RUI: CSBR: Natural History: Securing and digitizing an extensive spatio-temporal collection of southern California's marine biodiversity

Occidental College, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will digitize and modernize an extensive long-term marine fish, invertebrate, and algae collection and integrate specimens, documenting research by the Vantuna Research Group (VRG), into The Moore Laboratory of Zoology (MLZ), a museum well known for an outstanding bird and mammal museum of approximately 65,000 specimens from the west coast and southwest United States, Mexico and Latin America. This unique VRG collections includes over 686,000 specimens from five decades of intensive surveys of marine habitat in Southern California, representing the largest spatial scale marine study in the region and longest continual time series of nearshore reef habitats in the world. Consolidation of this meticulously curated collection into the MLZ enables long-term preservation of the specimens, makes specimens publicly available through digital records, and actively integrates the VRG's field-based program with the forthcoming MLZ genomics center. The specimens will not only enhance cutting-edge, biological research but also will continue to be used in undergraduate courses and research. In addition, specimens will be incorporated into educational displays and exhibits within the MLZ to enhance public outreach. Over the course of the project, all marine specimens will be moved to a new compactor system where they can be safely and permanently housed in this effort to integrate field and museum research programs. Individual specimens will be digitized, with their data managed in Arctos and shared with iDigBio (iDigBio.org). These collections comprise nearly 1,000 fish species and 400 marine sediment infaunal species from rocky reefs, kelp beds and nearshore habitats. The collection includes a wide range of specimen types - adult and larval fish, fish tissues, fish otoliths, fish gonads, fish gut contents, infaunal specimens, plankton and algae samples. The specimens not only encompass the full spatial extent of the southern California rocky reef ecosystem, but also represent over 40 years of monthly collections. All specimens will be made available for loan to researchers. As an outcome of this project, researchers and undergraduate students will be able to seamlessly cross platforms, including field-based research, data intensive analysis, and genomics. This 'end to end' vision from molecules through marine ecology represent an opportunity to foster specimen-based research for long-term assessment of an important ecological region in the face of global environmental changes. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.