Curation and Data Capture for Reptilian and Amphibian Biodiversity at American Museum of Natural History

American Museum Natural History, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

The Department of Herpetology, American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) conserves one of the world's largest, globally diverse and most broadly utilized scientific collections of amphibian and reptile specimens. The records are computerized, but servicing users is hampered by two major problems:(1) about half of the specimens may become dissociated from their data owing to past use of metal tags that are corroding; and (2) gaps in data captured occur in the electronic records. NSF support would allow metal tag replacement and completing of data capture concurrently, improving the database in preparation for going onto the internet, and continuing current activities in serving the international user community. (1) Metal Tags: From 1912-1965 metal tags with unique catalog numbers were tied to 180,126 specimens stored in alcohol. The metal tags are corroding, some have become completely illegible, and some have fallen off their specimen. Consequently, specimens are at risk of becoming completely dissociated from their data, which would be a tragic loss to science. (2) Data Capture: The electronic database was compiled from the original hand-written catalog ledgers. We have recently discovered, however, that in past decades data in the ledgers were often abbreviated from other sources (e.g., jar labels, 3 X 5" card file). Thus, data from these other sources need electronic capture before they become dissociated from the specimens. The herpetological collection has accumulated for more than 130 years, obtained by AMNH expeditions around the world, purchase of historically valuable collections, and donations of private or orphaned collections from other institutions. The collection contains 315,784 individually cataloged specimens. In addition, 20,000 specimens await cataloging. The collection includes 100% of the world's families of amphibians and reptiles, 80% of the genera, and about 6,800 species (over 55%). There are more than 650 primary types (specimens used for original descriptions of the species). The collection is global in scope, with special strengths in the Western Hemisphere, Africa, Pakistan, China, New Guinea, Australia, and Pacific islands. The collections are used daily by students and professional scientists for global biodiversity research. For example, we provide loans involving 2100-4100 specimens per year and 169 loans are now open to scholars in 14 countries. In addition, last year 39 researchers studied specimens on-site in the Department for 261 days. Publications based on the collections are part of the primary technical literature in the natural sciences concerning: (1) discovery of new species; (2) faunal surveys (resource inventories, economic development, siting of nature preserves, conservation); (3) follow-up surveys decades later; and (4) monographs, or other research on specific groups of organisms, including ones of potential medical (pharmaceutical development) or other importance. The collections are also used extensively in education, by supporting the research conducted by undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students at diverse universities around the world.