Assimilation of Orphaned Algal Collections into Herbarium Pacificum (BISH)

Bernice P Bishop Museum, Honolulu HI

Investigators

Abstract

This project will transfer the Abbott personal collection of marine algae into the Bernice P. Bishop Museum's so that future generations of researchers and educators may benefit from them. All information associated with these specimens will be databased and assimilated into the Museum's algal collection. The correct names of the primary reef-building algae will be resolved. The resulting algal collection will be the most accurate comprehensive documentation of algal biodiversity of the Pacific region in the world. The Abbott Collection contains many thousands of valuable seaweed specimens that document the marine reef-building floristic biodiversity of the Hawaiian Island chain from Kure Atoll to the island of Hawaii and elsewhere in the Pacific. Research, monitoring and resource management efforts, especially pertinent to threats of marine invasive species and other environmental changes, are substantial activities of many federal, state, and commonwealth governments. Reliable records and accurate taxonomic identifications, with emphasis on the reef-building coralline algae, are of major ecological importance in understanding the dynamics of reef ecosystems. These data are crucial to any effective resource management throughout the Pacific. The Museum's virtual algal herbarium direct Internet access will enable immediate availability of precision information and rapid response via interactive data platforms. Educational benefits will range from general species information and images, to accurate known distribution, species range predictability, potential spread of invasive species, and ecological changes.