Improvements to the Tulane Fish Collection: Final Phase

Tulane University, New Orleans LA

Investigators

Abstract

The Tulane University Fish Collection, with 7.1 million fluid-preserved specimens in over 190,000 lots, is one of the largest collections in the world and is recognized as a "National Center of Ichthyology resource collection. The collection is unique among North American fish collections in having large lot sizes and comprehensive regional (southeastern) coverage. Because of the collection's high concentration on southeastern fishes, some areas of the collection have serious overflow problems. Fluid specimens in the collection are preserved in 50% isopropanol, which many in the fish collection community regard as inferior to ethyl alcohol. One previous (DEB-9401943) and a current grant (DBI-9729049) have allowed us to re-curate (re-jar, re-alcohol and re-shelve) roughly 112,000 (67%) of the 167,000 lots preserved in isopropyl alcohol, and to move large specimens and long-term survey collections to a new facility, thereby reducing overcrowding in the main fish collection. The decision to re-alcohol the collection was based on reviewer and panel recommendations from the first collection improvement grant. This proposal requests support for personnel and supplies to complete curatorial tasks currently underway. Our goals for the renewal grant are: 1) to transfer the remaining 55,000 isopropanol preserved lots to 70% ethanol; 2) continue to reduce jar sizes to increase shelf space; 3) transfer remaining lots of common southeastern species to the overflow storage facility; 4) inventory remaining lots against the collection database; and 5) arrange all lots by drainage. By the conclusion of this project, the entire fish collection will be re-alcoholed, reorganized and verified against the collection database. The improvements will greatly increase accessibility to material in the collection by researchers and curatorial staff, and ensure that preservation quality of the collection will remain high for many years to come. In re-alcoholing the collection, we are following procedures recommended by other curators. We are conducting experiments to assess the effectiveness of the alcohol-transfer procedures, and modifying procedures as appropriate to increase preservation quality. We will expand this practice in the proposed project as we recurate lots that have been compromised most by storage in isopropanol. We will share the results of our experiments with the collection community, through professional meeting presentations, publications and the Museum web site. This way others will be able to make use of the re-alcoholing procedures developed as a result of this project.