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，向主教博物馆提供了一笔赠款，用于将檀香山主教博物馆收藏的来自夏威夷的苍蝇和甲虫标本数据库化，并通过网站、科学出版物和博物馆的教育活动向广大用户提供这一信息。主教博物馆是该国第一个通过网络向全世界提供昆虫标本的博物馆之一。该项目将大大增强科学家、学生、教师和普通公众现有和正在使用的基于夏威夷的信息，并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出最高数量的昆虫特有性（每一组都有超过60%的特有物种），含有稀有和脆弱的物种，并且被用作生态指标（例如，在确定特定区域是否受到引入的有害物种的不利影响时）。这两个群体加起来约占夏威夷已知昆虫总数的1/3。此外，苍蝇和甲虫在生态学上也很重要：它们构成了仅在夏威夷发现的一些稀有森林鸟类的重要食物。它们在某些地区的存在或不存在或数量减少可能对这些地区森林鸟类种群的健康产生深远影响。总共约180，000个苍蝇（76，000）和甲虫（104，000）标本的信息将由博物馆的技术人员，志愿者和策展人组成的团队输入数据库，每年约有60，000条记录。重要信息，如每个标本的学名、采集地点、采集日期以及与每个标本相关的其他数据（例如，宿主植物或寄生虫宿主）将输入数据库。为了加快处理和更新输入数据库的信息，将使用专门为小型昆虫标签制作的微型条形码。正在使用的数据库还将与主教博物馆的其他数据库连接，以便能够同时从不同的数据库中同时提出数据请求。主教博物馆认为，健全的决策过程只能发生，如果一个人有准确和容易获得的信息。在夏威夷正在进行的保护行动，以保护受威胁和濒危的动植物栖息地，需要迅速，准确的信息，以及关于广泛的地点和生物体。通过网上访问主教博物馆的藏品，使广大用户能够更好地利用公共和私人资金，从而以具有成本效益的方式获得准确的信息，并就土地使用和保护工作作出明智和合理的决定。此外，夏威夷和太平洋岛屿学校的儿童利用网上提供的信息进行互动，增进了他们对其自然遗产的了解和欣赏，并能刺激他们对生物科学产生更大的兴趣，从而有可能填补少数群体在生物科学方面的巨大空白。

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.