Integration and Curation of the Robert and Virginia Rausch Helminthological Collection- A Resource for Science and Society in the MSB Division of Parasitology

罗伯特和弗吉尼亚·劳施蠕虫学收藏馆（RHC）是西半球最大的寄生虫收藏馆之一，主要关注北极和亚北极生物群落。 它是一种不可替代的资源，记录了新出现的病原体，并为国家利益的研究提供了重要的基线，包括全球气候变化对脆弱的北方生态系统的影响。然而，如果没有迅速的策展干预，这是一个孤儿收藏品，面临着完全丢失的严重危险。 该项目以新墨西哥州大学西南生物学博物馆为中心，将提供人员、材料和后勤支持，以确保RHC标本的保存和永久性住房。标本记录、分类账和原始野外记录将通过ARCTOS在线数据库进行电子捕获、验证和广泛传播，以最大限度地提高馆藏的效用和可见性。 该项目建立在大量的机构投资和寄生虫学，疾病生物多样性和基于生物学的UNM的方案重点的基础上，并作为教育和培训资源为教师和学生提供直接利益。 一旦获得，RHC将为生物监测、人类健康和全球气候变化研究提供独特的历史和地理基线。 最终，联邦政府的支持将使这一宝贵的资源通过在线资源和更好地获得高质量的标本和数据提供给世界各地的科学家。

The Robert and Virginia Rausch Helminthological Collection (RHC) is one of the largest parasite collections in the Western Hemisphere and is primarily focused on Arctic and sub-Arctic biomes. It is an irreplaceable resource that documents emerging disease organisms and provides a significant baseline for studies of national interest, including effects of global climate change on fragile northern ecosystems. However, it is an orphaned collection that is in serious jeopardy of total loss without rapid curatorial intervention. This project, centered at the Museum of Southwestern Biology at the University of New Mexico (UNM), will provide personnel, materials and logistical support to insure conservation and permanent housing of RHC specimens. Specimen records, ledgers, and original field notes will be electronically captured, verified, and disseminated broadly via the ARCTOS online database to maximize utility and visibility of the collection. This project builds on substantial institutional investment and programmatic emphasis in parasitology, diversity of disease organisms, and specimen-based biology at UNM, and provides direct benefit to faculty and students as an education and training resource. Once secured, the RHC will provide unique historical and geographic baselines for bio-monitoring, human health, and global climate change studies. Ultimately, federal support will make this valuable resource available to scientists world-wide via online resources and enhanced access to high-quality specimens and data.