RUI: CSBR: Natural History: Securing and digitizing the world's largest Mexican bird collection

自然历史收藏记录了地球的生物多样性，是研究生物多样性如何产生以及如何在我们的星球上维持的原材料。自然历史标本收藏也具有实际意义，可提供人类疾病数据并为法医学提供信息。这个奖项资助了一个无与伦比的自然历史藏品的重新安置。目前，这个记录北美鸟类的最大收藏之一正面临退化的威胁，因为过时的箱子不再能抵御害虫和不利的环境因素。此外，该奖项还支持收集和传播有关鸟类标本位置的开放获取数据。研究不足的鸟类种群标本的数字图像将通过一个新的门户网站提供，这将使科学家和公众都能参与进来。世界上最大的墨西哥鸟类收藏位于美国的一所小型文理学院，为培养下一代博物馆科学家的本科生提供了机会，培训他们管理技术以及应用标本数据来解决生物学问题。该项目旨在保护、参考和数字化世界上最大的墨西哥鸟类收藏（63,000个标本），这些标本位于加利福尼亚州洛杉矶西方学院的摩尔动物学实验室（MLZ）。MLZ的收集不仅提供了一个了解墨西哥特有鸟类多样性的窗口，在主要的发展和森林砍伐时期之前，而且还提供了许多出现在美国的广泛物种。MLZ的标本填补了连接整个北美大陆鸟类种群的一个巨大而关键的空白。这个项目是紧急的，因为需要新的标本病例来取代陈旧的病例，这些病例不再防止昆虫侵扰，也不能防止意外的洪水。除了新增病例外，拟议的活动还包括对馆藏的分类和组织进行重大更新，以促进馆藏的研究潜力。该项目的一个主要目标是对这些藏品进行地理参考、数字化和成像，并使这些数据可以作为在线资源访问，为研究和教育提供信息。MLZ的使命是利用我们在一个小型文理学院的独特环境：(i)利用自然历史收藏品进行前沿研究；（ii）促进自然历史收藏在本科教育和研究中的应用；（三）促进博物馆科学领域未被充分代表的群体和女性的职业发展。更多信息请访问以下网站：http://www.oxy.edu/moore-lab-zoology。

Natural history collections document Earth's biodiversity and are the raw material for studies of how that biodiversity arose and how it is maintained on our planet. Specimens in natural history collections are of practical importance as well, providing data on human disease and informing forensic science. This award funds the rehousing of an unparalleled natural history collection in new specimen cases. Currently the collection, one of the largest documenting the birds of North America, is under threat of degradation due to antiquated cases that no longer protect against pests and adverse environmental factors. Additionally, this award supports the gathering and dissemination of open-access data on the location of bird specimens. Digital images of specimens from under-studied avian groups will be made available through a new web portal that will engage scientists and the public alike. The location of the world's largest collection of Mexican birds, at a small liberal arts college in the United States, provides opportunities to train undergraduates, who are the next generation of museum scientists, in curation techniques as well as in the application of specimen data to address biological questions.This project seeks to secure, georeference, and digitize the world's largest Mexican bird collection (63,000 specimens), located at the Moore Laboratory of Zoology (MLZ) at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. Not only does the MLZ collection provide a window into Mexico's endemic bird diversity prior to a major period of development and deforestation, but also, for many widespread species that occur in the United States. The specimens housed at MLZ fill a large, critical gap linking bird populations of the entire North American continent. This project is urgent because new specimen cases are needed to replace antiquated cases that no longer prevent insect infestations and would not be able to protect against accidental flooding. In addition to new cases, the proposed activities include a major update to the taxonomy and organization of the collection, to facilitate the collection's research potential. A major goal of this project is to georeference, digitize and image the collection and make these data accessible as online resources to inform research and education. The MLZ's mission is to leverage our unique setting at a small liberal arts college toward: (i) Conducting cutting-edge research using natural history collections; (ii) promoting the use of natural history collections in undergraduate education and research; and (iii) promoting career development for underrepresented groups and women in museum science. More information is available at the following website: http://www.oxy.edu/moore-lab-zoology.