CSBR: Curating the Early Anthropocene Record of circum-Caribbean Animal Biodiversity in the Florida Museum of Natural History

University Of Florida, Gainesville FL

Investigators

Abstract

An award is made to the University of Florida that will enable The Florida Museum of Natural History Environmental Archaeology Program (FLMNH-EAP) to improve curation of their circum-Caribbean zooarchaeological collections, in part using 3D digitization and genetic methods. These collections include animal remains from archaeological sites across the Southeastern US, Central America, Caribbean, and northern part of South America that represent 14,000 years of human-environment interactions and document the early "anthropocene period," the period dominated by human impact on our world. Central to the FLMNH-EAP collections are the legacy Elizabeth Wing Collections, including more than 800 archaeological site assemblages, representing over three million identified animal specimens. Animal remains from archaeological sites are an essential repository of early anthropocene biodiversity data, recording pre-industrial human-environmental interaction reaching far back into our prehistory. These legacy collections include specimens documenting early human exploitation of now extinct monk seal (Neomonachus), passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) and great auk (Pinguinus impennis), as well as early animal translocation and management both within the Americas (e.g., guinea pigs, Cavia porcellus), and with first European arrival (e.g., rats and cats at En Bas Saline, Haiti, possibly Columbus's first landing site). Equally important, cultural data about human actions linked to these anthropocene biodiversity records inform on human perceptions of the environment and motivations in interacting with environmental resources particularly under conditions of environmental change. The FLMNH-EAP will enhance, digitize, and make accessible their collections of archaeological animal remains and their associated data with a focus on the legacy Wing collection. This project will protect and make available identified anthropocene animal specimens and their data records. Data from these collections bridge a gap between the records of paleontological and neontological biodiversity, providing baselines for the period before historical record-keeping and detailing the complex history of human impact on biodiversity over time. The project team will verify, digitize, and publish through the iDigBio-GBIF biodiversity network a subset of ca. 35,000 catalog comprising more than 300,000 specimens. For select specimens, ancient DNA and chronometric data will provide a record of circum-Caribbean early anthropocene animal biodiversity under human influence. In addition to specimen data, images and 3D models of newly created skeletal specimens will be shared online via the iDigBio web portal and MorphoSource. The project will also engage citizen scientists via Notes from Nature, and will provide training for middle-school science teachers. 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.