Consolidation of Frozen Tissue Collections and Improvements to the Ichthyology, Herpetology, Malacology, and Decapod Collections at The University of Alabama

在菲利普·哈里斯博士的指导下，阿拉巴马大学获得了一笔赠款，用于部分支持改进鱼类学、爬行动物、软体动物和十足类动物收藏的冷冻组织和福尔马林固定的酒精收藏。鱼类学和软骨病学目前有大约35,000个冷冻标本或组织的综合收藏；这两个收藏都有相当数量的受威胁和濒危物种。虽然这两个收藏品都在电子数据库中，但单个批次的信息覆盖范围并不相等。由于缺乏所有冷冻标本的中央数据库和储存库，导致对冷冻标本和组织的获取不协调。这一缺陷使这些集合处于永久丢失、损坏或与其数据分离的危险之中。巩固这些独立的冰冻组织收藏和适当的管理将确保这些宝贵和不可替代的材料的长期保存和使用。此外，目前的电子数据库需要改进，包括更新分类和启动或完成所有标本的地理参考。在完成这些任务后，电子数据库将转入特定的4.05，并将建立一个共同的互联网接入平台来检索这些收藏品。阿拉巴马大学保存的藏品包含记录美国东部和东南部水生动物的珍贵标本。这些收藏可以追溯到20世纪40年代末的S，其中包含了由于人类活动对水生生态系统的影响而导致的物种多样性和数量随时间的变化的重要记录。所有这些收藏品都是活跃的研究收藏品，对鱼类学家、爬行动物学家、软体动物学家、十足动物学家以及州和联邦自然资源机构来说都是宝贵的资源。对这些收藏品，特别是冷冻组织收藏品的拟议改进，将防止它们变质、遗失标本、使标本与采集数据脱节，并使研究人员更容易获得数据和采集记录。提案中所述的所有拟议策展活动都包含一个培训部分，供对自然历史收集、管理和管理感兴趣的本科生和研究生参加。此外，一门新的研讨会课程--自然历史研究中的博物馆和野外技术--正在开发中，供来自不同生物学学科的学生了解收藏品和系统学在各自领域中的作用。除了大学环境外，所有四个收藏品的标本都被用于许多公共推广活动，如博物馆展览、借给公立和私立学校教师的贷款以及鱼类学收藏的巡回(或内部)鱼展。这些藏品是美国东南部生物多样性的重要记录，其中一些材料是不可替代的。这笔赠款的资金将有助于为子孙后代保护这些宝贵的资源。

A grant has been awarded to The University of Alabama under the direction of Dr. Phillip Harris for partial support of improvements to the frozen-tissue and formalin-fixed, alcohol collections maintained by the Ichthyology, Herpetology, Malacology and Decapod Collections. Ichthyology and Malacology currently have a combined collection of ca. 35,000 frozen specimens or tissues; both collections have a substantial number of threatened and endangered species. While both collections are in electronic databases, information coverage for individual lots is unequal. The lack of a centralized database and repository for all frozen collections has resulted in the uncoordinated accessioning of frozen specimens and tissues. This deficiency puts these collections in jeopardy of being permanently lost, damaged, or disassociated from their data. Consolidation of these independent frozen-tissue collections and proper curation will ensure the long-term preservation and accessibility of these valuable and irreplaceable materials. In addition, current electronic databases require improvements, including updating the taxonomy and initiation or completion of georeferencing for all specimens. Upon completion of these tasks, the electronic databases will be transferred into SPECIFY 4.05 and a common internet-access platform will be created to search these collections. The collections maintained by The University of Alabama contain valuable specimens documenting the aquatic fauna of the eastern and southeastern United States. These collections date from the late 1940's and contain an important record of changes in species diversity and numbers over time due to anthropogenic influences on aquatic ecosystems. All of these collections are active research collections and are valuable resources to ichthyologists, herpetologists, malacologists, decapodologists, and state and federal natural resource agencies. Proposed improvements to these collections, especially the frozen-tissue collections, will safeguard them from deterioration, loss of specimens, disassociation of specimen with collection data, and enhance access of researchers to data and collection records. All of the proposed curatorial activities described in the proposal contain a training component for undergraduate and graduate students interested in natural history collection curation and management. In addition, a new seminar course, Museum and Field Techniques in Natural History Studies, is being developed for students from across biological disciplines to gain an appreciation for the role of collections and phylogenetic systematics in their respective fields.In addition to the university environment, specimens from all four collections are used in numerous public outreach activities, such as museum displays, loans to public and private school teachers and the Ichthyology Collection's Traveling (or In-house) Fish Show. These collections are an important record of the biodiversity of the southeastern United States and some of these materials are irreplaceable. Funds from this grant will assist in safeguarding these valuable resources for future generations.