ICBR Capacity: Biological Collections: Infrastructure improvement and data preservation of the Tetrapods Collection at the Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity.

由于自然栖息地的快速变化，北美的动物数量在过去50年里一直在下降。自然历史博物馆的标本对生物多样性和保护研究越来越有价值，因为它们提供了物种分布以及遗传和解剖特征变化的历史记录。自1870年作为一所赠与土地的大学成立以来，俄亥俄州立大学的主要使命之一是保护自然资源和生物多样性。生物多样性博物馆的四足动物(两栖动物、爬行动物、哺乳动物和鸟类)收藏于19世纪70年代，是俄亥俄州最古老和最多样化的同类收藏。该项目将提供急需的基础设施升级，以保护35000多具历史和生物价值的标本，并加强对标本及其相关数据的获取。这种可获得性的提高将为研究人员、保护管理者和政府政策制定者提供有意义的信息。来自不同学科和背景的本科生和研究生将在俄亥俄州立大学四足动物收藏的转变中发挥关键作用，并有助于激励下一代博物馆和保护科学家。对博物馆相关职业感兴趣的学生，包括自然历史收藏俱乐部成员，将通过专业会议在与当地媒体和社区成员以及博物馆社区的外联和接触方面发挥重要领导作用。该项目将用钢柜取代1900-1960年代购买的所有过时的金属和木质橱柜。这次安置将为哺乳动物和鸟类收藏提供适当的保护，使其免受虫害和其他有害因素可能造成的破坏，并可更有效地储存以供扩展，并极大地改善组织和工作人员和游客的可及性。该项目的其他目标包括：(1)纠正当前数据库的数据质量问题，方法是对所有编目的标本进行编目，并用标本标签验证数据库中的数据；(2)对变质的标本标签和蛋卡进行成像和保存，并将未转录的数据添加到数据库中；(3)将当前数据库过渡到一个强大的平台，以实现长期可持续性。该项目产生的所有数据将与数据聚合器公开共享，如https://www.gbif.org)，(http://vertnet.org)，和iDigBio(https://www.idigbio.org/).新培训的学生倡导者和外展活动将促进藏品价值的增加，这将进一步促进研究社区对藏品的使用，并最大限度地增加未来的合作机会。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。

Animal populations in North America have been declining over the last 50 years due to rapid changes in their natural habitat. Natural history museum specimens have become increasingly valuable to biodiversity and conservation research because they provide a historical record of species distribution and changes in genetic and anatomical characteristics. Since its founding as a land-grant university in 1870, one of the main missions of The Ohio State University has been preserving natural resources and biodiversity. The Museum of Biological Diversity Tetrapods (amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds) Collection was established in 1870s and is the oldest and most diverse collection of its kind in Ohio. This project will provide a much-needed infrastructure upgrade to protect over 35,000 historically and biologically valuable specimens and to enhance accessibility to the specimens and their associated data. This increased accessibility will provide meaningful information to researchers, conservation managers, and governmental policymakers. Undergraduate and graduate students from diverse disciplines and backgrounds will play a key role in the transformation of the OSU Tetrapods Collection, and help to inspire the next generation of museum and conservation scientists. Students with an interest in museum-related careers, including Natural History Collection Club members, will serve vital leadership roles in outreach and engagement with the local media and community members as well as with museum communities through professional conferences.This project will replace all the obsolete metal and wooden cabinets purchased in the 1900s–1960s with steel cabinets. This rehousing will provide the mammal and bird collections proper protection from possible damage caused by pests and other harmful elements and more efficient storage for expansion, and greatly improve organization and accessibility by staff and visitors. Other objectives of this project include: (1) rectifying the data quality issues of the current database by inventorying all cataloged specimens and validating data in the database with specimen labels, (2) imaging and preserving deteriorating specimen labels and egg cards and adding un-transcribed data to the database, and (3) transitioning the current database to a robust platform for long-term sustainability. All data resulting from this project will be publicly shared with data aggregators such as GBIF (https://www.gbif.org), VertNet (http://vertnet.org), and iDigBio (https://www.idigbio.org/). The increased value of the collection would be promoted by newly trained student advocates and outreach activities, which further boosts the use of the collection by the research community and maximizes the future collaborative opportunities.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.