Conserving and Incorporating the Stratigraphic Collection of Brachiopods into the Systematic Collection (the "Schuchert Collection") and Development of an Online Database

在德里克·布里格斯（Derek Briggs）博士的指导下，耶鲁大学获得了一笔赠款，用于改善皮博迪博物馆（Peabody Museum）大量腕足类化石（灯壳）的储存条件。灯壳曾经是数量较多的生物体之一，但如今存活的很少。由于这一丰富的化石记录，该小组是研究大跨度时间内多样性趋势和灭绝模式的重要数据来源。这些独特的古生物收藏品将被保存、清洁，转移到档案质量的托盘中，并重新安置在环境科学中心。每个标本都将以电子方式识别和编目，并附有当地信息和图像。一个腕足类动物的网站将被建立起来，供研究人员和更广泛的社区访问。化石的电子编目，包括图像，将允许更多的人通过互联网访问这些藏品。一个新网站的开发将向K-12年级的学生、研究生和本科生、业余爱好者和研究人员提供有关这些藏品的数据，以及一个关于腕足动物各方面的在线百科全书，包括活体和化石。在项目期间，本科生将获得在博物馆环境中处理古生物藏品的经验。YPM位于康涅狄格州纽黑文的多元化城市环境中，积极促进公众参与博物馆收藏，教育参观和培训地球和生物科学教师，以促进对自然世界的理解。

A grant has been awarded to Yale University under the direction of Dr. Derek Briggs to upgrade the storage conditions for a large collection of fossil brachiopods (lampshells) in the Peabody Museum. Lampshells were once one of the more abundant groups of living organisms but only a few survive today. Because of this rich fossil record, the group is an important source of data for studying trends in diversity and extinction patterns over large spans of time. This unique paleontological collection will be conserved, cleaned, transferred to archival-quality trays and relocated in the Environmental Science Center. Each specimen will be identified and cataloged electronically with locality information and images. A web site of brachiopods will be generated, accessible to researchers and to the wider community. Electronic cataloging of fossils, including images, will allow greater access to the collections through the Internet. The development of a new web site will present data on the collections, as well as an online encyclopedia on all aspects brachiopods, both living and fossil, to K-12 students, graduate and undergraduate students, amateurs, and researchers. During the project, undergraduate students will gain experience in working with paleontological collections in a museum setting. The YPM is located in the diverse urban setting of New Haven, Connecticut and actively promotes public involvement with the museum collections, with educational visits and training of teachers in the earth and biological sciences, in order to promote an understanding of the natural world.