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

圣地亚哥自然历史博物馆爬行动物收藏的改进住房和组织

• 批准号: 0138605
• 负责人: Bradford Hollingsworth
• 金额: $ 16.28万
• 依托单位: San Diego Society of Natural History
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2002-07-15 至 2005-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0138605&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Improved; Housing; Organization; Herpetological; Collection

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 However, outmoded housing, overcrowded conditions, and outdated taxonomic organization have challenged the collection's accessibility and long-term preservation.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 Lastly, specimen jar labels and their corresponding taxonomic names in the computer database are outdated, making retrieval of material burdensome and exceptionally time consuming.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for two years (and summer undergraduate interns), the renovation of the physical housing, overcrowded conditions, and outdated organization can be achieved.Natural history collections serve as specimen repositories to document regional biodiversity and to provide baseline material for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.

在过去的四年里，圣地亚哥自然历史博物馆一直在建设新设施，作为十年战略计划和正在进行的 4000 万美元资本活动的一部分。建设项目和建筑翻新将可用空间从 60,000 平方英尺增加到 150,000 平方英尺，可用于扩大研究、收藏、展览和教育。两栖动物和爬行动物藏品是博物馆纠正住房和存储缺陷的最优先事项之一。该馆藏有 67,514 个两栖动物和爬行动物标本，主要采集自美国西南部和墨西哥西北部，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对馆藏的可访问性和长期保存提出了挑战。为了纠正这个问题，博物馆在一个新的最先进的房间中安装了压实架单元来存放液体保存的标本，但仍然需要橱柜来存放骨骼材料。 由于之前的设施缺乏扩展空间，8,100 个罐子中超过三分之一已满，不过为了最大程度地减少样本损坏，最佳容量不超过半满。最后，计算机数据库中的标本罐标签及其相应的分类名称已经过时，使得材料检索变得繁琐且异常耗时。该项目的目标是将藏品重新安置到现代化的存储设施中，以便为子孙后代更好地保存标​​本，并让研究人员、学生和其他对该地区的爬行动物和两栖动物感兴趣的人更容易接触到。通过购买10个骨骼储藏柜、3000个罐子和盖子，并聘请一名全职馆藏管理助理两年（以及暑期本科生实习生），可以实现对实体住房、拥挤条件和过时组织的改造。自然历史馆藏作为标本库，记录区域生物多样性，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记录了该地区丰富的多样性，为此发挥了重要作用。在上个世纪，这些标本一直是历史生物地理学、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种引进研究的基础。 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型，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，同时仍然允许经济发展。由于该收藏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，因此可以帮助确定城市化、发展和栖息地管理的影响。 该馆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。 将藏品重新安置在现代化的存储设施中，不会造成过度拥挤，将确保子孙后代的研究人员、学生和感兴趣的公众可以使用这些藏品。