Summary Berendsohn, W. G., Anagnostopoulos, A., Hagedorn, G., Jakupovic, J., Nimis, P. L., Valdés, B., Güntsch, A., Pankhurst, R. J. & White, R. J.: A comprehensive reference model for biological collections and surveys. – Taxon 48: 511‐562. 1999. ISSN 0040‐0262. The article describes an extended entity‐relationship model covering biological collections, i.e. natural history collections of biotic origin; data collections used in floristic or faunistic mapping, survey, and monitoring projects; live collections such as botanical or zoological gardens, seed banks, microbial strain collections and gene banks; as well as novel collection kinds such as of secondary metabolites or DNA samples. The central element in the model is the unit, which stands for any object containing, being or being part of a living, fossilised, or conserved organism. The unit may be gathered (observed or collected) in the field and derived units may recursively emerge from it through specimen processing, breeding or cultivation. In addition, units may form associations (e.g. host/parasite), ensembles (lichen on a rock with fossils), and assemblages (herd, artificial grouping). Gathering events, specimen management (acquisition, accession, storage, preservation, exchange, ownership), and taxonomic or other identifications relate to the unit and are treated in detail. Geographic and geo‐ecological data have not been fully modelled; taxonomic (name) data and descriptive information are treated by reference to other published models.

The aim of this study was to investigate the seasonal population fluctuation of orthopteran assemblages and determine the spatial distribution of the most abundant species of Orthoptera among two habitats in Greece. A 2-year study was performed in a lowland area and in a mountain grassland area. The family of Acrididae represented almost 75% of the total orthopteran relative abundance in both sampling areas. Dociostaurus maroccanus and Chorthippus bornhalmi were found to be the most abundant species in the lowland and the mountain sampling stations, respectively. Most populated species were spatially aggregated in the lowland station, whereas the abundant species were found to be distributed either aggregately or randomly among sampling units in the mountain area. ShannonWiener index estimate was higher for the lowland in 2007 than for the mountain, whereas the opposite was found in 2008. The factors affecting the population dynamics of Orthoptera are discussed.

A project-independent data model for the entire range of karyological information\ud provides a comprehensive picture of all data items presently used in karyological research\ud and characterizes their logical inter-relation. It is presented in the form of a hierarchical\ud decomposition of the subject matter down to attribute-level data items. The applied\ud analytical methods are relevant for the structuring of information in other branches of\ud biology. Only sporadic and inconsistent efforts have previously been made to make the huge\ud amount of available karyological information accessible in electronic form. In the view of\ud growing demand for the availability of scientific data on computer networks, fnrther\ud attempts are to be expected presently. The present data model provides a framework for the\ud design of individual databases and ensures compatibility of the resulting datasets