scholarly journals Anthropologically introduced biases in natural history collections, with a case study on the invertebrate paleontology collections from the middle Cambrian Spence Shale Lagerstätte

10.26879/1106 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Whitaker ◽  
Julien Kimmig
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Middle Cambrian ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
Invertebrate Paleontology

scholarly journals “Attractive to Strangers and Instructive to Students.” The McCullochs’ 19th Century Bird Collection in Dalhousie College

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 88-108
Author(s):  
Eric L. Mills
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Liberal Education ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Hybrid Origin ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Great Caution ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
Thomas Mcculloch

Thomas McCulloch, Presbyterian minister and educator, founder of Pictou Academy, first President of Dalhousie College 1838-1843, established a museum in Pictou, NS, by 1828, including a bird collection. To McCulloch, the order of the natural world instilled in students principles of a liberal education and a model of society. His first collections were sold, but when McCulloch came to Dalhousie in 1838 he started a new collection, hoping to make it the basis of a provincial museum. In this he was aided by his son Thomas, who had been trained as a taxidermist. The younger McCulloch kept and expanded the collection until his death, after which it passed to Dalhousie College. The current McCulloch Collection, mainly the work of Thomas McCulloch junior, seems to exemplify purposes and practices of 19th century natural history. But research shows that the collection has a hybrid origin and must be viewed with great caution as an historical artifact. This is a case study in the difficulty of interpreting 19th century natural history collections without careful examination of their history.

Tracking changes in natural history collections utilization: A case study at the Museum of Southwestern Biology at the University of New Mexico

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany L. Abrahamson
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
University Of New Mexico ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
Fields Of Study ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
History Of ◽  
Data Source ◽  
History Of Use ◽  
The University

AbstractNatural history collections (NHCs) are used in many fields of study, but general knowledge regarding their uses is poor. Because of this, funding and support for NHCs frequently fluctuate. One way in which collections professionals can illustrate a collection’s contribution to a variety of fields is based on the collection’s history of use. Tracking NHC utilization through time can increase NHC value to others outside of the collection, allow for the analysis of changes in specimen-based research trends, and assist in effective collection management. This case study focuses on NHC usage records held by the Museum of Southwestern Biology (MSB), a currently growing university collection used in many research fields, and presents methods for quantifying collections utilization through time. Through an exploration of these data, this paper illustrates MSB’s growth and changes in research produced over time and offers explanations for the changes observed. Last, this study provides suggestions for how collections professionals can most greatly benefit from considering NHC records as a data source. Understanding NHC usage from “the collection’s perspective” provides a new way for NHC professionals to understand NHCs’ value in the context of the research it supports and demonstrates the importance of this key infrastructure to a broader audience.

Natural History Collections as Dynamic Research Archives

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamar Dayan ◽  
Bella Galil
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Marine Biota ◽  
Museum Specimens ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
Individual Specimen ◽  
International Awareness

This chapter discusses the importance of museum specimens and samples. Natural history collections are archives of biodiversity, snapshots that provide a way to physically retrieve an individual specimen and through it track changes in populations and species across repeatable surveys in time and space. Growing international awareness of the potential effects on humanity due to the loss of biodiversity and the ensuing erosion of ecosystem services has reinforced the value of natural history collections, museums, and herbaria worldwide. The chapter summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of natural history collections for repeated surveys and other historical studies that require replication. Through a case study of the historical surveys and resurveys of the taxonomic exploration of the marine biota of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, it highlights the relevance of collections for ecology and conservation. Finally, it discusses prospects for future uses of natural history collections in the context of replicated research.

When natural history collections reveal secrets on data deficient threatened species: Atlantic seahorses as a case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (12) ◽  
pp. 2791-2802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Otero-Ferrer ◽  
José A. González ◽  
Mafalda Freitas ◽  
Ricardo Araújo ◽  
José M. N. Azevedo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Threatened Species ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
Data Deficient

Orphaned and Endangered Collections in Invertebrate Paleontology: A Call for a National Solution

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 43-50
Author(s):  
Warren D. Allmon ◽  
Meredith A. Lane
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Historical Record ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
The Past ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
Invertebrate Paleontology ◽  
Big Picture ◽  
Ecological Associations ◽  
Regional Climatic Change

WITHIN BIOLOGY, the consummate synthetic, big-picture science is systematics and the fundamental resource and tool for systematics is natural history collections. Without systematics there is no unifying theme to the study of biology. Without natural history collections there is no systematics. Society and the institutions that house natural history collections must rediscover the value of those collections. These collections are a world treasure, a cultural heritage, an intellectual trust, a societal and institutional responsibility.Paleontology and paleontological collections contribute uniquely to the sciences of systematics and ecology. They provide the record of change through geological time evidence of the changes in the characteristics of species, changes in ecological associations of biota, and a record of abiotic global and regional climatic change. The study of this historical record allows the identification of the locations of certain sets of conditions from the past, illuminates our understanding of the present, and enables our prediction of future changes on a global scale.

The documentation of the British Museum's natural history collections, 1760–1836

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
British Museum ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Select Committee ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
Critical Attention ◽  
The Way

While much critical attention has been paid to the British Museum's early collections of natural history, less has been made of the way in which the items were catalogued and recorded. This paper will examine how information was organized within the Museum from its inception in 1753 to 1836, following the publication of the second Report from the Select Committee on the condition, management and affairs of the British Museum. Drawing on the Museum's avian collections as a case study, it will become apparent that while the Trustees and staff recognized the need for detailed catalogues of their natural history collections, their attention and resources were diverted from this task for various reasons during the early years of the Museum.

Guidelines for the Documentation and Care of Invertebrate Fossil Collections

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 51-64
Author(s):  
Russell D. White
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
North American ◽  
Collection Management ◽  
University Faculty ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
Invertebrate Paleontology ◽  
Invertebrate Fossils

COLLECTIONS OF invertebrate fossils are commonly maintained in museums, at universities, and by individual researchers and interested private collectors. Twenty years ago, the Committee on North American Resources in Invertebrate Paleontology (CONARIP) estimated that there more than 550 institutions housed invertebrate paleontological macro- and micro- fossil collections (Glenister, 1977). Historically, collections have been developed, managed and maintained by paleontologists as a resource for their research (e.g., museum curator or university faculty) (Hebda, 1985). Since the early 1970s, the field of collection management has evolved and the increased professionalization of collection manager positions has been instrumental in improving the management and preservation of invertebrate fossils as well as other natural history collections (Cato, 1991; Simmons, 1993; Simmons, 1995).

Institutional and Individual Orphaned Collections

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 37-42
Author(s):  
Julia Golden
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
The State ◽  
Academic Department ◽  
Governmental Agencies ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
Invertebrate Paleontology ◽  
The Future

“ORPHAN” IS AN incongruous word to apply to something dead for millions of years. But there is no better term to describe the state of an invertebrate paleontology collection whose guardian can no longer care for it. The numbers of specimens in invertebrate fossil collections do not set them apart from other natural history collections; however, add weight and volume, and it is obvious why adopting these orphans pose special problems. The workshop coordinators divided the discussion of orphaned collections into those held by industry and governmental agencies (see Allmon, Chapter 4, this volume) and those housed by institutions and individuals addressed here. Topics discussed at this session of the workshop included: the definitions of orphaned and endangered collections, why collections become orphans, which collections are most vulnerable, and what, if anything, can be done to prevent orphaned collections in the future. I have attempted to present an objective report of the discussions and proposed suggestions, but my bias as curator of a collection housed within an academic department may have crept in.

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