Digitization PEN: GalapaGateway: Unlocking Model Evolutionary Systems for Research and Education

加州科学院(CAS)拥有加拉帕戈斯群岛最大、最完整的科学研究标本收藏，其中大部分只有少数能够参观博物馆的研究人员才能进入。GalapaGateway是现有网络伙伴关系(PEN)奖，是对开放脊椎动物主题收藏网络(OPET TCN)的赞扬。这支笔将制作和传播来自加拉帕戈斯群岛的大约1300个爬行动物、鸟类和哺乳动物的脊椎动物标本的高分辨率三维(3D)图像，从而增加对这些历史标本的获取。由此产生的3D扫描将在多个平台上免费提供，包括iDigBio、MorPhoSource、Sketchfab和一个专用的CAS门户，该门户将扫描链接到标本数据、现场笔记和图像。巨型乌龟和达尔文雀等选定标本的3D物理模型将被打印出来，用于中科院和加拉帕戈斯群岛的查尔斯·达尔文基金会的教育和公共宣传。虽然公开的TCN旨在扫描每个脊椎动物属的单一代表，但这支笔将对每个物种的多个标本进行成像，以捕捉物种内的差异。加拉帕戈斯动物物种内的变异是达尔文自然选择进化论的核心，并继续作为向学生和普通公众解释这些基本概念的教科书范例。通过结合计算机断层扫描(CT)和结构光表面扫描，GalapaGateway项目将创建加拉帕戈斯群岛多个密切相关类群的形态数据和3D模型，从而深入分析脊椎动物的形态、变异、适应和物种形成。3D表面扫描将用于对传统CT扫描机太大的样本进行扫描。制作这些来自加拉帕戈斯的标志性历史标本的扫描将促进广泛的学术调查，包括对形态和异速生长、发育、分类学和适应性生态学和进化的研究。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The California Academy of Sciences (CAS) is home to the largest and most complete collection of scientific research specimens from the Galápagos Islands, the majority of which can only be accessed by a small number of researchers able to visit the museum. GalapaGateway is a Partnership to Existing Networks (PEN) award that compliments the Open Vertebrate Thematic Collections Network (oVert TCN). This PEN will produce and disseminate high resolution three-dimensional (3D) imagery of approximately 1300 vertebrate specimens of reptiles, birds, and mammals from the Galápagos Islands, thereby increasing accessibility to these historical specimens. Resulting 3D scans will be available free of charge on multiple platforms, including iDigBio, MorphoSource, SketchFab, and a dedicated CAS portal that links scans to specimen data, fieldnotes, and images. Physical 3D models of selected specimens, such as giant tortoises and Darwin’s finches, will be printed for use in education and public outreach at the CAS and at the Charles Darwin Foundation in the Galápagos Islands. While the oVert TCN aims to scan a single representative of each vertebrate genus, this PEN will image multiple specimens per species to capture within-species variation. Variation within species of Galapagos animals was central to Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection and continues to serve as a textbook example for explaining these foundational concepts to students and the general public. Through a combination of computed tomography (CT) and structured light surface scanning, the GalapaGateway project will create morphological data and 3D models of multiple series of closely related taxa from across the Galápagos Archipelago, allowing for in-depth analysis of vertebrate morphology, variation, adaptation, and speciation. 3D surface scanning will be used on specimens too large for traditional CT-scanning machines. Producing these scans of iconic historical specimens from the Galápagos will facilitate a wide variety of academic inquiries, including research into morphology and allometry, development, taxonomy, and adaptive ecology and evolution.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.