CSBR: Natural History: Securing Alcohol Types and Donated Alcohol Specimens at the INHS Insect Collection

伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校获得了一项奖励，以支持伊利诺伊州自然历史调查（INHS）的昆虫收藏。该项目将在物种标准机构INHS获得模式标本，并解决对近6万瓶捐赠标本进行增补和数字化的进一步需求。模式标本有望永久提供给科学家，因为如果它们遭到破坏，物种的身份可能会丧失。在美国国家卫生研究院，大多数乙醇保存的昆虫类型已经接近100岁了，为了减轻这些标本的进一步退化，它们将与新瓶一起冷藏。标本也将通过成像进一步记录。这些标本提供了物种过去分布的知识，增强了我们预测过去和未来分布环境变化的能力。对数据收集、新物种描述、数据分析和数据共享的期望正在迅速变化。该奖项将为培训下一代生物多样性科学家和信息学家提供支持，包括从实地数据收集到实验室数据分析的标本管理和管理。这项工作将确保未来有合格的、训练有素的生物学家。美国国家卫生研究院昆虫收藏（INHS- ic）是北美最古老的昆虫学收藏之一，收藏了大约730万种昆虫标本。INHS-IC有超过5000种初级和次级湿型。由于生物分子的浸出，较老的类型标本有因干燥和降解而受损的危险。这些标本将通过升级小瓶、成像标签和标本，并将类型储存在冷藏空间来保护。在此期间，一名硕士研究生将利用这些标本研究北美东部水生昆虫（chorotypes）的重复分布模式，暑期实习生将接受标本管理和数字化方面的培训，学习编写基本生物信息学脚本，并就一个研究课题发表毕业研讨会。在项目期间，大量伊利诺伊大学本科生将有机会通过标本鉴定、策展和标本数字化学习博物馆实践。所有标签数据将通过TaxonWorks（一个管理各种生物多样性数据任务的新平台）获取，并通过本地门户网站iDigBio和全球生物多样性信息设施共享。

An award is made to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to support the insect collections at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS). The project will secure type specimens at INHS, the standard bearers for species, and address further needs for accessioning and digitizing nearly 60,000 vials of donated specimens. Type specimens are expected to be available to scientists in perpetuity, because if they are damaged, identity of species could be lost. Most ethanol preserved insect types at INHS are nearing 100 years old and to mitigate further degradation of these specimens, they will be placed in refrigerated storage with new vials. The specimens will also be further documented through imaging. These specimens provide knowledge of past distributions of species, enhancing our ability to predict both past and future distributions environments change. Expectations for data gathering, description of new species, data analysis, and data sharing are rapidly changing. This award will provide support for training the next generation of biodiversity scientists and informaticians in specimen curation and management from field data collection to analysis of data in the laboratory. This work will ensure a future of qualified, well trained biologists.The INHS Insect Collection (INHS-IC), one of the oldest entomological collections in North America, houses approximately 7.3 million insect specimens. Over 5,000 primary and secondary wet types exist at the INHS-IC. The older type specimens are in danger of being damaged by desiccation and degradation due to leaching of biological molecules. These specimens will be secured by upgrading vials, imaging labels and specimens, and storing the types in refrigerated space. A training component will be implemented during which a Master's student will use these collections to examine repeated distribution patterns of aquatic insects (chorotypes) in eastern North America, and summer interns will be trained in specimen curation and digitization, learn to code basic bioinformatics scripts, and present an exit seminar on a research topic. A large number of University of Illinois undergraduates will be provided with opportunities to learn museum practice through specimen identification, curation, and digitization of specimens during the project. All label data will be captured using TaxonWorks, a new platform for managing a wide range of biodiversity data tasks, and shared via a local web portal, iDigBio, and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.