Curation and digitization of newly acquired invertebrate collections at the of the Florida Museum of Natural History

佛罗里达大学被授予33个软体动物和其他海洋无脊椎动物收藏的奖项，总计约65,000个标本批次(约400,000个标本)，约10,000个物种。这些材料的大部分是捐赠的、私人的、高质量的贝壳收藏；其余的是与珊瑚礁相关的无脊椎动物的收藏。标本将在佛罗里达自然历史博物馆向所有感兴趣的人提供，相关数据(身份、收藏数据、谷歌地球或其他地理信息系统的坐标)将通过互联网广泛提供。博物馆还将每年举办关于软体动物和海洋无脊椎动物的研讨会，让感兴趣的公众参与并增强他们的能力，特别是在记录和欣赏生物多样性方面，特别是在贝壳类和高中生物课上。在一个瞬息万变的世界里，藏品代表着地球上的生命图书馆。目标收藏品主要是在20世纪下半叶收集的，通常来自不再存在的栖息地和种群。它们提供了来自美洲和热带地区的陆地蜗牛、海洋软体动物和其他无脊椎动物的丰富记录，记录了生物多样性以及不断变化的陆地和海景。通过因特网和讲习班传播信息将使重要的科学研究成为可能，并使广大公众更好地了解和珍视自然世界。

An award is made to the University of Florida to curate 33 collections of mollusks and other marine invertebrates totaling about 65,000 specimen lots (~400,000 specimens) of about 10,000 species. The bulk of this material consists of donated, private, quality shell collections; the remainder is collections of reef-associated invertebrates. Specimens will be made available to all interested at the Florida Museum of Natural History, and associated data (identifications, collection data, coordinates for Google Earth or other GIS systems) will be made broadly available via the Internet. The museum will also sponsor yearly workshops on mollusks and marine invertebrates, to engage and empower interested public, especially "shellers" and high school biology classes, in documenting and appreciating biodiversity. Collections represent the library of life on Earth, in a rapidly changing world. The targeted collections were assembled mostly through the second half of the 20th century, often from habitats and populations that no longer persist. They provide a rich record of land snails, marine mollusks and other invertebrates from American and tropical locations, documenting biodiversity and the changing land and seascape. Disseminating information through the Internet and workshops will enable important scientific research and engage the general public in better understanding and valuing the natural world.