Facilities Grant for the Curation of the Lepidoptera Collection at The Milwaukee Public Museum

密尔沃基公共博物馆的鳞翅目藏品（总共拥有195,000个标本）在过去十年中通过收购几个重要的捐赠藏品而显着增长。Niedhofer Collection（95,000个标本，30,000个来自巴西）和Sieker Collection（17,000个新热带标本）以及几个较小的捐赠收藏品相对来说是难以接近的，并且没有与该部门的其他藏品整合在一起。收藏馆长杨艾伦博士建议将这些收藏整合为一个综合资源，并提高收藏的整体管理。捐赠的藏品代表了濒临灭绝的栖息地或已经开发供人类使用的地区。将这些标本提供给科学家将对当前热带地区生物多样性、全球气候变化、生物地理学、进化生物学、生态学和保护生物学的研究产生重大影响。支持诸如此类的自然历史藏品的增长和改进，对未来几代生物学研究至关重要。

The Lepidoptera Collection of the Milwaukee Public Museum (total holdings of 195,000 specimens) has grown significantly over the past decade through acquisition of several significant donated collections. The Niedhofer Collection (95,000 specimens, 30,000 from Brazil) and the Sieker Collection (17,000 Neotropical specimens), as well as several smaller donated collections, are relatively inaccessible and have not been integrated with the rest of the Department's holdings. Dr. Allen Young, Curator of the Collection, proposes to integrate these collections into one comprehensive resource, and to improve the overall curation of the collection. The donated collections represent endangered habitats or areas that have already been developed for human use. Making these specimens accessible to scientists would have a significant impact on current research on biodiversity, global climate change, biogeography, evolutionary biology, ecology, and conservation biology in tropical regions. Supporting the growth and improvement of natural history collections such as this are essential for future generations of biological research.