Support for the Primate Facility at Field Museum of Natural History

在国家科学基金会的支持下，菲尔德自然历史博物馆将翻新并配备空间，作为其广泛的灵长类标本收藏的研究区域。将建造一个大型胶木工作柜台，并在头顶安装荧光灯。沿柜台将设有电源插座，方便使用电灯、电脑及其他电力设备。柜台附近窗户的百叶窗将被拆除，以允许研究人员利用自然光来研究材料。最后，地板将被粉刷和密封。芝加哥的菲尔德博物馆收藏着世界上最好的灵长类动物标本之一。全世界灵长类动物的所有科、大多数属和大多数种、亚种共约4500只。这些藏品的分类和地理组成都非常出色，而且大多数个体都是在法律和道德允许的情况下从野外采集的。这些标本记录了物种的自然分布和栖息地关系，揭示了天然食物、运动模式和社会条件对物种形态的影响。今天是不可能复制这些材料的。虽然博物馆已经进行了大量的工作来修复这些材料，使它们更容易被研究人员使用，但缺乏适当的研究区域仍然阻碍了研究人员的访问。这笔赠款将弥补这种情况。这个项目很重要，因为它将使大量感兴趣的研究人员更容易获得重要的国家科学资源。

With National Science Foundation support, the Field Museum of Natural History will rennovate and equip space to serve as a study area for its extensive primate specimen collection. A large formica work counter will be constructed and overhead fluorescent lights installed. Electrical outlets will be situated along the counter to permit convenient and multipe access for lights, computers and other electric-powered equipment. Shutters will be removed from windows near the counter to permit reseachers to utilize natural light to study materials. Finally the floor will be painted and sealed. The Field Museum in Chicago houses one of the finest collections of primate specimens in the world. The total of ca. 4,500 individuals includes all families, most genera and a majority of species and subspecies of primates worldwide. The taxonomic and geographic composition of the collection is excellent and the majority of the individuals were taken from the wild at a time when it was legally and ethically possible to do so. These specimens document natural distributions and habitat associations of species and reveal the morphological effects of natural foods, movement patterns and social conditions. It would be impossible to duplicate the materials today. While the museum has undertaken major work in restoring the materials to make them more accessible to reseachers, lack of a proper study area still hampers access. This grant will remedy that situation. This project is important because it will make a significant national scientific resource more readily accessible to a large number of interested reseachers.