Improvements to the Auburn University Aquatic Invertebrate, Fish, and Amphibian and Reptile Collections

奥本大学获得了一笔赠款，用于资助在阿姆布鲁斯特、菲米内拉和盖耶博士的指导下，对奥本大学自然历史学习中心(AUNHLC)的水生无脊椎动物、鱼类以及两栖和爬行动物收藏品进行急需的改进。AUNHLC的博物馆藏品描述了世界上生物多样性的温床之一。就生物多样性而言，阿拉巴马州是最重要的州之一，不幸的是，也是最危险的州之一。由于奥本大学的收藏品记录了这些不同温带生态系统的丰富历史，这些收藏品对区域保护规划特别重要。这项提案旨在为奥本大学水生无脊椎动物、鱼类、两栖和爬行动物收藏的改善提供资金。该鱼群是美国东南部最大的鱼群之一，其增长率远远超过全国平均水平。它被Poss和Collette(1996)列为重要的收藏。该藏品目前拥有来自世界各地的标本，但在美国东南部具有最强的代表性。奥本的两栖和爬行动物收藏是阿拉巴马州首屈一指的两栖动物和爬行动物收藏，拥有来自周边地区的大量藏品。两栖和爬行动物收藏被广泛使用，特别是在制作实地指南时，如备受赞誉的区域指南《阿拉巴马州的爬行动物和两栖动物》(芒特，1975)。通过工作人员的研究努力和孤儿收藏的采用，水生无脊椎动物收藏的增长率是奥本大学所有收藏中最快的。软体动物的生长尤其强劲，其中包括大量持有受威胁、濒危和灭绝的淡水贻贝和陆生蜗牛。阿拉巴马州软体动物种类繁多，但在奥本最近的努力之前，阿拉巴马州一直缺乏容纳标本的地方。除了软体动物外，水生无脊椎动物标本收藏还包括其他分类群的标本，包括昆虫、寡毛类和甲壳类。目前，博物馆正处于其历史上最富有成效的时期。这所大学已经制定了一项雄心勃勃的计划，为这些收藏品提供一个更永久的家。为实现这一目标，该机构承诺为收藏品的日常运作提供资金支持，并在这笔赠款提供初步资金后为收藏品工作人员提供财政资源。这笔资金将包括第二名收集经理、一名全职技术员一年的费用，以及完成这项研究目标的研究生研究助理的费用。此外，还为水生无脊椎动物、鱼类、两栖和爬行动物收藏品的搁置和个案工作提供支助，纳入积压材料，重新组织收藏品，并将标本从异丙醇转移到乙醇中，以使收藏品标准化。大部分资金用于完成这一项目所必需的人员。博物馆收藏品是我们记录一个地区的生物多样性并为子孙后代保存下来的唯一手段。随着地区日益受到人类发展的影响，收集资料在描述历史分布方面变得更加重要，提出了可能导致物种灭绝的原因，并为如何恢复退化的生态系统提供了洞察。奥本的收藏品积极在互联网上发布收藏记录，几个基于网络的项目(如基于互联网的物种检索表)正在进行中，以揭露和教育人们关于全球和当地生物多样性的知识。

A grant has been awarded to Auburn University to fund critically needed improvements to the Auburn University Natural History Learning Center's (AUNHLC) aquatic invertebrate, fish, and amphibian and reptile collections under the direction of Drs. Armbruster, Feminella and Guyer. The museum collections housed in AUNHLC describe one of the world's hotbeds of biological diversity. Alabama is among the most important states in terms of biodiversity, and, unfortunately, is one of the most imperiled. Because collections at Auburn University document the rich history of these diverse temperate ecosystems, these collections are particularly important for regional conservation planning. This proposal is designed to fund improvements to the aquatic invertebrate, fish, and amphibian and reptile collections at Auburn University. The fish collection is one of the largest in the southeastern United States and it exhibits a growth rate that is far in excess of the nationwide average. It was ranked as an important collection by Poss and Collette (1996). The collection currently has specimens from around the world, but has its strongest representation in the southeastern United States. The amphibian and reptile collection at Auburn is the premier herpetofaunal collection from Alabama and has significant holdings from surrounding regions. The amphibian and reptile collection has been used extensively, particularly in the production of field guides such as "The Reptiles and Amphibians of Alabama" (Mount, 1975), an acclaimed regional guide. The aquatic invertebrate collection has the greatest rate of growth of any of the collections at Auburn University through research efforts of the staff and adoption of orphaned collections. Growth is particularly strong in mollusks, which includes significant holdings of threatened, endangered, and extinct freshwater mussels and terrestrial snails. Alabama has a tremendous diversity of molluscs, but until recent efforts at Auburn, Alabama has lacked a place in the state to house specimens. In addition to molluscs, the aquatic invertebrate collection also contains specimens of may other taxa including insects, oligochaetes, and crustaceans. Currently, the museum is enjoying the most productive period in its history. The university has laid out an ambitious plan to provide a more permanent home for the collections. To achieve this goal, the institution has pledged monetary support for the day-to-day operations of the collections, and financial resources for collection personnel following the initial funding provided by this grant. This funding will include money for a second collection manager, a fulltime technician for one year, and for graduate research assistants to accomplish the goals of this study. In addition, support is provided for shelving and casework for the aquatic invertebrate, fish, and amphibian and reptile collections and incorporation of backlog materials, reorganization of the collections, and transfer of specimens from isopropanol to ethanol so that the collections are standardized. The greatest part of the funding is for the personnel that are essential for the completion of this project. Museum collections are our only means of recording the biodiversity of an area and saving it for future generations. As areas become increasingly impacted by human development, collections become correspondingly more important in describing historical distributions, suggesting what might have caused species extirpations, and providing insight into how degraded ecosystems might be restored. The collections at Auburn are active in releasing collection records on the internet, and several web-based projects (such as internet-based species keys) are underway to expose and educate people about global as well as local biodiversity.