Computerization of Mollusk Collections of the Western North Atlantic of the Academy of Natural Sciences

费城自然科学学院(ANSP)最近收集的软体动物是美国最古老的软体动物收藏，也是世界上第二大编目的软体动物收藏。它目前有超过43万件编目的拍品，包含约1200万件标本，其中3万至3.5万件保存在酒精中，为解剖学和遗传学研究提供了极好的材料。该学院拥有几乎世界各地的标本；它在热带印度-太平洋的浅水海军陆战队软体动物方面是无与伦比的。其他优势是西大西洋浅水海洋软体动物，以及世界各地的淡水和陆地软体动物。许多陆地和淡水软体动物是现在濒临灭绝或灭绝的物种。在过去的五年中，共发放了近300笔贷款，总计4万多件标本，200多篇科学文章承认使用了馆藏资源。该奖项为西大西洋海洋软体动物收集的计算机化提供支持，包括对大约50,000批北美淡水软体动物和45,000批西大西洋海洋软体动物的计算机化，这将有助于确定物种历史分布模式的变化。目前几乎没有这样的信息，但科学家不仅需要对软体动物进行基本的系统和生态研究，而且需要为监测湖泊、河流、河口和沿海地区重要的北美生态系统的健康状况提供基线数据。

The recent mollusk collection at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP) is the oldest mollusk collection in the country, and the second largest catalogued one in the world. It currently has more than 430,000 catalogued lots containing about 12 million specimens, including 30,000-35,000 lots preserved in alcohol that provide excellent material for anatomical and genetic studies. The Academy has specimens from virtually all parts of the world; it is unrivaled for shallow-water marines mollusks from the tropical Indo-Pacific. Other strengths are shallow-water Western Atlantic marine mollusks, and worldwide freshwater and land mollusks. Many of the land and freshwater mollusks are species now endangered or extinct. In the past five years, almost 300 loans totaling more than 40,00 specimens have been made, and more than 200 scientific articles have acknowledged use of collection resources. This award provides support for computerizing the collection of Western Atlantic marine mollusks includes computerization of the estimated 50,000 lots of North American freshwat er mollusks and 45, 000 lots of Western Atlantic marine mollusks will help in determining changes in the historical distribution patterns of species. Little such information is currently available, but is needed not only by scientists conducting basic systematic and ecological research on mollusks, but to provide baseline data for monitoring the health of important North American ecosystems in lakes, rivers, estuaries, and along seacoasts.