Improvement of the GCRL/USM Ichthyological Collection

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ABSTRACT The ichthyological research collection of the Institute of Marine Sciences/Gulf Coast Research Laboratory/University of Southern Mississippi (IMS/GCRL/USM) will be improved through the processing of its large backlog. The material to be incorporated includes important baseline collections, samples drawn from major collections of ichthyoplankton taken as part of long-term fishcries research and conservatively estimated at over 2,100,000 specimens, as well as collections obtained from a variety of previously funded ecological surveys. Historically, the GCRL larval collection was maintained separately to meet State mandates concerning ~sheries management. However, with current expansion and reorganization of IMS programs across campuses, incorporation of carefully selected larval materials into the main collection is seen as an important objective. By strengthening existing collections, IMS will be better positioned to serve research and educational needs of coastal states of the northern Gulf of Mexico and the south-central US and to facet new and increasingly serious resource management challenges. The project will take 3 years to complete and will provide training for two graduate students and summer research opportunities for undergraduate students. Training within IMS programs provides exposure to interdisciplinary research, as well as the activities that integrate academic research and resource management activity involving multiple local, state, regional, and federal organizations. This work will greatly enhance the collection for use by both professionals and students. This activity will contribute to stemming the decline of taxonomic expertise, and to enhancing the teaching of Systematic Biology among 57 affiliate institutions, who regularly use GCRL Museum facilities. It will also better position the GCRL Museum to work more closely with state, regional, and federal management agencies, thereby living up to its mandate from the State of Mississippi to study and disseminate specimens from the Guff of Mexico. Likewise, it will increase the value of the USM collection, which is the premier collection of Mississippi freshwater fishes in the state, to the University's academic programs, to regulatory and management agencies, and to scientists worldwide. Additional shelving, cabinets, and equipment will facilitate use of the collections as part of USM's Marine and Biological Sciences Biodiversity Program, thereby completing remaining objectives of the second phase of a three-phase plan. When fully cataloged, the combined ~ collection will rank among the 15 most important ichthyological collections in the United States and Canada.