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

在过去的50年里，由于自然栖息地的快速变化，北美的动物数量一直在下降。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和遗传和解剖特征变化的历史记录。自1870年作为赠地大学成立以来，俄亥俄州立大学的主要任务之一就是保护自然资源和生物多样性。生物多样性博物馆四足动物（两栖动物、爬行动物、哺乳动物和鸟类）收藏成立于19世纪70年代，是俄亥俄州最古老、最多样化的四足动物收藏。该项目将提供急需的基础设施升级，以保护超过35,000个具有历史和生物学价值的标本，并提高对标本及其相关数据的可访问性。这种增加的可访问性将为研究人员、保护管理者和政府决策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勒冈州立大学四足动物收藏的转型中发挥关键作用，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联系和接触方面发挥重要的领导作用。该项目将用钢制橱柜取代20世纪90年代至60年代购买的所有过时的金属和木制橱柜。这种重新安置将为哺乳动物和鸟类收藏品提供适当的保护，使其免受害虫和其他有害因素的可能损害，并为扩展提供更有效的储存，并大大改善工作人员和游客的组织和可达性。该项目的其他目标包括：(1)通过盘点所有已编目的标本并使用标本标签验证数据库中的数据来纠正当前数据库的数据质量问题；(2)成像并保存变质的标本标签和卵卡，并向数据库添加未转录的数据；(3)将当前数据库转变为一个长期可持续性的强大平台。该项目产生的所有数据将与GBIF （https://www.gbif.org）、VertNet （http://vertnet.org）和iDigBio （https://www.idigbio.org/）等数据聚合器公开共享。新训练的学生倡议者和外展活动将促进馆藏价值的增加，这将进一步促进研究界对馆藏的使用，并使未来的合作机会最大化。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.