, especially if the literature is inadequate.
For new genera/families, produce an account in the style of the sample
(see below), and of about the same length.
Distribution
data within Africa should be based on the current checklists (Wigginton
2002 for hepatics, O'Shea 1999 for mosses) but without attribution:
you only need to mention sources for any changes. The checklists
will be included in a general bibliography, and there will be a statement
in the introduction that these are the source of distribution information
for the family/genera accounts.
Drawings
should be based on the most common African taxa in the genus, but
should typify the genus, show the diagnostic features, and should
be limited to a habit drawing, leaf outline(s) and mid-leaf cells,
together with any other characters and features that are appropriate
for the particular genus (capsule, perichaetial leaves, alar cells,
lobule shape, etc.). If there is considerable variation in form within
a large genus, it may be desirable to include more than one habit
drawing. Further guidance on drawings is attached as an appendix
to this document.
Layout
Please follow these guidelines and the sample format (see below) exactly
- if you don't, it just makes more work for the editors:
* For
the main family and genus descriptions, the first word of each sentence
(or occasionally the first two words) should be in bold, so make
sure this highlights key words such as Plants, Stem, Perichaetial
leaves etc.
* Please use no paragraph formatting: all settings in the Format/Paragraph/Indents & Spacing
should be set to zero, with paragraphs left aligned, single spacing.
Where it is necessary to inset the first line of a paragraph, use a
tab rather than altering the format of the paragraph. (In MS Word,
this may mean deselecting the 'tabs and backspace set left indent'
option in Tools/Options/Edit.) As in this document, separate sentences
by only one space.
* List the references in alphabetic order of author, according to the
format shown in the sample. Note that there should be no space between
author initials.
* Where there is only one genus within a family, the account should
contain the normal brief description of number of genera worldwide
etc., but the main family description should be omitted (such that
the genus description defines the family).
* Treat family names as plural (e.g. 'The Rhachitheciaceae contain...'
(vs. contains)).
* Use the past tense for discussing previously published works.
* When indicating ranges of values, use two hyphens with no space,
e.g. 1500--2500 m, pages 20--30, 5--7 mm etc. These will be replaced
by 'en dashes' before publication (slightly longer than normal hyphens).
* For keys, right align taxon names, leave no gap between couplets,
and use dotted leaders between text and taxon name (consult one of
the editors if you don't know how to do this).
* The final document will be produced using MS Word 97 with the TrueType
Times New Roman font (12 point), as in this guide to contributors.
Please use this font also if possible, but if not, use only one font
and one font size throughout.
Your contribution
should be provided in MS Word format if possible, on disc or preferably
as an e-mail attachment. If not MS Word, please confirm beforehand
that we can read what you produce, and try to adapt the MS Word-specific
advice above to your own word processor. Anyone providing non-word
processed documents should discuss formats with the appropriate editor;
a typewritten document is preferred to avoid ambiguity (preferably
using a font that is easily scanned, such as Courier), but hand-written
documents may be acceptable.
These
guidelines have been agreed with MBG Press as presenting them with
minimal changes during production.
The Editors
will take responsibility for creating the web-based version of the
text.
Structure
of family and genus accounts
See family treatment for Rhachitheciaceae on the Tropical
Bryology Research website.
Estimates
In general, we expect that family and genus treatments will take the
same (one day on average), whether or not they are from the neotropical
guide. For specific families or genera, more accurate estimates
can be made, but we are still depending on those with 'easy' families
or genera to finish ahead of these targets, to help those with
'difficult' families or genera. Please discuss any problems regarding
delivery as soon as they appear so we can re-assess the time to
be allowed and the impact on other deliveries.
Timetable
As the editors are themselves contributing family and genus treatments,
as well as creating the web documents, authors should try to follow
the instructions in this document as closely as possible, and keep
the editors aware of your progress.
The editing
process will be as follows:
1. Work
will be allocated to individuals by the editors (Brian O'Shea for
mosses, Martin Wigginton for hepatics and anthocerotes). For each
family, the latest version of any neotropical treatment will be sent,
via email, disk or paper, as required.
2. Agreement will be reached between editor and author on an estimate
of the time required for each family, and on a delivery date.
3. When each family is completed, text and illustrations should be
returned to the appropriate editor, who will then vet against technical
standards ready for incorporation into the final text. The editor will
also check that so far as they can tell the detail and references are
relevant and complete.
4. Periodically each editor will pass accumulated new text and illustrations
to the other editor for agreement, and the documents will then be forwarded
to an expert for final review.
5. When
accepted, the Tropical
Bryology Research website will be updated, and a web version will
be produced.
References
Gradstein,
S.R., Churchill, S.P & Salazar-Allen, N. 2001. Guide
to the bryophytes of Tropical America. New York: New York
Botanical Garden Press. (Memoirs of the New York Botanical
Garden 86: i-vii, 1-577.)
O'Shea,
B.J. 2003. Checklist of the mosses of sub-Saharan Africa
(version 4, 12/03). Tropical Bryology Research Reports 4:
1-182.
Wigginton,
M.J. 2002. Checklist and distribution of the liverworts
and hornworts of sub-Saharan Africa, including the East African
Islands (edition 2, September 2004). Tropical Bryology Research
Reports 5: 1-102.
Appendix
- Guidelines for Drawings
Each generic
account will be accompanied by a drawing showing the form of the
plant and its constituent parts, including any characters which especially
differentiate the genus. Drawings will comprise a leafy shoot (or
thallus), and parts of the plant including leaves, cells, reproductive
structures, etc. For heterogenous genera, additional drawings should
be included to show the variation - e.g. illustrate hyaline-margined
and denticulate-margined leaves in Cololejeunea; the different forms
of lobule in Frullania; leaf structure in Leucoloma.
We will aim for drawings of similar style and line thickness to those
included in Buck (1998) Pleurocarpous Mosses of the West Indies, an
example of which will be sent to those who need it.
Specimens
for drawing
The drawing should be made from African specimen(s) if possible.
Size
The set of drawings for each genus should be contained within a rectangle
of 100 x 260 mm on an A4 sheet. For most genera this should be
a horizontal rectangle, i.e. 'landscape orientation'. There may,
however, be some genera (e.g. those with pendent shoots) which
are better drawn in a vertical rectangle. These will need to be
dealt with individually with the editors.
No 'margins' should be left inside the 100 x 260 mm rectangle.
Drawing
medium
Use drafting film or high quality paper. Standard grade photocopier
paper or paper of similar quality should not be used for an inked drawing,
as the ink line will not be sharp.
Pens
The following pen sizes should be used:
- 0.35
mm pen for the main outlines of shoots, leaves, inflorescenses, and
transverse sections of stem and leaf.
- 0.25
mm pen for other features, including the following:
leaf costae
verrucae or punctatae of cuticle
plicae of leaves
hairs and fine rhizoids
outlines of cells
striae of capsules
papillae of cells
scale bars
- 0.15
mm or 0.18 mm pen for all shading.
If it
is not possible to obtain these exact pen sizes, then please use
as near as possible to these sizes. Dotted shading must be done with
a very fine pen.
Shading
Should be only with dots (not lines or dashes) with a 0.15 or 0.18
mm pen. It should be fairly minimal: above all, please avoid heavy
shading. If you do not have such a fine pen, or are uncertain about
applying shading, then please use a soft (HB) pencil* to solid-shade
the areas which you suggest should be shaded.
Scale
bars
A scale bar (a simple line) should be drawn with a 0.25 mm pen alongside
each constituent part of the figure. The length represented by the
scale bar should be written by the side of it in HB pencil*.
Lettering
and legend
Each part of the figures should be marked with capital letters (A,
B, C, etc) in HB pencil. A key (legend) should be provided on a separate
attached note, not on the drawing itself. The legend should preferably
be sent with the generic account, to avoid the need of retyping. The
legend should include the name of the taxon used (including authors),
and the locality and brief collection details of the specimen(s) used.
Sending
drawings to co-ordinators
For posting, please ensure drawings are enclosed between stiff covers
which prevent the package being folded, and mark the envelope 'PHOTOGRAPHS
- DO NOT BEND'.
*an HB
pencil is recommended since it is neither so soft as to smudge, nor
so hard as to show when erased.
Note:
1. If illustrators need, for any special reason, to make larger drawings
(e.g. those using drawing arms), then they should scale up the
pen size ready for photoreduction, or preferably reduce it by photocopying
then trace using standard-sized pens.
2. If these guidelines present any problems, please contact the coordinator.
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