Specimen-Level Database Expansion and Information Distribution of the Hawaiian Terrestrial Arthropod Holdings at Bishop Museum

在Neal Evenhuis博士的指导下，Bishop博物馆获得了一笔赠款，用于将檀香山Bishop博物馆收藏的夏威夷苍蝇和甲虫标本建立数据库，并通过网络、科学出版物和博物馆的教育活动向广泛的用户社区提供这些信息。毕晓普博物馆是美国首批通过网络向全世界公开其昆虫标本的博物馆之一。该项目将显著增强科学家、学生、教师和普通公众已经获得并正在使用的基于标本的信息，并允许完成夏威夷苍蝇和甲虫的数据库。选择这两组昆虫是因为它们在夏威夷显示了最高数量的特有昆虫（每组都有超过60%的特有物种），包含稀有和易受伤害的物种，并被用作生态指标（例如，在确定某个特定地区是否受到引入害虫物种的不利影响时）。这两类昆虫加起来约占夏威夷已知昆虫总数的三分之一。此外，苍蝇和甲虫在生态上也很重要：它们是一些只在夏威夷发现的稀有森林鸟类的重要食物。它们在某些地区的存在或消失或种群数量的减少会对这些地区森林鸟类种群的健康产生深远的影响。由技术人员、志愿者和博物馆馆长组成的团队每年将把总共约18万种苍蝇（76,000种）和甲虫（104,000种）标本的信息以大约6万条的记录录入数据库。与每个标本相关的重要信息，如每个标本的学名、采集地点、采集日期和其他数据（例如，宿主植物或寄生虫宿主）将被输入数据库。为了加快处理和更新输入数据库的信息，将使用专门为小昆虫标签制作的微型条形码。正在使用的数据库还将与毕晓普博物馆的其他数据库相连，允许同时从不同数据库请求数据。毕晓普博物馆认为，只有当人们拥有准确和容易获得的信息时，才能进行合理的决策过程。夏威夷正在进行的保护行动，旨在保护受威胁和濒危动植物的栖息地，需要快速、准确的信息，并涉及广泛的地点和生物。毕晓普博物馆通过网上网站向广大用户提供馆藏资料，以符合成本效益的方式获得准确的信息，并就土地使用和保育工作作出明智和合理的决定，从而使公共和私人资金得到更好的利用。此外，夏威夷和太平洋岛屿的学童利用网络上提供的信息进行互动，提高了他们对自然遗产的认识和欣赏，并能激发他们对生物科学更感兴趣，从而有可能填补生物科学领域少数族裔的巨大空白。

A grant has been awarded to the Bishop Museum under the direction of Dr. Neal Evenhuis to database the specimens of flies and beetles from Hawaii in the collections of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu and make this information available to a wide user community through the Web, scientific publications, and educational activities at the Museum. The Bishop Museum was one of the first museums in the country to make its holdings of insect specimens available to the world via the Web. This project will significantly enhance that specimen-based information already available and being used by scientists, students, teachers, and the lay public and allow the completion of the databasing for the Hawaiian flies and beetles. These two groups of insects were chosen because they show the highest amount of endemism of insects in Hawaii (each having over 60% endemic species), contain rare and vulnerable species, and have been used as ecological indicators (in determining, for instance, if a particular area has been adversely affected by introduced pest species). These two groups together make up about 1/3 of the total number of insects known from Hawaii. In addition, flies and beetles are important ecologically: they make up a significant portion of the diet of some rare forest bird species found only in Hawaii. Their presence or absence or reduction of populations in certain areas can have a profound effect on the health of forest bird populations in those same areas. Information for a total of about 180,000 specimens of flies (76,000) and beetles (104,000) will be entered into a database at roughly 60,000 records per year by a team of technicians, volunteers, and curators at the Museum. Important information such as the scientific name of each specimen, location it was collected, date of collection, and other data (for example, such as host plants or parasite hosts) associated with each specimen will be entered into the database. To speed up the processing and updating of information entered into the database, tiny bar codes specifically made for small insect labels will be used. The database being used will also be linked to other databases at the Bishop Museum allowing a number of simultaneous requests for data from various databases at the same time. The Bishop Museum feels that sound decision-making processes can only occur if one has accurate and readily accessible information. Conservation initiatives underway in Hawaii to protect habitats in which threatened and endangered plants and animals occur require information quickly, accurately, and with regard to a wide array of locations and organisms. By empowering a wide array of users through online Web access to the holdings of the Bishop Museum, better use of public and private funds can be anticipated as a result of obtaining accurate information in a cost-effective manner and making wise and sound decisions regarding land use and conservation efforts. In addition, interaction of Hawaiian and Pacific island school children using the information provided on the Web enhances their knowledge and appreciation of their natural heritage and can stimulate them to become more interested in biological sciences, thereby potentially filling a large void of minorities in the biological sciences.