Preserving rare and endemic Hawaiian specimens in the Joseph F. Rock herbarium through digitization

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

Abstract

This project will preserve and improve access to the Joseph F. Rock Herbarium at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa through digitization of its 55,000 specimens. Hawaiʻi has some of the greatest biodiversity in the United States, particularly when it comes to its native plants: 90% are found nowhere else in the world. A high proportion of these plants are listed as threatened or endangered, and many have gone extinct in the last century. Natural history collections serve as invaluable records of biodiversity and are important references for species that are threatened, endangered, or otherwise difficult to access. The Joseph F. Rock herbarium is one of the oldest herbaria in the Pacific and is home to rare and endemic species of the Hawaiian and Pacific islands. The newly digitized specimens will be available to researchers across the globe, greatly increasing the utility of the collection. Digitization will be conducted by undergraduates at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa to provide meaningful research experiences for students. The herbarium will host volunteer digitization events, increase collaboration with the campus arboretum, and engage with the public via events at a local botanical garden. The rare and endemic Hawaiian and Pacific island plant specimens in the Rock herbarium will be preserved through overall modernization of the collection. Specifically, this project will digitize the 55,000 specimens in the collection, remove the backlog of specimens that need to be accessioned, and disseminate specimen data to a broader research community through a dedicated Consortium of Pacific Herbaria web portal and iDigBio.org. Modernization will also include expanded pest management and expanding the throughput of specimen digitization. The project additionally serves to maintain and strengthen collaborations across Pacific herbaria and promote digitization of other, smaller collections. The project will employ nine students each year, emphasizing the training and retention of students from historically excluded groups, including Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. Outreach efforts will focus on connecting preserved specimens to living collections on the University of Hawaiʻi Campus Arboretum and Lyon Arboretum and continuing efforts to connect the herbarium to Hawaiian culture and knowledge. This project is jointly funded by the Capacity: Biological Collections Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). 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.