CSBR: Natural History: Stabilization and Accessibility of the National Water-Quality Assessment Macroinvertebrate Collection

生活在河流和溪流中的水生昆虫和其他无脊椎动物帮助我们衡量我国水域的质量和健康状况。健康的水支持更多种类的物种，水资源管理人员使用物种多样性措施以及化学分析来评估水体是否受到污染。近25年来，美国地质调查局（USGS）从美国2300条溪流和河流中收集了100多万只水生大型无脊椎动物，并利用这些样本建立了水质基准参考条件。该收藏为生物多样性、水质评估和管理以及水生生态学的当代信息和未来研究提供了宝贵的资源。这些藏品由美国地质勘探局捐赠给明尼苏达大学，以确保其继续存在，因为尽管它具有历史和当代的重要性，并且其良好的条件，物种多样性和地理覆盖范围，但它仍被安排处置。该奖项促进了该大学现有昆虫收藏的增加。此外，与标本有关的信息，如收集地点和时间，将建立数据库，供研究人员、教育工作者和公众使用。在转移到明尼苏达大学之前，目标标本最初被安置在科罗拉多州丹佛市的美国地质勘探局设施中。明尼苏达大学通过提供存放标本的物理空间和用于档案存储的橱柜，展示了对该项目的支持和承诺。该奖项促进了该项目的目标，现在是拆封、重组、数据库，并将材料物理整合到明尼苏达大学昆虫收藏中。大学将会实施一套新的数据库应用系统，以方便使用者使用，使有关标本的资料可供研究和教育之用。一个全职的策展助理，在本科生的协助下，将进行大部分的工作。此外，该项目还将支持一名硕士研究生协助项目管理和标本管理，并将接受藏品管理、生物多样性评估和水生昆虫分类方面的高级培训。该项目的结果和数据库的访问将通过明尼苏达大学昆虫收集网站http://insectcollection.umn.edu/提供。

Aquatic insects and other invertebrates that live in rivers and streams help us gauge the quality and health of our Nation's waters. Healthy waters support a higher variety of species and water resource managers use measures of species diversity, along with chemical analyses, to assess whether a body of water is polluted or not. For almost 25 years, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected over 1 million aquatic macroinvertebrates from 2,300 streams and rivers across the United States and used these samples to establish baseline reference conditions of water quality. This collection serves as a valuable resource for contemporary information and future research on biodiversity, water quality assessment and management, and aquatic ecology. The collection was donated to the University of Minnesota by the USGS to ensure its continued existence, as it was slated for disposal in spite of its historical and contemporary importance and its excellent condition, diversity of species, and geographic coverage. This award facilitates the addition of this collection to the University's existing insect collection. Also, information associated with the specimens, such as where and when they were collected, will be databased and made available for use by researchers, educators, and the general public.The targeted specimens were originally housed at the USGS facility in Denver, Colorado, prior to their transfer to the University of Minnesota. The University of Minnesota has demonstrated support and commitment to this project by providing physical space to house the specimens and cabinets for archival storage. This award facilitates goals of the project are now to unpack, reorganize, database, and physically integrate the material into the University of Minnesota Insect Collection. The University will implement a new databasing application, with a user-friendly interface, so that information associated with the specimens can be accessed for research and education. A full-time curatorial associate, assisted by undergraduate students, will carry out most of the work. In addition, a Master's level graduate student will be supported by the project to assist with project management and specimen curation, and will also receive advanced training in collections management, biodiversity assessment, and aquatic insect taxonomy. Results of the project and access to the database will be made available through the University of Minnesota Insect Collection website at http://insectcollection.umn.edu/.