Support for Computerization and Expansion of Ichthyology Collection of the Field Museum of Natural History

菲尔德自然历史博物馆的鱼类学藏品是西半球最重要的五个鱼类藏品之一。对于系统学家、生态学家、生物地理学家和对鱼类感兴趣的各种研究人员来说，这些参考资料是非常宝贵的资源。该藏品的策展人巴里·切尔诺夫博士计划对这些藏品进行积极的扩展和改进。将增加新的储藏区，并配备货架系统。在转移到新的存储区期间，这些藏品将进行重新整理，使来访的研究人员更容易获得它们。将标本信息输入电脑化数据库的数据也将增加收集工作的研究影响。像这样的自然历史收藏为一代又一代的生物学研究提供了基础。精心策划的收藏品可以直接研究气候变化和土地利用的影响，并提供灭绝物种留下的唯一记录。这些收藏品的持续增长和改进为当前的研究界服务，并为未来的研究人员提供关键资源。

The Ichthyological Collection of the Field Museum of Natural History is one of the five most important fish collections in the western hemisphere. These reference collections are invaluable resources for systematists, ecologists, biogeographers, and a variety of researchers interested in fishes. Dr. Barry Chernoff, Curator of the collection, plans an aggressive program of expansion and improvement for the collections. New storage areas will be added and equipped with shelving systems. The collection will be reorganized during transfer to the new storage areas, making them more accessible to visiting researchers. Data entry of specimen information into a computerized database will also increase the collection's research impact. Natural history collections such as this provide the foundation on which generations of biological research can be built. Well curated collections allow direct study of the effects of changing climate and land use, and provide the only record left by extinct species. Continued growth and improvement of these collections serves the current research community, and provides critical resources for future researchers.