Enhancement of the Natural History Collections at the University of North Carolina Wilmington

该奖项是根据《2009年美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供的。这笔资金将支持北卡罗来纳大学威尔明顿分校(UNW)大量自然历史藏品的基础设施和可访问性的改善，并将它们转移到校园内新装修的存储设施中。通过NSF基金开发的一个名为Specify的新计算机程序将用于创建一个标本和标本图像的计算机化数据库，该数据库不仅将有助于本科生和研究生的教学和研究计划，还将向更广泛的科学界提供广泛的在线收藏品访问权限。这种访问不仅将提高对联合国教科文组织藏品的科学认识，而且在线图像将减少对外部借阅、运输和处理的需要，从而限制对标本的破坏。管理计划的结构将使哺乳动物、鸟类、爬行动物、两栖动物、鱼类和植物的自然历史收藏，总计超过7万个标本，将过渡到电子格式，同时作为本科生的应用学习机会。将雇用一名助理馆长，为期两年，帮助监督这个项目，并与联合国教科文组织的教师馆长一起，为现在和未来的收藏品制定数据库和地理参考协议。这项提议的更广泛的影响将包括对普通公众、K-12教育和科学界的好处。对这些藏品的在线访问将提供主要与北卡罗来纳州和东南部栖息地相关的动植物物种的分类、生态学、进化和保护的公共信息。这一信息对于许多与联合国教科文组织东南部栖息地有关的特有物种(植物和脊椎动物)特别有用。这一计划将为K-12教师、学生和更广泛的社区提供有价值的信息，最大限度地扩大公众范围，培养年轻一代对自然历史的兴趣。总体目标是增加课堂参观和对北卡罗来纳州丰富的自然历史的认识。学院馆长每年将至少访问三所公立学校，这些学校主要由代表不足的群体组成，以展示关于卡罗莱纳州自然历史的研究和信息。还将开发一个互动网站，供这些教室和其他教室使用，以帮助激发人们对自然科学的兴趣。此外，地方、国家和全球各级的科学专家以及州和联邦机构将能够访问这些收藏品，从而加强与教师馆长的沟通和合作。UNW的学生，特别是本科生，也将受益于针对应用学习和分类学知识的课程。作为本课程的一部分，学生将通过帮助对藏品进行编目和数据库处理来获得额外的经验。以这种方式成功接受培训的学生将被聘为兼职，以继续协助实现本提案中规定的目标，从而获得更多的应用学习经验。在夏季的几个月里，还将有三名硕士研究生参加这一过程。整个项目每年将影响至少8名本科生和3名研究生，以及数十到数百名当地学童，特别是在代表性不足的群体中。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).This funding will support improvements in the infrastructure and accessibility of the extensive natural history collections at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) in conjunction with their movement into a newly renovated storage facility on campus. A new computer program developed through NSF funding called Specify will be used to create a computerized database of specimens and specimen images that will not only assist in undergraduate and graduate teaching and research programs, but will also provide broad online access to the collections to the greater scientific community. This access will not only increase scientific awareness of the UNCW collections, but online imagery will limit damage to specimens by reducing the need for external loans, shipping, and handling. The management plan will be structured in a way so that natural history collections of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and plants, totaling over 70,000 specimens, will be transitioned to electronic format while serving as an applied learning opportunity for undergraduate students. An Assistant Curator will be hired for two years to help oversee this project with the faculty curators at UNCW and to develop protocols for databasing and geo-referencing the collections now and in the future. The broader impacts of this proposal will include benefits to the general public, K-12 education, and the scientific community. Online access to the collections will provide public information on the taxonomy, ecology, evolution, and conservation of plant and animal species primarily associated with habitats in North Carolina and the Southeast. This information is especially useful for the many endemic species associated with Southeastern habitats that reside in the UNCW collections (plants and vertebrates). This program will provide valuable information to K-12 teachers, students and the broader community, allowing maximum public outreach and development of natural history interests in the younger generation. The overall goal is to increase classroom visitation and awareness of the rich natural history in North Carolina. Faculty curators will visit at least three public schools per year that are comprised primarily of under-represented groups to present research and information on natural history in the Carolinas. An interactive web site will also be developed for use by these and other classrooms to help stimulate interest in the natural sciences. Moreover, scientific experts at local, national, and global levels, as well as State and Federal agencies, will have access to these collections resulting in enhanced communications and collaborations with faculty curators. UNCW students also will benefit, especially undergraduates, with courses directed towards applied learning and taxonomic knowledge. Students will gain additional experience by assisting with cataloguing and databasing the collections as part of this program. Students successfully trained in this manner will be hired part-time to continue assisting with the goals set forth in this proposal thereby gaining additional applied learning experiences. Three Master's students will also be included in this process during summer months. The entire project will impact at least eight undergraduate and three graduate students per year, plus dozens to hundreds of local school children, particularly in under-represented groups.