RUI: CSBR: Natural History: Securing and digitizing the world's largest Mexican bird collection

RUI：CSBR：自然历史：保护和数字化世界上最大的墨西哥鸟类收藏

• 批准号: 1349179
• 负责人: John McCormack
• 金额: $ 39.96万
• 依托单位: Occidental College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-07-01 至 2020-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1349179&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; CSBR; Natural; History; Securing

Natural history collections document Earth's biodiversity and are the raw material for studies of how that biodiversity arose and how it is maintained on our planet. Specimens in natural history collections are of practical importance as well, providing data on human disease and informing forensic science. This award funds the rehousing of an unparalleled natural history collection in new specimen cases. Currently the collection, one of the largest documenting the birds of North America, is under threat of degradation due to antiquated cases that no longer protect against pests and adverse environmental factors. Additionally, this award supports the gathering and dissemination of open-access data on the location of bird specimens. Digital images of specimens from under-studied avian groups will be made available through a new web portal that will engage scientists and the public alike. The location of the world's largest collection of Mexican birds, at a small liberal arts college in the United States, provides opportunities to train undergraduates, who are the next generation of museum scientists, in curation techniques as well as in the application of specimen data to address biological questions.This project seeks to secure, georeference, and digitize the world's largest Mexican bird collection (63,000 specimens), located at the Moore Laboratory of Zoology (MLZ) at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. Not only does the MLZ collection provide a window into Mexico's endemic bird diversity prior to a major period of development and deforestation, but also, for many widespread species that occur in the United States. The specimens housed at MLZ fill a large, critical gap linking bird populations of the entire North American continent. This project is urgent because new specimen cases are needed to replace antiquated cases that no longer prevent insect infestations and would not be able to protect against accidental flooding. In addition to new cases, the proposed activities include a major update to the taxonomy and organization of the collection, to facilitate the collection's research potential. A major goal of this project is to georeference, digitize and image the collection and make these data accessible as online resources to inform research and education. The MLZ's mission is to leverage our unique setting at a small liberal arts college toward: (i) Conducting cutting-edge research using natural history collections; (ii) promoting the use of natural history collections in undergraduate education and research; and (iii) promoting career development for underrepresented groups and women in museum science. More information is available at the following website: http://www.oxy.edu/moore-lab-zoology.

自然历史收藏记录了地球的生物多样性，并且是研究这种生物多样性以及如何维持在我们地球上的原材料。自然历史收藏中的标本也很重要，提供了有关人类疾病并告知法医学的数据。该奖项为在新标本案例中的无与伦比的自然历史收藏馆的重新住房提供了资金。目前，该系列是记录北美鸟类的最大的收藏之一，由于过时的案件不再防止害虫和不利的环境因素，因此受到降级威胁。此外，该奖项支持有关鸟类标本位置的开放访问数据的收集和传播。研究不足的鸟类团体的标本的数字图像将通过一个新的网站提供，该门户将吸引科学家和公众。世界上最大的墨西哥鸟类集合在美国的一所小型文科学院中，提供了培训本科生的机会（MLZ）在加利福尼亚州洛杉矶的西方学院。 MLZ收集不仅为墨西哥的流行鸟类多样性提供了一个窗口，在主要的发展和森林砍伐之前，而且对于美国发生的许多广泛的物种也是如此。位于MLZ的标本填补了整个北美大陆的鸟类种群的巨大，关键的差距。该项目很紧迫，因为需要新的标本案例来替换不再防止昆虫侵扰的过时病例，并且无法防止意外洪水。除了新案例外，拟议的活动还包括对集合的分类学和组织的重大更新，以促进该系列的研究潜力。该项目的主要目的是地进行收集，数字化和形象，使这些数据可作为在线资源访问，以告知研究和教育。 MLZ的使命是利用我们在小型文科学院的独特场所朝着：（i）使用自然历史收藏进行尖端研究； （ii）促进在本科教育和研究中促进自然史收集； （iii）促进博物馆科学中代表性不足的群体和妇女的职业发展。请在以下网站上获得更多信息：http：//www.oxy.edu/moore-lab-zoology。