Curation and Facilities Improvement of the Collection of Large Mammals at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History

洛杉矶县自然历史博物馆拥有美国第二大海洋哺乳动物标本收藏，以及最大的有蹄类动物(有蹄哺乳动物)收藏。这些藏品在过去20年里以指数级的速度增长，现在存放在一个场外设施中。这些标本具有很大的科学价值；然而，以前的资金限制和有限的人员配备阻碍了它们被适当地记录、准备和储存。海洋哺乳动物标本的研究收集具有特别重要的科学意义，因为人们对这些动物的一般生物学知之甚少。大多数海洋哺乳动物标本是从死亡的搁浅动物身上收集的，但收集的动物也包括在捕鱼作业中意外死亡的动物，以及被原住民猎杀的动物。这些标本有助于我们了解各种标本的分布、自然历史、解剖学和进化。从这些标本中收集的数据也被用来回答关于人类对这些水生哺乳动物的直接和间接影响的许多问题。该项目将提供更多的工作人员，以继续处理以前收集的积压标本，以便对它们进行适当的清理，记录和交叉参照相关数据，并存储标本和数据，以便随时可供科学研究使用。该项目还提供了额外的设备，以充分储存和移动大型、易碎的标本。

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County holds the second largest collection of marine mammal specimens in the United States as well as one of the largest collections of ungulates (hoofed mammals). These collections have grown at an exponential rate over the past two decades and are now housed at an off-site facility. The specimens are of great scientific value; however, previous funding constraints and limited staffing have prevented them from being properly documented, prepared, and stored. The research collection of marine mammal specimens is of particular scientific importance because so little is known about the general biology of these animals. The majority of marine mammal specimens have beeen collected from dead, stranded animals, but the collection also includes animals killed accidentally in fishing operations, and hunted by aboriginal peoples. These specimens contribute to our knowledge of the distribution, natural history, anatomy, and evolution of the various specimens. Data gathered from these specimens also are used to answer many of the questions regarding the direct and indirect impact of man upon these aquatic mammals. This project will provide additional staff to continue the process of curating the backlog of previously collected specimens so they are properly cleaned, documenting and cross referencing the associated data, and storing both specimens and data so they are readily available for scientific study. The project also provides additional equipment to adequately store and move large, fragile specimens.