CSBR: Natural History Collections: Integrating the Orphaned Southern Illinois University Fluid Vertebrate Collections into the Illinois Natural History Survey Collections

自然历史馆藏是生物信息不可替代的研究资源。其中基于样本的数据用于跨多个科学学科的基础和应用研究。收集的数据被用来检测我们生态系统健康状况的变化，突出需要保护的物种和生态系统，发现未知的生物多样性，并记录地球上生命的进化史。当自然历史收集被忽视或放弃时，科学界就会丢失或无法获得大量的生物信息。2015年，大型的、地理上独特的、最近成为孤儿的南伊利诺伊大学卡本代尔分校(SIUC)流体脊椎动物收藏被转移到伊利诺伊州香槟的伊利诺伊州自然历史调查局(INHS)，在那里它们仍然放在盒子里，研究人员无法获得。该奖项为SIUC收藏中的标本和基于标本的数据的拆箱和完全管理提供资金，并将其整合到INHS生物收藏中。与超过650,000个样本相关的数据将可用于生物研究和无数其他科学挑战。本科生将从设在伊利诺伊大学人类学系的博物馆研究项目(MUSE)招收。该项目团队将在MUSE提供的两个不同课程中与本科生合作并对其进行培训。SIUC流体脊椎动物收藏的全面管理和整合将在三年内分两个阶段进行。首先，与SIUC标本相关的元数据将通过更新分类名称、标准化地理位置信息和更正印刷错误来标准化。缺少地理参考坐标数据的样本将被添加到它们的记录字段中。第二阶段将侧重于对目前存放SIUC收藏品和最终收藏的箱子进行物理拆包。最终的保管将包括分配新的INHS目录号和将SIUC标本元数据导入INHS数据库，必要时将标本放置在适当的档案容器中。复制的标本将被移走并转移到合作的博物馆。新的档案标签将与SIUC标本相关联，这些标本将被放置在INHS收集范围内的适当物理位置，并可供使用。最后，所有SIUC标本元数据将通过INHS和iDigBio(idigBio.org)门户网站在线提供，供科学界下载。作为帮助培训下一代博物馆馆长、收藏品经理和博物馆技术人员的平台，该项目将吸引高中生和本科生参与数据库查询、标本鉴定和准备、馆藏和地理参考阶段的项目。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Natural history collections are irreplaceable research resources for biological information. Specimen-based data within them are used for basic and applied research across multiple scientific disciplines. Data in collections are used to detect changes in the health of our ecosystems, highlight species and ecosystems in need of conservation, discover unknown biodiversity, and document the evolutionary history of life on earth. When natural history collections are neglected or abandoned, vast amounts of biological information are lost or made unavailable to the scientific community. In 2015 the large, geographically unique, and recently orphaned Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC) fluid vertebrates collections were moved to the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) in Champaign, Illinois where they have remained in boxes and unavailable to researchers. This award provides funding for the unboxing and full curation of specimens and specimen-based data in the SIUC collections and their integration into the INHS biological collections. Data associated with over 650,000 specimens will be available for biological research and a myriad of other scientific challenges. Undergraduate students will be recruited from the Museum Studies Program (MUSE) housed in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois. The project team will be working with and training undergraduates in two different courses offered under MUSE.The full curation and integration of the SIUC fluid vertebrate collections into the INHS will occur through a two-stage process over a period of three years. First, metadata associated with SIUC specimens will be normalized by updating taxonomic names, standardizing geographic locality information, and correcting typographical errors. Specimens lacking georeferenced coordinate data will have that information added to their record fields. The second stage will focus on the physical unpacking of the boxes currently housing the SIUC collections and final curation. Final curation will consist of assigning new INHS catalog numbers and importing SIUC specimen metadata into INHS databases, placing specimens in appropriate archival containers as necessary. Duplicated specimens will be removed and transferred to collaborating museums. New archival labels will be associated to the SIUC specimens, which will be placed in appropriate physical locations within the INHS collection ranges and made available for use. Finally, all SIUC specimen metadata will be served online through the INHS and iDigBio (idigbio.org) web portals where they will be available for download by the scientific community. As a platform to help train the next generation of museum curators, collection managers, and museum technicians, the project will engage high school and undergraduate students in database query, specimen identification and preparation, curation, and georeferencing phases of the project.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.