Improved Housing and Organization of the Herpetological Collection at the San Diego Natural History Museum

在过去的四年里，圣地亚哥自然历史博物馆一直在建造新的设施，这是其十年战略计划和正在进行的4000万美元资本活动的一部分。建筑工程和建筑改造使可用空间从6万平方米增加。面积增至15万平方英尺。为扩大研究、收藏、展览和教育提供了条件。两栖动物和爬行动物的收藏代表了博物馆的最高优先事项之一，以纠正住房和存储的不足。主要从美国西南部和墨西哥西北部收集的67,514种两栖动物和爬行动物标本是该地区生物信息的重要资源。然而，过时的住房，过度拥挤的条件和过时的分类组织已经挑战了收藏的可访问性和长期保存。为了解决这个问题，博物馆在一个新的最先进的房间里安装了压实机货架单元，以容纳液体保存的标本，但仍然需要橱柜来容纳骨骼材料。由于以前的设施缺乏扩展空间，8100个罐子中超过三分之一的罐子已经满了，尽管最佳的罐子不超过一半，以尽量减少对标本的损害。最后，在计算机数据库中，标本罐的标签及其相应的分类名称都是过时的，这使得资料的检索工作非常繁重和耗时。该项目的目标是将这些标本重新安置到现代化的储存设施中，以便为后代更好地保存标本，并使研究人员、学生和其他对该地区爬行动物和两栖动物感兴趣的人更容易接触到这些标本。通过购买10个骨架储物柜，3000个罐子和盖子，并聘请两年的全职收集管理助理（以及暑期本科生实习生），可以实现对物理住房，拥挤条件和过时组织的改造。自然历史收藏作为标本库，记录了区域生物多样性，为科学研究提供了基础材料。圣地亚哥自然历史博物馆的两栖动物和爬行动物收藏通过记录该地区丰富的多样性，在这方面发挥了重要作用。在过去的一个世纪里，这些标本已成为历史生物地理学、系统学、功能形态学、生态学、生理学、行为学、民族动物学和外来物引进等研究的基础。它们越来越多地在南加州沿海地区的保护大戏中扮演着重要角色。例如，圣地亚哥县目前正在实施国家保护计划模式，以保护土地和濒危物种。目标包括保护该地区的生物多样性和生活质量，同时仍允许经济发展。由于该收集定义了该地区两栖动物和爬行动物的历史分布，并有助于定位生物多样性热点，它可以帮助确定城市化，开发和栖息地管理的影响。该收藏为数百种科学出版物、众多政府研究和数十个研究生研究项目提供了材料。将这些藏品重新安置到现代化的存储设施中，不会过度拥挤，这将确保研究人员、学生和感兴趣的公众世世代代都能访问这些藏品。

Over the past four years, the San Diego Natural History Museum has been building new facilities as part of a ten-year strategic plan and an ongoing $40 million capital campaign. The construction project and building renovation has increased the available space from 60,000 sq. ft. to 150,000 sq. ft., allowing for the expansion of research, collections, exhibits and education. The amphibian and reptile collection represents one of the Museum's highest priorities to correct for housing and storage deficiencies. With 67,514 amphibian and reptile specimens, collected primarily from the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, the collection is a critical resource for biological information in the region. However, outmoded housing, overcrowded conditions, and outdated taxonomic organization have challenged the collection's accessibility and long-term preservation. To correct for this, the Museum has installed compactor shelving units in a new state-of-the-art room to house the fluid-preserved specimens, but is still in need of cabinets to house the skeletal material. Because the previous facility lacked room for expansion, over one-third of the 8,100 jars are full to capacity, though the optimum is no more than half full to minimize specimen damage. Lastly, specimen jar labels and their corresponding taxonomic names in the computer database are outdated, making retrieval of material burdensome and exceptionally time consuming. The goals of this project are to rehouse the collection to modern storage facilities, so specimens will be better preserved for future generations and more accessible to researchers, students and the many others interested in the reptiles and amphibians of the region. By purchasing 10 skeletal storage cabinets, 3,000 jars and lids, and hiring a full-time collection management assistant for two years (and summer undergraduate interns), the renovation of the physical housing, overcrowded conditions, and outdated organization can be achieved.Natural history collections serve as specimen repositories to document regional biodiversity and to provide baseline material for scientific research. The amphibian and reptile collection at the San Diego Natural History Museum plays a significant role towards this by documenting the region's rich diversity. Over the last century, these specimens have been the basis for research in historical biogeography, systematics, functional morphology, ecology, physiology, behavior, ethnozoology, and the introduction of exotics. More and more, they are playing a role in the conservation drama that is taking center stage in the coastal regions of southern California. For example, San Diego County is currently implementing national models for conservation plans to preserve lands and endangered species. The goals include the protection of the region's biodiversity and quality of life, while still allowing for economic development. Since the collection defines the historical distribution of amphibians and reptiles in this region, and helps locate biodiversity hotspots, it can help determine the effects of urbanization, development and habitat management. The collection has provided material for hundreds of scientific publications, numerous government studies, and dozens of graduate student research projects. The rehousing of the collection to modern storage facilities, without overcrowding, will ensure its accessibility to researchers, students, and the interested public for generations to come.