Safeguarding Our National Biodiversity Heritage: An Infrastructure Upgrade for the Marsupial Collection at the American Museum of Natural History

美国自然历史博物馆(AMNH)拥有世界上最大、使用最频繁的有袋类动物收藏，包括由数十个私人和公共资金资助的前往中美洲、南美洲、澳大利亚和新几内亚的探险队获得的17,000个标本。跨越博物馆学术100年的数千页技术出版物都是基于这些材料，其中包括许多濒危和/或灭绝的物种。尽管收藏的一些部分(特别是模式标本和流体保存材料)保存得很好，但大多数兽皮(约11,000个标本)仍然保存在不符合标准的橱柜中，因灰尘和城市煤烟而褪色，并面临虫害的风险。过度拥挤导致了一些标本的机械损坏，皮肤被储存在带有易碎胶水接头的酸化纸盘上，电子标本数据库从未针对抽屉内容物的准确性进行过验证。该奖项提供资金，用于拆除旧橱柜，翻新收藏空间，购买新的标本盒和其他档案质量的馆藏材料，并进行其他必要的改进，为后代科学研究人员保存这一重要的遗产收藏。科学家们广泛使用AMNH有袋类动物来研究世界上许多地区的生物多样性，目前这些地区正受到栖息地破坏的威胁。例如，AMNH标本记录了许多濒危或灭绝的负鼠、袋鼠和袋鼠以前在它们不再存在的地方的存在。这些标本也是进化论研究的DNA来源，它们被用来说明指南书，帮助自然资源保护者和生态旅游者识别他们在野外看到的动物，它们还为每年数以百万计的博物馆参观者观看的教育性公共展览提供材料。这笔赠款的资金将用于为子孙后代进一步保护这一不可替代的遗产收藏。有关AMNH哺乳动物学收藏的信息，请访问http://research.amnh.org/vz/mammalogy/collection-information.

The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) has the largest and most heavily used collection of marsupials in the world, comprising 17,000 specimens obtained by dozens of privately and publically financed expeditions to Central and South America, Australia, and New Guinea. Thousands of pages of technical publications spanning 100 years of museum scholarship have been based on this material, which includes many endangered and/or extinct species. Although some parts of the collection (notably the type specimens and fluid-preserved material) are in good housing, most of the skins (about 11,000 specimens) remain in substandard cabinetry, discolored by dust and urban soot and at risk from insect pests. Overcrowding has resulted in mechanical damage to some specimens, skins are stored on acidified paper trays with brittle glue joints, and the electronic specimen database has never been proofed for accuracy against drawer contents. This award provides funds to demolish old cabinetry, to renovate collection spaces, to purchase new specimen cases and other archival-quality curatorial materials, and to make other improvements necessary to preserve this important heritage collection for future generations of scientific researchers. The AMNH marsupial collection is widely used by scientists to study biodiversity in many parts of the world currently threatened by habitat destruction. For example, AMNH specimens document the former presence of many endangered or extinct opossums, bandicoots, and kangaroos in places where they no longer exist. These specimens are also sources of DNA for evolutionary studies, they are used to illustrate guide books that help conservationists and ecotourists identify animals that they see in the field, and they provide material for educational public exhibitions that are seen by millions of museum-goers every year. Funds from this grant will be used to further the preservation of this irreplaceable heritage collection for future generations. Information on the AMNH mammalogy collection can be found at http://research.amnh.org/vz/mammalogy/collection-information.