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设新的设施，作为十年战略计划和正在进行的4000万美元资本运动的一部分。建筑项目和建筑翻新使可用空间从60，000平方米增加到100平方米。英尺15万平方米英尺，允许扩大研究、收藏、展览和教育。两栖动物和爬行动物收藏是博物馆的最高优先事项之一，以纠正住房和储存不足。主要从美国西南部和墨西哥西北部收集了67，514份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挑战了收集的可访问性和长期保存。为了纠正这一点，博物馆在一个新的最先进的房间里安装了压缩机架子单元来存放流体保存的标本，但仍然需要橱柜来存放骨骼材料。 由于以前的设施缺乏扩展空间，8,100个罐子中有三分之一以上是满的，尽管最佳的是不超过一半，以尽量减少标本的损坏。最后，计算机数据库中的标本瓶标签及其相应的分类名称已经过时，使得检索材料变得繁琐和非常耗时。该项目的目标是将收藏品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，学生和许多其他对该地区爬行动物和两栖动物感兴趣的人更容易获得。通过购买10个骨骸储藏柜、3,000个罐子和盖子，并雇佣一名为期两年的全职收藏管理助理（以及暑期本科实习生），可以实现对物理住房、过度拥挤的条件和过时的组织的改造。自然历史收藏品作为标本库，记录区域生物多样性，并为科学研究提供基线材料。 圣地亚哥自然历史博物馆的两栖动物和爬行动物收藏品通过记录该地区丰富的多样性而发挥了重要作用。在过去的世纪里，这些标本一直是历史地理学、系统分类学、功能形态学、生态学、生理学、行为学、民族动物学和外来物种引进研究的基础。 在加州南部沿海地区，它们越来越多地在保护戏剧中扮演着重要角色。例如，圣地亚哥县目前正在实施保护计划的国家模式，以保护土地和濒危物种。这些目标包括保护该地区的生物多样性和生活质量，同时仍然允许经济发展。由于该系列确定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，因此可以帮助确定城市化，发展和栖息地管理的影响。 这些收藏为数百份科学出版物、众多政府研究和数十个研究生研究项目提供了材料。 将收藏品重新安置到现代化的储存设施中，而不会过度拥挤，将确保研究人员，学生和感兴趣的公众世世代代都能使用。

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 However, outmoded housing, overcrowded conditions, and outdated taxonomic organization have challenged the collection's accessibility and long-term preservation.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 Lastly, specimen jar labels and their corresponding taxonomic names in the computer database are outdated, making retrieval of material burdensome and exceptionally time consuming.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.