Improvements to the Auburn University Aquatic Invertebrate, Fish, and Amphibian and Reptile Collections

奥本大学水生无脊椎动物、鱼类、两栖动物和爬行动物收藏的改进

• 批准号: 0237384
• 负责人: Jonathan Armbruster
• 金额: $ 34.79万
• 依托单位: Auburn University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-05-01 至 2006-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0237384&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Improvements; Auburn; University; Aquatic; Invertebrate

A grant has been awarded to Auburn University to fund critically needed improvements to the Auburn University Natural History Learning Center's (AUNHLC) aquatic invertebrate, fish, and amphibian and reptile collections under the direction of Drs. Armbruster, Feminella and Guyer. The museum collections housed in AUNHLC describe one of the world's hotbeds of biological diversity. Alabama is among the most important states in terms of biodiversity, and, unfortunately, is one of the most imperiled. Because collections at Auburn University document the rich history of these diverse temperate ecosystems, these collections are particularly important for regional conservation planning. This proposal is designed to fund improvements to the aquatic invertebrate, fish, and amphibian and reptile collections at Auburn University. The fish collection is one of the largest in the southeastern United States and it exhibits a growth rate that is far in excess of the nationwide average. It was ranked as an important collection by Poss and Collette (1996). The collection currently has specimens from around the world, but has its strongest representation in the southeastern United States. The amphibian and reptile collection at Auburn is the premier herpetofaunal collection from Alabama and has significant holdings from surrounding regions. The amphibian and reptile collection has been used extensively, particularly in the production of field guides such as "The Reptiles and Amphibians of Alabama" (Mount, 1975), an acclaimed regional guide. The aquatic invertebrate collection has the greatest rate of growth of any of the collections at Auburn University through research efforts of the staff and adoption of orphaned collections. Growth is particularly strong in mollusks, which includes significant holdings of threatened, endangered, and extinct freshwater mussels and terrestrial snails. Alabama has a tremendous diversity of molluscs, but until recent efforts at Auburn, Alabama has lacked a place in the state to house specimens. In addition to molluscs, the aquatic invertebrate collection also contains specimens of may other taxa including insects, oligochaetes, and crustaceans. Currently, the museum is enjoying the most productive period in its history. The university has laid out an ambitious plan to provide a more permanent home for the collections. To achieve this goal, the institution has pledged monetary support for the day-to-day operations of the collections, and financial resources for collection personnel following the initial funding provided by this grant. This funding will include money for a second collection manager, a fulltime technician for one year, and for graduate research assistants to accomplish the goals of this study. In addition, support is provided for shelving and casework for the aquatic invertebrate, fish, and amphibian and reptile collections and incorporation of backlog materials, reorganization of the collections, and transfer of specimens from isopropanol to ethanol so that the collections are standardized. The greatest part of the funding is for the personnel that are essential for the completion of this project. Museum collections are our only means of recording the biodiversity of an area and saving it for future generations. As areas become increasingly impacted by human development, collections become correspondingly more important in describing historical distributions, suggesting what might have caused species extirpations, and providing insight into how degraded ecosystems might be restored. The collections at Auburn are active in releasing collection records on the internet, and several web-based projects (such as internet-based species keys) are underway to expose and educate people about global as well as local biodiversity.

一笔赠款已授予奥本大学，以资助急需改善奥本大学自然历史学习中心（AUNHLC）的水生无脊椎动物，鱼类，两栖动物和爬行动物的收藏在博士的指导下。AUNHLC的博物馆藏品描述了世界上生物多样性的温床之一。 亚拉巴马是生物多样性最重要的州之一，不幸的是，也是最危险的州之一。 由于奥本大学的藏品记录了这些不同温带生态系统的丰富历史，这些藏品对区域保护规划尤为重要。该提案旨在资助改善奥本大学的水生无脊椎动物、鱼类、两栖动物和爬行动物收藏。 鱼类收藏是美国东南部最大的鱼类收藏之一，其增长率远远超过全国平均水平。 它被Poss和Collette（1996）列为重要收藏。 该收藏目前有来自世界各地的标本，但在美国东南部有最强的代表性。 奥本的两栖动物和爬行动物收藏是来自亚拉巴马的首要两栖动物收藏，并拥有来自周边地区的大量藏品。 两栖动物和爬行动物的收集已被广泛使用，特别是在生产领域的指南，如“爬行动物和两栖动物的亚拉巴马”（山，1975年），一个著名的地区指南。 水生无脊椎动物的收集有最大的增长率的任何收藏在奥本大学通过研究工作人员的努力和通过孤儿收藏。 软体动物的增长尤其强劲，其中包括大量受威胁、濒危和灭绝的淡水贻贝和陆生蜗牛。 亚拉巴马有着丰富多样的软体动物，但直到最近在奥本的努力，亚拉巴马一直缺乏一个地方在该州的房子标本。除了软体动物外，水生无脊椎动物标本还包括昆虫、寡毛纲动物和甲壳类动物。目前，博物馆正处于历史上最富有成效的时期。 该大学制定了一项雄心勃勃的计划，为这些藏品提供一个更永久的家。 为了实现这一目标，该机构承诺为收集的日常运作提供资金支持，并在这笔赠款提供初始资金后为收集人员提供财政资源。这笔资金将包括第二个收集经理，一年的全职技术人员和研究生研究助理的资金，以完成这项研究的目标。 此外，还为水生无脊椎动物、鱼类、两栖动物和爬行动物标本的搁置和个案工作提供支持，并纳入积压材料，重组标本，将标本从异丙醇转移到乙醇中，使标本标准化。大部分资金用于完成该项目所必需的人员。博物馆藏品是我们记录一个地区的生物多样性并为后代保存它的唯一手段。 随着人类发展对地区的影响越来越大，在描述历史分布，提示可能导致物种灭绝的原因以及提供如何恢复退化生态系统的见解方面，收集的信息变得更加重要。奥本的藏品积极在互联网上发布藏品记录，一些基于网络的项目（如基于互联网的物种检索表）正在进行中，以暴露和教育人们关于全球和当地的生物多样性。