Compactorization, Reorganization, and Electronic Cataloging of the University of Hawaii Herbarium Collections.

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

Abstract

A grant has been awarded to the University of Hawaii under the direction of Dr. Will McClatchey for partial support of Compactorization and Reorganization of the University of Hawaii Herbarium Collections. The University of Hawaii at Manoa supports two small herbaria, HLA (H. Lyon Arboretum herbarium) and HAW (Department of Botany herbarium). Together these herbaria contain ~42,000 mounted (and 14,000 unmounted) specimens mostly from the Pacific Islands. Specimens include the entire floras of the Hawaiian Islands, Samoa, Tonga, and the Marshall Islands with examples of rare and endangered species. Although HAW is the oldest herbarium in the Central Pacific region, it has been underutilized for most of the last 20 years. HLA has been inactive for the last 20 years with use only as a repository for vouchers of living plants deposited in the University's Arboretum. HLA has been at-risk of being lost because of its poor storage facility and thus has been temporarily moved into HAW. HAW is housed in a good facility but has very limited space, especially with the introduction of HLA into the same area. This project will rescue the HLA herbarium, relieve overcrowding in the combined HAW and HLA herbarium, rejuvenate the herbaria and enable them to become a center for research and education on plants in Hawaii and the Pacific region. The goals of the project are to combine the HLA and HAW herbaria into one functional unit on the University of Hawaii campus and maximize and reorganize workspace through installation of a compact storage system. The herbarium will become open to the public with staffing provided by the Department of Botany in order to guide visitors seeking to address questions about plant identities and environments. The reorganized herbarium will be better able to support the teaching and research missions of the University of Hawaii, particularly supporting courses and research in systematics, ecology, ethnobotany, and conservation biology. Undergraduate and graduate students will benefit from access to specimens of rare and endangered species as well as complete floras of various Pacific Islands. The broader impacts resulting from the proposed activity include a greater appreciation for rare and endangered plant species and natural environments by the over 700 students per year taught by faculty associated with the herbaria. Active herbaria with accessible information to the general public will empower voters and decision makers to learn about plants. Almost every Introductory Biology text today includes examples of the interesting evolutionary processes seen in the Hawaiian flora and fauna as well as the conservation threats posed to these same organisms. The proposed project will enhance the abilities of the University of Hawaii researchers to study the evolution of plants and to work on creative ways to conserve the unique plants of the isolated islands of the 50th state of the United States.