The Rectification and Digitization of the Alcala and Brown Philippine Collection of Amphibians and Reptiles, California Academy of Sciences

California Academy Of Sciences, San Francisco CA

Investigators

Abstract

A grant has been awarded to the California Academy of Sciences (CAS) under the direction of Dr. Alan E. Leviton for partial support of a project to correct and digitize locality records for the largest collection of amphibian and reptile specimens ever assembled from the Philippines, this largely through the efforts of Drs. Angel C. Alcala and the late Walter C. Brown. Extensive transcription errors were introduced when the data were transcribed from original field notes to the handwritten catalog ledgers. The data, containing errors from these ledgers, were later entered into the Academy's Department of Herpetology's computerized database. Consequently, these erroneous data have been referenced by scientists, students, and land managers. The purpose of this current NSF-supported project is to review and correct the current database entries to reflect accurately the data contained in the original field notes. This will be done by detailed review and re-entry of the data as they appear in the those notes. The Alcala and Brown specimen-associated data will then be georeferenced (adding latitude and longitude to the original locality) so that they can then be used by computerized geographic information systems (GIS). In addition, the original field notes will be scanned, digitized, and indexed to archive the deteriorating notes, which were most often written on high-acid-content paper, and allow broad Internet access to this rich resource. Other products will include a checklist to the amphibians and reptiles of the Philippines, a distributional checklist of known species from each island, and an annotated catalog of the many new species that are based on the Alcala and Brown collections. The results of the project will allow these important historic records of amphibian and reptile species to be used in studies of biogeography, ecology, biodiversity, conservation planning and habitat assessments, and aid in studies to determine the origin and dispersal of species within the Philippine Archipelago. Researchers, government agencies, and land managers can use the accurate locality and microhabitat data with digital maps to pin-point where each specimen in the Alcala and Brown collection was collected. The digital field notes will also allow access to the original data, which contain more ecological information than incorporated in the computerized catalog. Internet access to the corrected database will allow other institutions, which obtained specimens from Alcala and Brown, to correct and update their records. The Philippine Islands are considered a "biodiversity hotspot" and numerous species are threatened because of habitat alteration. By posting the corrected and georeferenced data and digitized field notes on the Internet these data can be utilized by government and non-government agencies working on conservation efforts. Data from the Alcala and Brown collection will also be used in new public exhibits at CAS to highlight the biodiversity of the Philippines and other areas of southeastern Asia.