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，主教博物馆获得了一笔赠款，用于在檀香山主教博物馆的收藏品中建立夏威夷苍蝇和甲虫标本的数据库，并通过网络、科学出版物和博物馆的教育活动向广大用户提供这些信息。主教博物馆是该国首批通过网络向世界提供其收藏的昆虫标本的博物馆之一。该项目将大大增强科学家、学生、教师和普通公众已有和正在使用的基于标本的信息，并使夏威夷苍蝇和甲虫的数据库得以完成。之所以选择这两类昆虫，是因为它们显示了夏威夷特有昆虫的数量最多(每种都有60%以上的特有物种)，含有稀有和脆弱的物种，并被用作生态指标(例如，在确定特定地区是否受到外来有害物种的不利影响时)。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，苍蝇和甲虫在生态学上也很重要：它们在一些仅在夏威夷发现的稀有森林鸟类的食物中占据了相当大的比例。它们在某些地区的存在或缺失或种群的减少可能对这些地区的森林鸟类种群的健康产生深远的影响。博物馆的一个技术人员、志愿者和馆长组成的团队将总共约18万份苍蝇标本(7.6万份)和甲虫标本(10.4万份)的信息输入数据库，每年约有6万条记录。重要的信息，如每个标本的学名、采集地点、采集日期以及与每个标本有关的其他数据(如寄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主教博物馆的其他数据库相连接，从而可以同时从不同的数据库请求数据。主教博物馆认为，只有当一个人拥有准确和容易获得的信息时，才能进行合理的决策过程。在夏威夷，为保护受到威胁和濒临灭绝的动植物的栖息地，正在进行的保护活动需要快速、准确和关于广泛的地点和生物体的信息。通过在线网络访问主教博物馆的藏品，使广大用户能够更好地使用公共和私人资金，可以预期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做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络上提供的信息进行互动，增进了他们对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，从而有可能填补生物科学领域的一大空白。

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.