Vertebrate Paleontology Improvements at the Florida Museum of Natural History: Plio-Pleistocene and Megafaunal Curation

脊椎动物古生物学收藏和相关的 佛罗里达自然历史博物馆的一个研究项目就是其中之一 在同类领先项目中排名前十， 北美 该项目将为主要的 策展改进此集合，以提高其效用 作为研究资源。 在过去的二十年里，古脊椎动物学 收藏以惊人的速度增长，平均约 每年10%。 目前，该系列包含约30万个 其中大约只有135，000个可能被编入目录的标本 输入到电脑数据库中。 没有在 数据库虽然在物理上可用于研究，但存在以下问题 在计算机搜索过程中无法检索到它们的事实 和排序。 随着计算机化数据库的迅速发展， 在过去的十年里， 尽可能地将样本计算机化。 本项目期间 期间，PI将策展和输入标本从 收藏的广泛佛罗里达地区。 三分之一进球 年是增加约55,000个新的标本， 计算机化目录 快速增长带来的另一个主要问题是 一直缺乏足够的空间来策展， 研究和收藏这些重要的科学标本 的 该项目将提供资金，以安装可移动的存储单元 （“压缩机”），这将大大增加（约30%）净 可用空间用于存储较小的标本。 在同一 届时，PI还将重组收集的大量 脊椎动物标本（例如，鲸鱼、乳齿象和猛犸象， 巨大的地懒）放在专门设计的金属架子上， 更有效地利用可用空间。 这些收集的改进是最佳的手段， 提高这一重要科学领域的研究能力， 资源，并应解决收集的需求， 21世纪世纪初。

The Vertebrate Paleontology collection and associated research program at the Florida Museum of Natural History is one of the leading programs of its kind and ranks in the top ten in North America. This project will provide funds for major curatorial improvements to this collection to enhance its utility as a research resource. Throughout the last two decades the Vertebrate Paleontology collection has grown at a phenomenal pace, on average by about 10% per year. This collection currently contains about 300,000 potentially catalogable specimens of which about only 135,000 are entered onto a computerized data base. The specimens not on the data base, although physically accessible for study, suffer from the fact that they cannot be retrieved during computer searches and sorts. With the rapid growth in computerized data bases within the last ten years, it is imperative that as many specimens as possible be computerized. During this project period, the PIs will curate and enter the specimens from the collection's extensive Florida localities. The goal in three years is to add approximately 55,000 new specimens to the computerized catalog. Another major problem resulting from the very rapid growth of the collection has been lack of sufficient space to curate, study, and house these important scientific specimens. The project will provide funds to install movable storage units ("compactors") that will greatly increase (by about 30%) the net usable space for storage of smaller specimens. During the same time, the PIs also will reorganize the collection's large vertebrate specimens (e.g., whales, mastodons and mammoths, and giant ground sloths)onto specially designed metal shelves that more efficiently use the available space. These collections improvements are the optimal means of enhancing the research capabilities of this important scientific resource and should solve the collection's needs into the beginning of the 21st century.