Support for the Primate Facility at Field Museum of Natural History

在国家科学基金会的支持下，菲尔德自然历史博物馆将翻新和装备空间，作为其广泛的灵长类标本收藏的研究区域。将建造一个大的甲壳虫工作柜台，并安装头顶荧光灯。电源插座将沿柜台放置，以便灯、计算机和其他电力设备可以方便和多种方式进入。柜台附近的窗户上的百叶窗将被拆除，以允许研究人员利用自然光研究材料。最后，地板将被粉刷和密封。芝加哥的菲尔德博物馆收藏了世界上最好的灵长类标本收藏之一。总数约为4500只，包括全世界灵长类的所有科、大多数属和大多数种类和亚种。这些标本的分类和地理成分都很好，而且大多数个体都是在法律和伦理上可能的时候从野外采集的。这些标本记录了物种的自然分布和栖息地关联，并揭示了自然食物、运动模式和社会条件的形态效应。今天复制这些材料是不可能的。虽然博物馆已经在修复这些材料方面进行了重大工作，以使研究人员更容易接触到它们，但缺乏适当的研究区域仍然阻碍了人们的进入。这笔赠款将纠正这种情况。该项目之所以重要，是因为它将使大量感兴趣的研究人员更容易获得重要的国家科学资源。

With National Science Foundation support, the Field Museum of Natural History will rennovate and equip space to serve as a study area for its extensive primate specimen collection. A large formica work counter will be constructed and overhead fluorescent lights installed. Electrical outlets will be situated along the counter to permit convenient and multipe access for lights, computers and other electric-powered equipment. Shutters will be removed from windows near the counter to permit reseachers to utilize natural light to study materials. Finally the floor will be painted and sealed. The Field Museum in Chicago houses one of the finest collections of primate specimens in the world. The total of ca. 4,500 individuals includes all families, most genera and a majority of species and subspecies of primates worldwide. The taxonomic and geographic composition of the collection is excellent and the majority of the individuals were taken from the wild at a time when it was legally and ethically possible to do so. These specimens document natural distributions and habitat associations of species and reveal the morphological effects of natural foods, movement patterns and social conditions. It would be impossible to duplicate the materials today. While the museum has undertaken major work in restoring the materials to make them more accessible to reseachers, lack of a proper study area still hampers access. This grant will remedy that situation. This project is important because it will make a significant national scientific resource more readily accessible to a large number of interested reseachers.