CSBR: Ownership Transfer. Rescuing three imperiled Kentucky herbaria and integrating them into the Mid-South's most active herbarium at Austin Peay State University (APSC)

Austin Peay State University, Clarksville TN

Investigators

Abstract

This award is made to Austin Peay State University (APSU), a mid-sized, public institution in Clarksville, TN to acquire the Western KY University (WKU) herbarium. This rescued collection will be merged with that of APSU to create a 120,000-specimen research-quality collection that will serve the multi-state region between the Appalachian and Ozark Mountains. APSU's herbarium is the primary repository for central and western TN - a region centered on the southern half of the Interior Plateaus (IP) biodiversity hotspot - one of the most diverse land-locked regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The WKU collections (68,000 specimens) represent the northern half of this diversity hotspot. The rescued WKU collection will be curated, secured and the specimens will be made accessible via online resources to scientists, conservationists, students, and the public. Simultaneously, the consolidation of the two collections will allow APSU to enhance its leadership in training field biologists through unique collections-based educational opportunities. Many of the beneficiaries of APSU's programs are women, first generation college students, low-income, and active-duty military students. These individuals will benefit from APSU's demonstrated a commitment to building a collections-based training program for research biologists, land managers, and conservationists. Consolidating the APSU and WKU collections into one facility presents challenges to the existing APSU facility, which has a current maximum capacity of 117,000 specimens in 78 cabinets. The addition of WKU will immediately fill the collection with 123,000 specimens. This award will allow APSU to expand its current compactor storage system to 120 cabinets, increasing maximum storage capacity to 180,000 specimens, leaving ample room for growth from collections-based research. Additionally, funding will support a full-time collections manager, one graduate student research assistant, and three undergraduate students, all of whom will receive training in collections management and research. Full integration of the two herbaria will involve: (1) securing WKU and ensuring its long-term viability by eradicating insect pests, processing backlogged specimens, annotating specimens to updated taxonomy, and properly storing specimens in insect-proof, archival cabinets; (2) using the enlarged research-quality herbarium to enhance training and research on the understudied flora of the Interior Plateaus Ecoregion biodiversity hotspot; and (3) making specimens accessible via databasing and digitization efforts tied to existing web-based interfaces: SERNEC, iDigBio, Symbiota, and APSU (http://nhm.apsu.edu/collections/plants).