From Lennart.Lennuk at loodusmuuseum.ee Wed Sep 2 06:25:47 2020 From: Lennart.Lennuk at loodusmuuseum.ee (Lennart Lennuk) Date: Wed, 2 Sep 2020 10:25:47 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] questions considering fluid-preserved collections Message-ID: <43587684a4614b1ca7f163a3e757bf7b@loodusmuuseum.ee> Dear fluid-preserved collections specialists, I have some questions about fluid-preserving: 1. Is there a point of preserving a bat or a bird or a little mammal in ethanol when it is a little bit rotten? 2. Is there any special method for preserving gelatinous plankton such as cnidarians? I have heard about glycerine and ethanol mixtures. 3. Is there a point of changing methanol preserved specimens to ethanol? If yes, what steps (eg washing) should be fallowed? 4. About 10 years ago some specimens were taken out from fromalin and but into methanol, without washing steps ? what should be done with those specimens? Best regards! Lennart Lennuk Head of zoology Estonian Museum of Natural History +372 6603404, 56569916 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From abentley at ku.edu Wed Sep 2 10:13:40 2020 From: abentley at ku.edu (Bentley, Andrew Charles) Date: Wed, 2 Sep 2020 14:13:40 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] FW: 2nd Natural History Collections and COVID-19 Survey: Operational Status, Economic Impacts and Plans for Reopening In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <2C4EB3DB-B8AE-42F4-A0E1-37943FE3E785@ku.edu> A reminder to please take this survey for your institution so that we can take the pulse of the natural history collections community to determine the economic impacts of COVID-19 on our operations. Thanks Andy Subject: [Nhcoll-l] 2nd Natural History Collections and COVID-19 Survey: Operational Status, Economic Impacts and Plans for Reopening In April, the Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN) conducted a survey of the natural history collections/museum community to understand how COVID-19 related economic disruptions are affecting the work of professionals associated with such collections. We shared the results with the scientific community, including federal program managers and policymakers, in May 2020. This second survey follows up on and uses some questions from a recent American Alliance of Museums request for information. This survey focuses on collections institutions rather than individual staff, with the goal of determining the impact of COVID-19 related economic disruptions on research and management of collections. Our goal with this survey is to collect responses from as many institutions as possible; thus, one response per institution is optimal. If it is not possible to coordinate this, we would rather have multiple responses from an institution that we can combine, rather than no responses from an institution. Institutions are invited to share information about their operating status ? plans to re-open, operational status and limitations, closures, staff furloughs and Reductions in Force, program closures or terminations, and other disruptions to institutional operations. We invite information from all types of natural history collection holding institutions, which includes natural history museums, natural science collections, arboreta and herbaria, or other facilities with natural science collections. We will share a summary of the results through a variety of venues, as we did with the previous survey. No information that identifies individual institutions by name is requested. Please take the survey at https://bcon.aibs.org/2020/08/17/2nd-natural-history-collections-and-covid-19-survey-operational-status-economic-impacts-and-plans-for-reopening/ Thank you. __________________________________________ Jyotsna Pandey, Ph.D. Public Policy Manager American Institute of Biological Sciences 950 Herndon Parkway Suite 450 Herndon, VA 20170 Phone: 202-628-1500 x 225 www.aibs.org Follow us on Twitter! @AIBS_Policy This message is confidential and should only be read by its intended recipients. If you have received it in error, please notify the sender and delete all copies. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From MeyerCA at si.edu Wed Sep 2 18:14:01 2020 From: MeyerCA at si.edu (Meyer, Cailin) Date: Wed, 2 Sep 2020 22:14:01 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Addressing accessibility for non-sighted users through natural history image description guidelines Message-ID: Hi everyone, I'm conducting research into accessibility of digitized natural history collections for low vision and non sighted visitors. These are users who may use screen readers and rely on alt text or long descriptions of images to fully understand a webpage's contents. I'm wondering how natural history museums have either in the past, or are currently, working to address accessibility for these users who might view collections online. Specifically, I'm looking at developing guidelines for writing image descriptions (both alt text and long descriptions) of natural history specimens. Has anyone developed guidelines or workflows for their collections? If so, would you be willing to share, either to the community or privately? I'm also wondering if this is a topic that has wide interest, where we might benefit from forming a working group and developing them together. Please feel free to respond on-list or off. Best, Cailin Meyer meyerca at si.eu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Lennart.Lennuk at loodusmuuseum.ee Thu Sep 3 10:59:44 2020 From: Lennart.Lennuk at loodusmuuseum.ee (Lennart Lennuk) Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2020 14:59:44 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Museum cabinets, shelving units, and ohter equipment Message-ID: <208e78ad3c554bb598b8e38a20e5de30@loodusmuuseum.ee> Dear curators, I am planning museum cabinets, shelving units, and ohter equipment. Please, can you suggest a good source in internet. I found that to be quite helpful: https://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/MHI/CHAP7.pdf Has anybody have some lately experience on planning storage for bones and horns collection? Best regards! Lennart Lennuk Head of zoology Estonian Museum of Natural History +372 6603404, 56569916 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Jay.Cordeiro at umb.edu Thu Sep 3 18:48:14 2020 From: Jay.Cordeiro at umb.edu (Jay R Cordeiro) Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2020 22:48:14 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Northeast Natural History & Supply: Museum cabinets, shelving units, and ohter equipment In-Reply-To: <208e78ad3c554bb598b8e38a20e5de30@loodusmuuseum.ee> References: <208e78ad3c554bb598b8e38a20e5de30@loodusmuuseum.ee> Message-ID: Hi, Lennart, Northeast Natural History & Supply offers 100% archival specimen boxes that are custom-manufactured, rigid, unbuffered, and acid-free with neutral pH. They come pre-assembled (not flat and self-folding), overwrapped, and are constructed of glazed white corrugated cardboard. Trays align neatly in straight rows to facilitate long-term storage and preservation. Trays can be lined with plastazote or ethafoam, unbleached cotton, or polyester batting for use with delicate specimens. Lids are optionally available for better protection from ambient environment damage and use in layered storage. Manufacturing capability includes virtually ANY SIZE you want including matching the existing size dimensions of boxes you already have. Contact information for samples or quotes is below. ps. We also offer Cornell, Cal Academy and NMNH cabinet drawers jay Jay Cordeiro Northeast Natural History & Supply PO Box 361 West Dennis, MA 02670 j.cordeiro at nenaturalhistory.com ________________________________ From: Nhcoll-l on behalf of Lennart Lennuk Sent: Thursday, September 3, 2020 10:59 AM To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Museum cabinets, shelving units, and ohter equipment [EXTERNAL SENDER] Dear curators, I am planning museum cabinets, shelving units, and ohter equipment. Please, can you suggest a good source in internet. I found that to be quite helpful: https://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/MHI/CHAP7.pdf Has anybody have some lately experience on planning storage for bones and horns collection? Best regards! Lennart Lennuk Head of zoology Estonian Museum of Natural History +372 6603404, 56569916 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From blayjorge at gmail.com Thu Sep 3 19:00:31 2020 From: blayjorge at gmail.com (Jorge A. Santiago-Blay) Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2020 19:00:31 -0400 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Looking for reviewers for a biographical paper on Charles R. Knight and R. Bruce Horsfall In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi: I am looking for reviewers for a biographical paper on Charles R. Knight and R. Bruce Horsfall. If anyone is interested, please contact me. Thanks. Gratefully, Jorge Jorge A. Santiago-Blay, PhD blayjorge at ggmail.com *https://blaypublishers.com * 1. Positive experiences for authors of papers published in *LEB* http://blaypublishers.com/testimonials/ 2. Free examples of papers published in *LEB*: http://blaypublishers.com/category/previous-issues/. 3. *Guidelines for Authors* and page charges of *LEB*: http://blaypublishers.com/archives/ *.* 4. Want to subscribe to *LEB*? http://blaypublishers.com/subscriptions/ http://blayjorge.wordpress.com/ http://paleobiology.si.edu/staff/individuals/santiagoblay.cfm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From info at arcsinfo.org Mon Sep 7 21:30:00 2020 From: info at arcsinfo.org (ARCS) Date: Mon, 7 Sep 2020 21:30:00 -0400 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Registration Open for Safe Materials Webinar Sept 30 & Statement Regarding Internship ARCS Update Vol 5 | Update 15 Message-ID: ***Registration Now Open! ARCS Webinar September 30th at 2:00 p.m. EST: Boxes, Tubes & Pallets, Oh My! Choosing and Using Safe Materials for Collection Housing*** The 2019 Institute for Museum and Library Services Heritage Health Information Survey documented that conditions in storage are critical to the health of collection items held in trust by institutions across the nation. 45% of institutions reported damage due to improper storage or enclosures in the past two years alone. With less than 5% of our collections on public view, improvement to storage is one of the most effective means for improving care of our cultural heritage. This webinar will focus on choosing appropriate materials for storage that won?t inadvertently damage your collections over time. Making wise decisions about products and how they are used in rehousing projects will stretch your budget to get the most preservation bang for your buck. Rachael will introduce several resources to help with storage organization, mount design, and material choice and invite members from the ARCS community to collaboratively grow these resources. Instructor: Rachael Perkins Arenstein is a principal in A.M. Art Conservation, LLC a New York-based private practice with specializations in object conservation and preventive care. Fees: Members: $25.00 Non-Members: $35.00 Register Here! http://www.arcsinfo.org/news-events/event/1326/1/arcs-boxes-tube-pallets-oh-my-choosing-and-using-safe-materials-for-collection-housing ***Member Advocacy Task Force - Internship Statement*** In recognition of the vital opportunities provided by internships and the need for internships to be equally accessible to all groups, the Member Advocacy Task Force releases the following statement in support of compensated internships. ARCS supports its members in strongly encouraging their institutions to provide compensated internship opportunities. Read the full statement here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dy-IzH66w3NGFocOrxlWxT1Vje5RgJ_9o7_OfkHJLyw/edit ***September 1 #ARCSchat with Joan Baldwin now available!*** Missed the most recent #ARCSchat with Joan Baldwin of Leadership Matters? View the livestream here on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-cOZApjYOl0 Or listen to the podcast here: http://www.arcsinfo.org/programs/arcschat- We want to hear your stories! #ARCSchat is introducing a new segment called "A Day in the Life" that involves you and your crazy job stories. With the voice recorder on your phone, record a 2-5 minute clip telling us the following: 1. Who you are? 2. Where do you work? 3. A crazy or unique work experience you had- whether it happened in the past or during the lockdown. Email the clip to info at arcsinfo.org or leave a voicemail at (847) 440-4294 and we'll include it in the podcast version of the chat. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Lennart.Lennuk at loodusmuuseum.ee Tue Sep 8 06:45:21 2020 From: Lennart.Lennuk at loodusmuuseum.ee (Lennart Lennuk) Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2020 10:45:21 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] heat panels for controlling pests Message-ID: <665c3ccd8bb34850807ae3d2a8c0e024@loodusmuuseum.ee> Dear collection specialists, Does anybody have experience on heat panels for controlling pests? https://stashc.com/the-publication/room/heat-panels-for-controlling-crawling-insects-in-storage-areas-2/ Best regards, Lennart Lennuk Head of zoology Estonian Museum of Natural History +37255663392 [virtuaalmuuseum_mail_EN] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 34356 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: From jessica.bazeley at yale.edu Tue Sep 8 09:18:29 2020 From: jessica.bazeley at yale.edu (Utrup, Jessica) Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2020 13:18:29 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] NHCOLL: Brought to you by SPNHC - Quarterly Reminder Message-ID: NHCOLL-L is provided as a service to the collections community by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC). We depend on list members to provide only those postings that are appropriate to the subject matter, which includes topics such as collections administration, collections care, computerization, conservation, and management. Both policy and practical discussions are appropriate. Information of all kinds is welcome, however, advertising is inappropriate. Membership in SPNHC gives you access to a lively, active, and interdisciplinary global community of professionals dedicated to the care of natural history collections. SPNHC's membership is drawn from more than 20 countries and includes museum specialists such as curators, collections managers, conservators, preparators, and database administrators. The Society hosts annual meetings and sponsors symposia and workshops to foster the exchange of ideas and information. Member benefits also include the society's peer-reviewed journal, Collection Forum, a biannual newsletter and a wealth of content on our website at www.spnhc.org. Membership information can be found by visiting our website and clicking "Join SPNHC." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From PALMERL at si.edu Tue Sep 8 11:52:20 2020 From: PALMERL at si.edu (Palmer, Lisa) Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2020 15:52:20 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] FW: Reinventing the Monuments Men and Women for the 21st-Century Force In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: fyi From: Foley, Lori Sent: Tuesday, September 8, 2020 11:48 AM To: HENTF Subject: FW: Reinventing the Monuments Men and Women for the 21st-Century Force External Email - Exercise Caution Of interest - and importance! Best, Lori Lori Foley Coordinator | Heritage Emergency National Task Force Office of Environmental Planning & Historic Preservation Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration Mobile: (202) 826-6303 lori.foley at fema.dhs.gov culturalrescue.si.edu/hentf Federal Emergency Management Agency fema.gov [cid:image005.jpg at 01D685D6.80C75150] [cid:image006.jpg at 01D685D6.80C75150] From: CulturalRescue > Sent: Friday, September 4, 2020 4:44 PM Subject: Reinventing the Monuments Men and Women for the 21st-Century Force [A group of people posing for a photo Description automatically generated] Reinventing the Monuments Men and Women for the 21st-Century Force Wednesday, September 16, 2020 at 11:00 AM Eastern Reserve your ticket (required) here The Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative invites you to join us in celebrating the inaugural training event of the next generation of Monuments Men and Women who will help to save conflict-affected cultural heritage around the world. A preeminent panel of military and museum experts will lead a program about the new Monuments Men and Women for the 21st Century Force that was inspired by the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives teams (aka "Monuments Men") of WWII. You will see a trailer from the documentary, "Stout Hearted: George Stout and the Guardians of Art" and learn why the "Monuments Men" of WWII have a special place in the collections of the Smithsonian Archives of American Art. You will also hear from some of the 21st-century Monuments Men and Women who have chosen to carry on this important legacy. Speakers will include: Dr. Richard Kurin, Distinguished Scholar and Ambassador-at-Large, Smithsonian Institution Brigadier General Jeffrey C. Coggin, Commander, U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) Colonel Andrew Scott DeJesse, 38G Program Director, Strategic Initiatives Group, U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) Corine Wegener, Director, Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative With a special presentation by Liza Kirwin, Interim Director, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution And a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Brian I. Daniels, Director of Research and Programs, Penn Cultural Heritage Center, University of Pennsylvania Museum. Photo Credit, far left: Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution [A close up of a sign Description automatically generated] Visit our website and follow us on social media: Facebook Twitter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: image006.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 2469 bytes Desc: image006.jpg URL: From gnelson at floridamuseum.ufl.edu Tue Sep 8 14:25:30 2020 From: gnelson at floridamuseum.ufl.edu (Nelson,Gil) Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2020 18:25:30 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Save these dates: ADBC Conference and Pre-Conference Webinar Series Message-ID: Please join iDigBio for our ADBC Conference and Pre-Conference Mini Webinar Series: Pre Conference Webinar Event: September 15 - 17, 2020; 2:00-3:30 pm Eastern Taking the Pulse of Natural History Collections During COVID-19 Series: Where are we now? [cid:6189375c-6625-487f-bb7d-f33dfed1866f] Join iDigBio, NSCA, BCON, NSF, and SPNHC for a mini-series to discuss the climate of natural history collections during COVID. What is the community experiencing? How are they coping? How do we persevere? September 15: Review Results of BCON?s Community Survey & Break-out room discussion Speakers: Gil Nelson, Barbara Thiers September 16: Collections Perspectives & Break-out room discussion Speakers: Brian Atkinson, John Bates, Emily Braker, Mare Nazaire September 17: Moving Forward: Communities Response and Opportunities for the Future: Presentations and Panel Discussion/Q&A Speakers: Rob Gropp, Scott Miller, Pam Soltis, Roland Roberts Zoom link for series: https://ufl.zoom.us/j/93561818170?pwd=eVRxU1RWQWE2VGFhTi91enV6WWJvdz09 For additional information visit: https://www.idigbio.org/content/webinar-series-adapting-covid-resources-natural-history-collections-new-virtual-world 2020 ADBC Conference: September 22 - 25, 2020; 1:00 pm Eastern [cid:1d3dacb8-8040-408d-826c-e49b7da6e57a] This year's virtual format will allow a unique opportunity for all interested members within the ADBC community to be able to attend and participate in this yearly event. The annual ADBC Summit brings together representatives from TCNs, PENs, NSF, iDigBio, and other initiatives related to the U.S. National Science Foundation?s Advancing Digitization of Biodiversity Collections (ADBC) program. The Summit inspires collaboration and focuses discussions on shared goals, challenges, and opportunities. September 22: New TCN Orientation and Existing TCN Networking Opportunities September 23: Keynote Speakers: Ian Owens and Rebecca Johnson, Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History & New TCN Presentations September 24: TCN Presentations September 25: National Academy of Sciences' Survey Report, Looking forward with NSF Panel, and Panel Discussion/ Q&A For additional agenda details and daily Zoom Registration information, please visit: https://www.idigbio.org/wiki/index.php/ADBC_Summit_2020 Jillian Goodwin iDigBio Conference Manager Florida Museum of Natural History 508-887-6043 www.idigbio.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Outlook-schwmavp.png Type: image/png Size: 38248 bytes Desc: Outlook-schwmavp.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Outlook-ufwsf3o2.png Type: image/png Size: 83845 bytes Desc: Outlook-ufwsf3o2.png URL: From trehman at brit.org Tue Sep 8 19:04:18 2020 From: trehman at brit.org (Tiana Rehman) Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2020 23:04:18 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Conservation Botanist position Message-ID: The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) seeks a Conservation Botanist to lead the institution?s Plant Conservation Program. The Conservation Botanist pursues original research in plant conservation, primarily in Texas. Areas of focus can include botanical and ecosystem exploration focusing on rare and endangered taxa, restoration ecology, ex situ cultivation, seed banking, conservation genomics, and/or comparable fields in plant conservation. The Conservation Botanist is expected to maintain an active research program as measured by scientific peer-reviewed journal publications, grant-funded proposals in support of research, collections management and development, collaborations with colleagues, outreach activities, participation in professional meetings, and contributions to graduate programs associated with local universities with which BRIT partners. The position often works with state and federal conservation agencies. Application deadline: 31 October 2020 BRIT Employment page (scroll to bottom): http://brit.org/about/employment BSA posting: https://jobs.botany.org/index.php?module=clip&type=user&func=display&tid=3&pid=5042&title=Conservation%20Botanist Apologies for cross-posting. Best to you all, Tiana F. Rehman | Herbarium Collections Manager | Botanical Research Institute of Texas | trehman at brit.org | 817.332.4441 x 223 | 817.546.1845 direct | 817.332.4112 fax | BRIT.org | 1700 University Dr., Fort Worth, TX 76107-3400 USA | Think Before You Print -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From vanessa.terrapon at unil.ch Wed Sep 9 09:00:12 2020 From: vanessa.terrapon at unil.ch (Vanessa Terrapon) Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2020 13:00:12 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] =?windows-1252?q?Re=A0=3A__Conservation_Botanist_posi?= =?windows-1252?q?tion?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <-4b39se-stzi7wp1lxpf-my8mra-3fjwcs-ruo72t5osyw7-87zxk8-9yhohzccmc032tly8j5ts8zktwudu3-keohrx-gywk1epxxy2v-rni29n-hm6uroapojzmgma5eq7flz53i027vainqa4ljr9hdt.1599656409463@email.android.com> Vanessa Terrapon Conservatrice-restauratrice Mus?e cantonal de g?ologie Quartier UNIL-Chamberonne B?timent Anthropole CH - 1015 Lausanne Suisse T?l: +41 21 692 44 34 +41 21 316 33 45 www.unil.ch/mcg -------- Message original -------- De : Tiana Rehman Date : mer. 9 sept. 2020 ? 02:08 ? : NHCOLL-new Objet : [Nhcoll-l] Conservation Botanist position The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) seeks a Conservation Botanist to lead the institution?s Plant Conservation Program. The Conservation Botanist pursues original research in plant conservation, primarily in Texas. Areas of focus can include botanical and ecosystem exploration focusing on rare and endangered taxa, restoration ecology, ex situ cultivation, seed banking, conservation genomics, and/or comparable fields in plant conservation. The Conservation Botanist is expected to maintain an active research program as measured by scientific peer-reviewed journal publications, grant-funded proposals in support of research, collections management and development, collaborations with colleagues, outreach activities, participation in professional meetings, and contributions to graduate programs associated with local universities with which BRIT partners. The position often works with state and federal conservation agencies. Application deadline: 31 October 2020 BRIT Employment page (scroll to bottom): http://brit.org/about/employment BSA posting: https://jobs.botany.org/index.php?module=clip&type=user&func=display&tid=3&pid=5042&title=Conservation%20Botanist Apologies for cross-posting. Best to you all, Tiana F. Rehman | Herbarium Collections Manager | Botanical Research Institute of Texas | trehman at brit.org | 817.332.4441 x 223 | 817.546.1845 direct | 817.332.4112 fax | BRIT.org | 1700 University Dr., Fort Worth, TX 76107-3400 USA | Think Before You Print -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbarroso at brit.org Wed Sep 9 11:01:59 2020 From: dbarroso at brit.org (Diego Barroso) Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2020 15:01:59 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Conservation Botanist position at BRIT In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) seeks a Conservation Botanist to lead the institution?s Plant Conservation Program. The Conservation Botanist pursues original research in plant conservation, primarily in Texas. Areas of focus can include botanical and ecosystem exploration focusing on rare and endangered taxa, restoration ecology, ex situ cultivation, seed banking, conservation genomics, and/or comparable fields in plant conservation. The Conservation Botanist is expected to maintain an active research program as measured by scientific peer-reviewed journal publications, grant-funded proposals in support of research, collections management and development, collaborations with colleagues, outreach activities, participation in professional meetings, and contributions to graduate programs associated with local universities with which BRIT partners. The position often works with state and federal conservation agencies. Application deadline: 31 October 2020 BRIT Employment page (scroll to bottom): http://brit.org/about/employment BSA posting: https://jobs.botany.org/index.php?module=clip&type=user&func=display&tid=3&pid=5042&title=Conservation%20Botanist Best, Diego Barroso TORCH TCN Project Manager -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cmd7 at cornell.edu Wed Sep 9 12:12:29 2020 From: cmd7 at cornell.edu (Charles M. Dardia) Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2020 16:12:29 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers Message-ID: Has any one had success using a vacuum sealer to prepare loans of wet specimens (fish) for shipping? Charles Charles M. Dardia Collections Manager Cornell Museum of Vertebrates 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 (607) 254-2161 http://cumv.cornell.edu/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From abentley at ku.edu Wed Sep 9 12:29:33 2020 From: abentley at ku.edu (Bentley, Andrew Charles) Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2020 16:29:33 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers Message-ID: <0995838D-79F4-412C-8AEB-9B65708A19B5@ku.edu> Charles No, have never used a vacuum sealer and not sure if it would have any adverse effects on the specimens ? maybe drawing moisture and preservative out of the specimens during shipping or maybe even damaging small bones or cartilaginous structures in the specimen due to shrinkage. I guess you could stop the vacuum process before it gets to that point? I usually use a regular bag sealer for fish and leave a small amount of air in the bag to act as a pillow of protection for the specimens inside ? even though we also use packing peanuts and a sturdy box when shipping. Andy A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V From: Nhcoll-l on behalf of Charles Dardia Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2020 at 11:12 AM To: "nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu" Subject: [Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers Has any one had success using a vacuum sealer to prepare loans of wet specimens (fish) for shipping? Charles Charles M. Dardia Collections Manager Cornell Museum of Vertebrates 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 (607) 254-2161 http://cumv.cornell.edu/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hezhu1 at gmail.com Wed Sep 9 12:44:32 2020 From: hezhu1 at gmail.com (Helen Kairo) Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2020 09:44:32 -0700 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I use one routinely to ship wet specimens. You can leave a little bit of air inside. What I typically do is also wrap the wet specimens in paper towel or alcohol moisten cotton. Specimens fixed to glass or any other backing can the wrapped and sealed. I ship a lot of prosected specimens, and I wouldn't do it any other way. On Wed, Sep 9, 2020, 9:12 AM Charles M. Dardia wrote: > Has any one had success using a vacuum sealer to prepare loans of wet > specimens (fish) for shipping? > > Charles > > > > Charles M. Dardia > > Collections Manager > > Cornell Museum of Vertebrates > > 159 Sapsucker Woods Road > > Ithaca, NY 14850 > > (607) 254-2161 > > http://cumv.cornell.edu/ > > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pnr at arizona.edu Wed Sep 9 13:00:48 2020 From: pnr at arizona.edu (Reinthal, Peter N - (pnr)) Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2020 17:00:48 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: There are different types of vacuum pack machines - 'snorkel' and chamber. There are also many different types and thickness of bags that are available. Vacuum pack machines that use dual snorkels are great - you can wrap the specimen, fluid, and adjust the suction pressure. The vacuum holds the specimen and wrapping together. If you can get mylar coated poly bags, they offer the best seal and protection, but these require commercial machines that are expensive. Peter N. Reinthal, PhD Arizona Museum of Natural History BSE 120 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology The University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 85721 520-621-7518 pnr at email.arizona.edu ________________________________ From: Nhcoll-l on behalf of Charles M. Dardia Sent: Wednesday, September 9, 2020 9:12 AM To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: [EXT][Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers External Email Has any one had success using a vacuum sealer to prepare loans of wet specimens (fish) for shipping? Charles Charles M. Dardia Collections Manager Cornell Museum of Vertebrates 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 (607) 254-2161 http://cumv.cornell.edu/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Tonya.Haff at csiro.au Wed Sep 9 19:11:34 2020 From: Tonya.Haff at csiro.au (Haff, Tonya (NCMI, Crace)) Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2020 23:11:34 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers In-Reply-To: <0995838D-79F4-412C-8AEB-9B65708A19B5@ku.edu> References: <0995838D-79F4-412C-8AEB-9B65708A19B5@ku.edu> Message-ID: On this topic, has anyone ever had the problem of customs officials opening the bag to inspect the contents, and then the bag not being resealed (and specimen drying out)? Seems to me the one potential downside of heat sealing. Cheers, Tonya From: Nhcoll-l On Behalf Of Bentley, Andrew Charles Sent: Thursday, 10 September 2020 2:30 AM To: Charles M. Dardia Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers Charles No, have never used a vacuum sealer and not sure if it would have any adverse effects on the specimens ? maybe drawing moisture and preservative out of the specimens during shipping or maybe even damaging small bones or cartilaginous structures in the specimen due to shrinkage. I guess you could stop the vacuum process before it gets to that point? I usually use a regular bag sealer for fish and leave a small amount of air in the bag to act as a pillow of protection for the specimens inside ? even though we also use packing peanuts and a sturdy box when shipping. Andy A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V From: Nhcoll-l > on behalf of Charles Dardia > Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2020 at 11:12 AM To: "nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu" > Subject: [Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers Has any one had success using a vacuum sealer to prepare loans of wet specimens (fish) for shipping? Charles Charles M. Dardia Collections Manager Cornell Museum of Vertebrates 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 (607) 254-2161 http://cumv.cornell.edu/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gregory.watkins-colwell at yale.edu Wed Sep 9 19:22:03 2020 From: gregory.watkins-colwell at yale.edu (Watkins-Colwell, Gregory) Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2020 23:22:03 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers In-Reply-To: References: <0995838D-79F4-412C-8AEB-9B65708A19B5@ku.edu> Message-ID: Nope. I?ve had the borrower do that and leave it in a desk drawer for months and send back crispy lizards though. Greg ???? The Vertebrate Zoology Division is open in limited capacity due to university COVID-19 restrictions. However, I am working remotely (and sometimes in person) and should be returning emails in a timely manner Gregory J. Watkins-Colwell Collections Manager, Herpetology & Ichthyology Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History 170 Whitney Avenue, Box 208118 New Haven, CT 06520 USA 203-432-3791 From: Nhcoll-l On Behalf Of Haff, Tonya (NCMI, Crace) Sent: Wednesday, September 9, 2020 7:12 PM To: Bentley, Andrew Charles ; Charles M. Dardia Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers On this topic, has anyone ever had the problem of customs officials opening the bag to inspect the contents, and then the bag not being resealed (and specimen drying out)? Seems to me the one potential downside of heat sealing. Cheers, Tonya From: Nhcoll-l > On Behalf Of Bentley, Andrew Charles Sent: Thursday, 10 September 2020 2:30 AM To: Charles M. Dardia > Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers Charles No, have never used a vacuum sealer and not sure if it would have any adverse effects on the specimens ? maybe drawing moisture and preservative out of the specimens during shipping or maybe even damaging small bones or cartilaginous structures in the specimen due to shrinkage. I guess you could stop the vacuum process before it gets to that point? I usually use a regular bag sealer for fish and leave a small amount of air in the bag to act as a pillow of protection for the specimens inside ? even though we also use packing peanuts and a sturdy box when shipping. Andy A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V From: Nhcoll-l > on behalf of Charles Dardia > Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2020 at 11:12 AM To: "nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu" > Subject: [Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers Has any one had success using a vacuum sealer to prepare loans of wet specimens (fish) for shipping? Charles Charles M. Dardia Collections Manager Cornell Museum of Vertebrates 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 (607) 254-2161 http://cumv.cornell.edu/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From neumann at snsb.de Thu Sep 10 02:05:33 2020 From: neumann at snsb.de (Dirk Neumann) Date: Thu, 10 Sep 2020 08:05:33 +0200 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers In-Reply-To: References: <0995838D-79F4-412C-8AEB-9B65708A19B5@ku.edu> Message-ID: <2480e7d8-ea96-6228-6373-49228fdb6f89@snsb.de> Hi Charles & Tonya, heat sealing is an _obligatory packaging requirement_ for IATA conform shipping of ethanol preserved museum specimens, trained staff for heat sealing as well. This means - and we received clear language on this point from the dangerous goods division of our national air aviation authority - that if customs or parcel companies do open such heat sealed packings, they are obliged to close these in IATA conform manner again, as the IATA/ICAO stipulations also apply to them. In real life this often is neglected of course, but opens the door for charges against for example inspection costs against parcel companies, which usually open consignments for inspection (this is rarely done by customs staff but done through courier staff). We always carry a slim household vacuum sealer for field work to make sure we can heat seal the bagged boxed with tissue tubes again. Tissue boxes are double bagged and sealed as required by IATA Special Provision A180, PE-bags are sufficiently large when going to the field to allow re-usage of bags for the return flight. With best wishes Dirk Am 10.09.2020 um 01:11 schrieb Haff, Tonya (NCMI, Crace): > > On this topic, has anyone ever had the problem of customs officials > opening the bag to inspect the contents, and then the bag not being > resealed (and specimen drying out)? Seems to me the one potential > downside of heat sealing. > > Cheers, > > Tonya > > *From:*Nhcoll-l *On Behalf Of > *Bentley, Andrew Charles > *Sent:* Thursday, 10 September 2020 2:30 AM > *To:* Charles M. Dardia > *Cc:* nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers > > Charles > > No, have never used a vacuum sealer and not sure if it would have any > adverse effects on the specimens ? maybe drawing moisture and > preservative out of the specimens during shipping or maybe even > damaging small bones or cartilaginous structures in the specimen due > to shrinkage.? I guess you could stop the vacuum process before it > gets to that point?? I usually use a regular bag sealer for fish and > leave a small amount of air in the bag to act as a pillow of > protection for the specimens inside ? even though we also use packing > peanuts and a sturdy box when shipping. > > Andy > > A? :??????????????? A? :?????????????? A? : > > ?}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> > > V?????????????????? V????????????????? V > > Andy Bentley > > Ichthyology Collection Manager > > University of Kansas > > Biodiversity Institute > > Dyche Hall > > 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard > > Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 > > USA > > Tel: (785) 864-3863 > > Fax: (785) 864-5335 > > Email: abentley at ku.edu > > http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu > > > A? :??????????????? A? :??????????????? A? : > > ?}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> > > V?????????????????? V?????????????????? V > > *From: *Nhcoll-l > on behalf of Charles > Dardia > > *Date: *Wednesday, September 9, 2020 at 11:12 AM > *To: *"nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu " > > > *Subject: *[Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers > > Has any one had success using a vacuum sealer to prepare loans of wet > specimens (fish) for shipping? > > Charles > > Charles M. Dardia > > Collections Manager > > Cornell Museum of Vertebrates > > 159 Sapsucker Woods Road > > Ithaca, NY 14850 > > (607) 254-2161 > > http://cumv.cornell.edu/ > > > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- Dirk Neumann Tel: 089 / 8107-111 Fax: 089 / 8107-300 neumann(a)snsb.de Postanschrift: Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns Zoologische Staatssammlung M?nchen Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Storage M?nchhausenstr. 21 81247 M?nchen Besuchen Sie unsere Sammlung: http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ --------- Dirk Neumann Tel: +49-89-8107-111 Fax: +49-89-8107-300 neumann(a)snsb.de postal address: Bavarian Natural History Collections The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Storage Muenchhausenstr. 21 81247 Munich (Germany) Visit our section at: http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: micnmdofokillodi.png Type: image/png Size: 23308 bytes Desc: not available URL: From Lennart.Lennuk at loodusmuuseum.ee Thu Sep 10 12:17:05 2020 From: Lennart.Lennuk at loodusmuuseum.ee (Lennart Lennuk) Date: Thu, 10 Sep 2020 16:17:05 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] When does wooden cabinet apply? Message-ID: <604bfbf371e349efa4c0b0faab43a9bb@loodusmuuseum.ee> Dear specialists, I wonder on what collections the wooden cabinets are safe to use? I read that for example eggs and mollusc shells there is a gaseos vapor hazard. I went through ConserveOGram and Museum Handbook but did not find any information on herbarium for example. Best regards, Lennart Lennuk Head of zoology Estonian Museum of Natural History +37256569916 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From abentley at ku.edu Thu Sep 10 13:36:23 2020 From: abentley at ku.edu (Bentley, Andrew Charles) Date: Thu, 10 Sep 2020 17:36:23 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] FW: New Report and Public Briefing on the Importance and Sustainability of U.S. Biological Collections In-Reply-To: <123034db237d4f01af1aba8e98604b8c@ENA13-100.nrc.na.int> References: <18fe6f8f25ec0bc7509e65e97.c207106d7f.20200910171421.f01d4b0517.5a5de592@mail146.sea101.rsgsv.net> <123034db237d4f01af1aba8e98604b8c@ENA13-100.nrc.na.int> Message-ID: From: Board on Life Sciences Sent: September 10, 2020 1:14 PM To: Sawyer, Keegan Subject: New Report and Public Briefing on the Importance and Sustainability of U.S. Biological Collections View this email in your browser [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/18fe6f8f25ec0bc7509e65e97/images/97fde2c9-98e1-4d6a-9b0f-08435948c88d.gif] [https://mcusercontent.com/18fe6f8f25ec0bc7509e65e97/images/517b090b-119a-4595-912b-432708e28690.png] New Report: Biological Collections: Ensuring Critical Research and Education for the 21st Century Biological collections are a critical part of the nation?s science infrastructure and a fundamental resource for understanding the natural world. Without enhanced strategic leadership and investments in their infrastructure and growth many biological collections could be lost. This new report recommends approaches for biological collections to develop long-term financial sustainability, advance digitization, recruit and support a diverse workforce, and upgrade and maintain a robust physical infrastructure in order to continue serving science and society. To download or read the report online for free as well as access a video recording of the key findings (30 min), please visit our website. Public Briefing and Discussion September 17, 2020 at 11 AM (ET) Register Now Please join us for a 1-hour public webinar to discuss the findings of the report. Dr. Shirley Pomponi of the Florida Atlantic University and Dr. James P. Collins of the Arizona State University, co-chairs of the report?s authoring committee, will present brief highlights of the report recommendations. Following the presentation, report committee members Pamela Soltis of the University of Florida, Manzour Hazbon of the American Type Culture Collection and George Matsumoto of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute will join the co-chairs to answer questions from webinar registrants. Webinar registrants and members of the community are highly encouraged to submit questions in advance of this event. Submit questions here or by clicking the button below. Submit a Question Share your thoughts with #NASEMBioCollectionsReport. [Twitter] [Facebook] [YouTube] [Email] Copyright ? 2020 National Academies, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: The National Academies Keck Center 500 Fifth Street NW Washington, D.C. 20001 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From maru.digi at gmail.com Thu Sep 10 19:57:29 2020 From: maru.digi at gmail.com (Mariana Di Giacomo) Date: Thu, 10 Sep 2020 19:57:29 -0400 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] When does wooden cabinet apply? In-Reply-To: <604bfbf371e349efa4c0b0faab43a9bb@loodusmuuseum.ee> References: <604bfbf371e349efa4c0b0faab43a9bb@loodusmuuseum.ee> Message-ID: Dear Lennart, Wooden cabinetry is normally not desired because of the off gassing of formic acid, which in turn can cause Bynes disease or other efflorescence issues on mollusks and eggshells, among others. However, there is a chance that if your cabinets are very old, the off gassing of formic acid has already occurred and the cabinets are no longer a problem, but that is not always the case. That said, formic acid is not the only compound wooden objects may off gas, so you never know how these volatile organic compounds (VOCs) will interact with your collections. Whether you have older or newer wooden cabinets in your collection, testing is always a good idea. I would recommend getting something like A-D strips to monitor the inside of the cabinets (I don't know how these are marketed in Europe). These were initially developed for acetic acid but have proved useful for formic acid as well. Also, you can set up a VOC test with a chemist or industrial hygienist. Finally, I recommend this paper by Kaczkowski *et al.* 2017: https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/32603/Investigation%20of%20Residual%20Contamination%20Inside%20Storage%20Cabinets%20Collection%20Care%20Benefits%20from%20an%20Industrial%20Hygiene%20Study.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y If you have other questions, don't hesitate to ask. Best, Mariana *Mariana Di Giacomo, PhD* *Natural History Conservator, Yale Peabody Museum* Coordinator, ICOM-CC Natural History Collections Working Group Co-chair, Emerging Professionals Committee, SPNHC Associate Editor, Collection Forum, SPNHC El jue., 10 sept. 2020 a las 12:17, Lennart Lennuk (< Lennart.Lennuk at loodusmuuseum.ee>) escribi?: > Dear specialists, > > > > I wonder on what collections the wooden cabinets are safe to use? > > I read that for example eggs and mollusc shells there is a gaseos vapor > hazard. > > I went through ConserveOGram and Museum Handbook but did not find any > information > > on herbarium for example. > > > > > > Best regards, > > Lennart Lennuk > > Head of zoology > > Estonian Museum of Natural History > > +37256569916 > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Lennart.Lennuk at loodusmuuseum.ee Fri Sep 11 11:14:30 2020 From: Lennart.Lennuk at loodusmuuseum.ee (Lennart Lennuk) Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2020 15:14:30 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] webcams using for pests monitoring Message-ID: <6a2f09efe026480ea80f90eb57cac59b@loodusmuuseum.ee> Dear museum specialists, I have an idea of using webcams for pests monitooring in museum storages. Do you know if something similar has been used before in museums? It feels that it can save some time and energy at monitoring pests and maybe there is some ohter uses as well. Best regards, Lennart Lennuk Head of zoology Estonian Museum of Natural History https://www.loodusmuuseum.ee/en +37256569916 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From abentley at ku.edu Fri Sep 11 11:25:38 2020 From: abentley at ku.edu (Bentley, Andrew Charles) Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2020 15:25:38 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] =?utf-8?q?Invitation_to_TDWG_2020_=E2=80=9CBoF01=3A_C?= =?utf-8?q?onverging_Digital_Specimens_and_Extended_Specimens_-_Towards_a_?= =?utf-8?q?global_specification=E2=80=9D?= Message-ID: We are pleased to invite you to a TDWG 2020 Birds of a Feather (BoF) discussion on 22nd September, (UTC 14:30 ? 16:30). The details of the session are: TDWG 2020 Birds of Feather session, ?BoF01: Converging Digital Specimens and Extended Specimens - Towards a global specification? (https://www.tdwg.org/conferences/2020/working-sessions/), co-convened by Alex Hardisty (Cardiff University, DiSSCo) and Andrew Bentley (KU Biodiversity Institute, BCoN). The purpose of the BoF is to explore the commonalities and differences of the Digital Specimen and Extended Specimen concepts with the aim of converging towards a global specification. As a participant of the DiSSCo Prepare project and/or member of the DiSSCo Technical Team, you may find this discussion interesting. Please add this to your diary. To join the BoF, it?s necessary for individuals to register for the TDWG 2020 working sessions week and then each person will receive a personal zoom address. The registration link can be found on this session schedule page: https://www.tdwg.org/conferences/2020/working-sessions-schedule/. Alex Hardisty and Andy Bentley A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gali.beiner at mail.huji.ac.il Fri Sep 11 11:41:45 2020 From: gali.beiner at mail.huji.ac.il (Gali Beiner) Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2020 18:41:45 +0300 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] webcams using for pests monitoring In-Reply-To: <6a2f09efe026480ea80f90eb57cac59b@loodusmuuseum.ee> References: <6a2f09efe026480ea80f90eb57cac59b@loodusmuuseum.ee> Message-ID: Hi Lennart, Using webcams is an intetesting idea. However, one may wonder whether webcams can really monitor pests when these are often small, well hidden in the folds and creases of the objects? Wouldn't damage have to be fairly far gone to be clearly seen on a webcam, unless each object is laid against a bright enough background, unlike, say, some drawers with a lot of bird specimens etc. ? For monitoring a space, say the floor in a room, the pests may have to be of the larger kind to be seen, otherwise maybe traps might be easier to follow. Unless researchers of entomology have better ideas of live insect monitoring. Cheers, Gali ?????? ??? ??, 11 ????? 2020, 18:14, ??? Lennart Lennuk ?< Lennart.Lennuk at loodusmuuseum.ee>: > Dear museum specialists, > > I have an idea of using webcams for pests monitooring in museum storages. > > Do you know if something similar has been used before in museums? > > > > It feels that it can save some time and energy at monitoring pests and > maybe there is some ohter uses as well. > > > > Best regards, > > Lennart Lennuk > > Head of zoology > > Estonian Museum of Natural History > > https://www.loodusmuuseum.ee/en > > +37256569916 > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From abentley at ku.edu Fri Sep 11 11:50:00 2020 From: abentley at ku.edu (Bentley, Andrew Charles) Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2020 15:50:00 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] =?utf-8?q?HOLD_THE_DATE_=E2=80=93_SPNHC_Panel_Discuss?= =?utf-8?q?ion_on_Actions_to_Conserve_Biodiversity?= Message-ID: <8876C22E-EBB4-4792-8B75-BE3660D2CA38@ku.edu> The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) is holding a series of panel discussions to consider how the biological collections community can most effectively contribute to protecting biodiversity. Please join the Biodiversity Crisis Response Committee and a panel of experts for the first in this series. A recent survey of SPNHC members and other biodiversity professionals indicated an initial top five priorities for action: 1. Develop initiatives to ensure critical biodiversity data is available to conservation practitioners 2. Advocate publicly for legislative & policy change to support biodiversity conservation 3. Develop outreach programs to raise public awareness & encourage personal action 4. Participate in international conservation bodies such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 5. Encourage personal and professional action of SPNHC members What specific strategic actions can the biodiversity collections community should take to accomplish these goals? Please join the SPNHC Biodiversity Crisis Response Committee and a panel of experts for the first in a series of virtual panel discussions. HOLD THE DATE: Wednesday October 7 at 1500 UTC. An Eventbrite invitation to register will follow the week of September 14, 2020 and will include an opportunity to submit questions in advance of the event. On behalf of SPNHC Biodiversity Crisis Response Committee A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rachael at amartconservation.com Fri Sep 11 12:27:07 2020 From: rachael at amartconservation.com (rachael at amartconservation.com) Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2020 12:27:07 -0400 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] webcams using for pests monitoring In-Reply-To: References: <6a2f09efe026480ea80f90eb57cac59b@loodusmuuseum.ee> Message-ID: <01f001d68858$6587b360$30971a20$@amartconservation.com> Dear Lennart and others, I think your idea is not far off from technology that is already starting to be used in the field. There are a number of companies that are experimenting with remote monitoring and sensing in conjunction with various forms of traps. I think this is most advanced at the moment for rodent monitoring with a number of companies using/developing systems that allow you to know when a trap has been activated by movement or feeding activity. In the U.S. Insects Limited has a camera/pheromone trap system called SightTrap for insect pest monitoring. https://foresightipm.com/ I believe the system is currently being monitored by trained humans (!) but also uses artificial intelligence to make the system smarter as it goes. The system is currently being deployed mostly for agricultural use but I look forward to the day in the not too distant future when systems like these will be options for cultural heritage institutions as well. For the reasons Gali list, I agree that any remote monitoring will work better in conjunction with trapping. In my work I find that most institutions don?t think that they have any problem with pests unless they are trapping or the problem is so vast that it is unavoidably noticeable. It is easy for insect activity to be hidden unless you are monitoring or looking for it. Best, Rachael MuseumPests Working Group Co-Chair Rachael Perkins Arenstein Principal, A.M. Art Conservation Art Conservation, Preservation Consulting and Collection Management www.amartconservation.com rachael at amartconservation.com 917-796-1764 From: Nhcoll-l On Behalf Of Gali Beiner Sent: Friday, September 11, 2020 11:42 AM To: Lennart Lennuk Cc: Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] webcams using for pests monitoring Hi Lennart, Using webcams is an intetesting idea. However, one may wonder whether webcams can really monitor pests when these are often small, well hidden in the folds and creases of the objects? Wouldn't damage have to be fairly far gone to be clearly seen on a webcam, unless each object is laid against a bright enough background, unlike, say, some drawers with a lot of bird specimens etc. ? For monitoring a space, say the floor in a room, the pests may have to be of the larger kind to be seen, otherwise maybe traps might be easier to follow. Unless researchers of entomology have better ideas of live insect monitoring. Cheers, Gali ?????? ??? ??, 11 ????? 2020, 18:14, ??? Lennart Lennuk ? >: Dear museum specialists, I have an idea of using webcams for pests monitooring in museum storages. Do you know if something similar has been used before in museums? It feels that it can save some time and energy at monitoring pests and maybe there is some ohter uses as well. Best regards, Lennart Lennuk Head of zoology Estonian Museum of Natural History https://www.loodusmuuseum.ee/en +37256569916 _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Christian.Baars at liverpoolmuseums.org.uk Sun Sep 13 02:06:12 2020 From: Christian.Baars at liverpoolmuseums.org.uk (Baars, Christian) Date: Sun, 13 Sep 2020 06:06:12 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] webcams using for pests monitoring In-Reply-To: <01f001d68858$6587b360$30971a20$@amartconservation.com> References: <6a2f09efe026480ea80f90eb57cac59b@loodusmuuseum.ee> , <01f001d68858$6587b360$30971a20$@amartconservation.com> Message-ID: Dear Lennart, Just to add to Rachael's information about similar technology currently being developed: in Europe, Panko are working on an app based on neural networks and using mobile phone technology for automatic insect ID: https://neuronic.eu/museum-neuronic/. I believe this is still in the testing phase and, presently, reliable and consistent ID is limited to a few species, but this sort of thing is definitely coming. In future I can see this working in combination with remote cameras such as those by Insect Limited. The biggest question is then how much we are prepared to pay for such a system, which may, at least initially, perhaps limit the application to a few niche situations. Best regards Christian Dr Christian Baars Head of Collections Care National Museums Liverpool ________________________________ From: Nhcoll-l on behalf of rachael at amartconservation.com Sent: Friday, 11 September 2020, 17:27 To: 'Gali Beiner'; 'Lennart Lennuk' Cc: Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] webcams using for pests monitoring Dear Lennart and others, I think your idea is not far off from technology that is already starting to be used in the field. There are a number of companies that are experimenting with remote monitoring and sensing in conjunction with various forms of traps. I think this is most advanced at the moment for rodent monitoring with a number of companies using/developing systems that allow you to know when a trap has been activated by movement or feeding activity. In the U.S. Insects Limited has a camera/pheromone trap system called SightTrap for insect pest monitoring. https://foresightipm.com/ I believe the system is currently being monitored by trained humans (!) but also uses artificial intelligence to make the system smarter as it goes. The system is currently being deployed mostly for agricultural use but I look forward to the day in the not too distant future when systems like these will be options for cultural heritage institutions as well. For the reasons Gali list, I agree that any remote monitoring will work better in conjunction with trapping. In my work I find that most institutions don?t think that they have any problem with pests unless they are trapping or the problem is so vast that it is unavoidably noticeable. It is easy for insect activity to be hidden unless you are monitoring or looking for it. Best, Rachael MuseumPests Working Group Co-Chair Rachael Perkins Arenstein Principal, A.M. Art Conservation Art Conservation, Preservation Consulting and Collection Management www.amartconservation.com rachael at amartconservation.com 917-796-1764 From: Nhcoll-l On Behalf Of Gali Beiner Sent: Friday, September 11, 2020 11:42 AM To: Lennart Lennuk Cc: Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] webcams using for pests monitoring Hi Lennart, Using webcams is an intetesting idea. However, one may wonder whether webcams can really monitor pests when these are often small, well hidden in the folds and creases of the objects? Wouldn't damage have to be fairly far gone to be clearly seen on a webcam, unless each object is laid against a bright enough background, unlike, say, some drawers with a lot of bird specimens etc. ? For monitoring a space, say the floor in a room, the pests may have to be of the larger kind to be seen, otherwise maybe traps might be easier to follow. Unless researchers of entomology have better ideas of live insect monitoring. Cheers, Gali ?????? ??? ??, 11 ????? 2020, 18:14, ??? Lennart Lennuk ?>: Dear museum specialists, I have an idea of using webcams for pests monitooring in museum storages. Do you know if something similar has been used before in museums? It feels that it can save some time and energy at monitoring pests and maybe there is some ohter uses as well. Best regards, Lennart Lennuk Head of zoology Estonian Museum of Natural History https://www.loodusmuuseum.ee/en +37256569916 _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. Dr Christian Baars Head of Collections Care Collections Care National Museums Liverpool Midland Railway Building, 1 Peter Street L1 6BL Tel: 0151 478 www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk Gift ideas and treats for yourself in our online shop. 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[http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/images/sitewide/nml-logo.gif] National Museums Liverpool: creating memorable experiences - for everyone - challenging expectations Today as an organisation we are Welcoming, Honest and Educational, and as a team we are Trustworthy, Respectful and Inclusive. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dpaul at fsu.edu Sun Sep 13 11:53:28 2020 From: dpaul at fsu.edu (Deborah Paul) Date: Sun, 13 Sep 2020 11:53:28 -0400 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] (Free) Introduction to the Biodiversity Information Standards Community Message-ID: Hi Everyone, Wondering about biodiversity information data standards? Find out where they come from, and how you and everyone in the SPNHC family can contribute to the standards community and then share what you learn with your colleagues. Two introduction sessions (choose one) have open slots and registration is free . Everyone from the Biodiversity Information Standards organization (also known as TDWG - Taxonomic Databases Working Group) looks forward to seeing you there. This introductory session focuses on where standards come from, what current interest and task groups at TDWG are developing, real examples of how these standards support science and collections, and current ways in which you can get involved to bring your expertise and needs to the TDWG table. Following this intro session, we invite you to register now for the TDWG Working Sessions (Sept 21 - 25) and the TDWG 2020 Conference (Oct 19 - 23 --> separate registration opening soon) . Please send questions to conf-organizers at tdwg.org In anticipation, The Biodiversity Information Standards #TDWG2020 Working Sessions Organizers -- -- Upcoming iDigBio Events https://www.idigbio.org/calendar -- Deborah Paul, Digitization/Capacity Development Manager iDigBio -- Steering Committee Member, SPNHC Liaison Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) Deputy Chair Biodiversity Information Science and Standards (BISS) Managing Ed. Institute for Digital Information, 234 LSB Florida State University Tallahassee, Florida 32306 850-644-6366 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From abentley at ku.edu Mon Sep 14 14:31:31 2020 From: abentley at ku.edu (Bentley, Andrew Charles) Date: Mon, 14 Sep 2020 18:31:31 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] FW: Science Policy News from AIBS In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <7C9F85BA-7209-4716-A9DB-73CC9391E19F@ku.edu> Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. AIBS Public Policy Report AIBS Public Policy Report, Volume 21, Issue 19, September 14, 2020 * AIBS Endorses Call to Study Racism in Science * Science, Medical Groups Oppose Fetal Tissue Ethics Board Recommendations * Relief Negotiations Stall After ?Skinny? GOP Proposal Fails in Senate * Lawmakers Concerned About Political Meddling at CDC * Senate Democrats Outline Plan to Address Climate Crisis * USFWS Proposes Revisions to Critical Habitat Designations * NSF Requests Information on STEM Education * 2020 ADBC Conference and Pre-Conference Webinar Series * Prepare Your Resume, Hone Your Interview Skills * Enter the 2020 Faces of Biology Photo Contest * Short Takes * Webinar: Next Decade of Biological and Physical Sciences in Space * Experts Sought to Plan Workshop on Future of Paleoclimate Research * USDA Requests Nominations for Task Force on Agricultural Air Quality Research * From the Federal Register ________________________________ The AIBS Public Policy Report is distributed broadly by email every two weeks to the AIBS membership. Any interested party may self-subscribe to receive these free reports by email or RSS news feed, by going to www.aibs.org/public-policy-reports. With proper attribution to AIBS, all material from these reports may be reproduced or forwarded. AIBS staff appreciates receiving copies of materials used. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact the AIBS Director of Public Policy, Robert Gropp, at 202-628-1500 x 250. ________________________________ AIBS Endorses Call to Study Racism in Science The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) has endorsed a science community letter supporting House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson?s (D-TX) request that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) investigate systemic racism in academic research. On July 29, 2020, Chairwoman Johnson requested Dr. Marcia McNutt, President of the National Academy of Sciences, undertake ?a rigorous and thoughtful analysis of the extent to which the U.S. scientific enterprise perpetuates systemic inequities to the detriment of society as a whole, as well as how those inequities are manifested.? Johnson called on the Academies to install a panel of experts to ?assess the influence of systemic racism in academia on the careers of individuals belonging to racial and ethnic groups historically underrepresented in the scientific, technical, and medical workforce.? The community letter supports the request, arguing, in part: ?While efforts to increase diversity in the scientific workforce may have produced incremental change, we have yet to see large-scale results. Across disciplines, demographic representation throughout the ranks of academia still fails to reflect the diversity of our society. We are hopeful that a comprehensive study by the NASEM will yield the data and tools that the academic community needs to pursue evidence-based changes leading to more rapid progress.? ?A scientific enterprise that reflects the diversity of our nation will be more innovative and better equipped to address the challenges before us,? the groups note. Science, Medical Groups Oppose Fetal Tissue Ethics Board Recommendations AIBS joined 76 other scientific, medical, and patient groups in expressing concerns about the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Human Fetal Tissue Ethics Advisory Board?s report that recommends withholding funding for most of the applications submitted to NIH to conduct medical research using human fetal tissue. After reviewing 14 research proposals in July 2020, the Ethics Board recommended in a report sent to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee that Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar only fund one of the proposals and withhold funding for the remaining 13. The community letter addressed to Secretary Azar reads, in part: ?The evaluation process for publicly funded research must be insulated from politics and allowed to impartially identify promising research proposals that are ethically sound and scientifically and technically rigorous. This is fundamental to the meritocracy of American science that is envied around the world. In this case, each of the research proposals reviewed by the NIH Human Fetal Tissue Ethics Advisory Board had been peer-reviewed and deemed meritorious with the potential to advance scientific discovery to improve human health.? The groups argue that ?the Ethics Advisory Board's recommendations will limit the ethical use of an indispensable biomedical research tool and undermine medical advances in the United States,? urging the Secretary to reject the panel?s recommendations and revoke the HHS policy that restricts research using human fetal tissue. Relief Negotiations Stall After ?Skinny? GOP Proposal Fails in Senate A pared-down COVID-19 relief package introduced by Senate Republicans failed to move forward in the Senate after failing to capture the 60 votes needed to close debate. The chamber voted 52-47 ? along party lines. The ?skinny? proposal was introduced on September 8, after relief negotiations between Democratic leadership and the Trump Administration have been stalled for weeks as a result of disagreement over the size of the package. Republicans in the Senate had introduced a $1 trillion package, entitled the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools Act (HEALS Act) in late July. The House passed a broader $3 trillion measure - the Heroes Act - in May. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was pushing for the White House to increase its offer for the package from $1 trillion to $2.2 trillion. The latest relief proposal from Senate Republicans, estimated to cost $500 billion ? about half of the HEALS Act ? included additional funds for the Paycheck Protection Program; funds for schools and testing; liability protections for schools and businesses; and $300 in increased weekly federal unemployment benefits through December 27, 2020. The bill included provisions that the Democrats did not support, including liability protections for businesses. ?The cynical Republican bill was emaciated, inadequate, and designed to fail. Americans need help now, and Congress needs to respond in a way that meets the nation's very real and urgent needs,? stated Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and urged Republicans ?to come to the table, meet us halfway, and negotiate in good faith on a bipartisan comprehensive bill that will benefit the entire country.? According to E&E News, a number of Senators do not expect a deal to be reached before the November election, although some lawmakers are still hopeful. Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) said the relief push ?looks? dead, but added that the situation could change. ?You never know around here, sometimes things look bleak and they revive, and so forth,? said Shelby. ?But we thought the scaled-down version was a good bill, a good timing and everything else. The Democrats obviously thought otherwise.? The Senate is scheduled to be in session the first week of October before going into recess until after the elections. Although relief negotiations have reached an impasse, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle hope to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government open in the new fiscal year starting October 1. Speaker Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have come to a tentative agreement to pursue a clean stopgap spending bill ? free of controversial policy riders ? to avoid a government shutdown. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has expressed support for a continuing resolution lasting until December, but Democratic lawmakers have yet to weigh in on the duration of the measure. Lawmakers Concerned About Political Meddling at CDC In a September 14, 2020 letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairwoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) expressed concerns about political interference at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The lawmakers have called for a briefing with Secretary Azar to address these concerns. The letter was in response to reports from Politico that the politically appointed HHS spokesperson, Michael Caputo, and his aides demanded and received the right to review and solicit changes to CDC?s weekly scientific reports to health professionals on the progress of the COVID-19 pandemic. In some emails to CDC Director Robert Redfield and other senior officials, communications staff even suggested that the agency?s reports would undermine President Trump's optimistic rhetoric about the pandemic. According to Politico, CDC officials have resisted the most extensive changes, but have increasingly allowed the political officials to review CDC?s reports and, in some cases, allowed changes to the language. It was also reported that Caputo and his aides attempted to halt the release of certain CDC reports, including delaying by a month a report that addressed hydroxychloroquine ? the malaria drug touted by President Trump as a coronavirus treatment. The report found that ?the potential benefits of these drugs do not outweigh their risks.? ?We are concerned that this unprecedented attempt to undermine our nation?s public health is either happening with your approval or rogue political appointees are taking actions behind your back,? stated Pallone and DeGette. ?Either way, these actions are doing grave harm to the very public health agencies you lead and threatening the health of the nation. Congress and the American people deserve to know if you approved these egregious actions by these political appointees, and if it was done without your knowledge, what actions you will take to ensure that it never happens again. It is long past time that you stand up for public health.? DeGette and Pallone have demanded a briefing by September 18, 2020, in which they have asked Secretary Azar to address several questions, including whether he will ?commit to ensuring that science, and not political considerations, inform HHS?s contributions to the Trump Administration?s COVID-19 pandemic response? and what specific actions will be taken to ?prohibit the involvement of political appointees in matters that have been and must be driven by science.? Senate Democrats Outline Plan to Address Climate Crisis On August 25, 2020, the Democrats? Special Committee on the Climate Crisis released a report, The Case for Climate Action: Building a Clean Economy for the American People, outlining a policy roadmap for addressing climate change. The panel, led by Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and comprised entirely of Democratic lawmakers, provides ?a framework for Congress to finally do what is necessary to build the clean energy future.? The report makes several recommendations for tackling climate change, including increasing federal spending on climate action to 2 percent of gross domestic product annually in order to achieve 100 percent net-zero emissions by 2050. The report also sets forth a goal of creating 10 million new jobs and calls for net-zero global emissions by 2050. Notably, the plan would ensure that 40 percent of the benefits from federal climate investments ?help communities of color and low-income, deindustrialized, and disadvantaged communities.? ?We have the opportunity to build more and better jobs for the American people, jobs that?ll help re-stimulate the economy and aid in our transition to clean energy,? said Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY). ?When Democrats retake the majority in the Senate, we will unify to move swiftly on legislation to tackle the climate crisis. Passing climate legislation will be a top priority for Senate Democrats and for me.? Earlier this year, Democratic lawmakers in the House released a similar report, which included recommendations provided by AIBS in response to a 2019 request for information from the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. Unlike the House plan, the Senate plan does not offer specific legislation, but instead provides a collection of broad policy prescriptions focused on different sectors of the economy, including electricity, industry, agriculture, and transportation. The Senate framework calls for investing in natural infrastructure solutions, such as ecosystem restoration. ?Unlike traditional infrastructure, which deteriorates with age and can actually aggravate flooding, nature-based solutions are self-sustaining,? reads the report. ?Green infrastructure also provides significant community benefits like improved air quality, recreational space, lower air temperatures, shade for pedestrians, and ecosystem restoration.? Like the House report, the Senate report also calls for expanding broadband internet access to farmers so they can ?take advantage of precision agriculture technology and use precise weather forecasting technology in their decision-making, which can help reduce inputs and use of carbon-intensive practices.? The panel also recommends that the United States recommit to the Paris climate agreement to ?rejoin the global leadership acting on climate?; integrate climate into federal agency decision-making on matters related to foreign policy, national security, and humanitarian assistance; and accelerate investments in research and development to support clean energy and other climate-related research. USFWS Proposes Revisions to Critical Habitat Designations The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has issued a new proposed rule that would modify the process of designating critical habitats under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). If finalized, the new regulation could potentially shrink critical habitats, which are areas essential for recovery of a species. Under ESA, critical habitats are to be designated ?on the basis of the best scientific data available and after taking into consideration the economic impact, the impact on national security, and any other relevant impact.? The law allows exclusion of certain areas if ?the benefits of such exclusion outweigh the benefits of specifying such area as part of the critical habitat? unless the exclusion ?will result in the extinction of the species concerned.? With the proposed regulation, USFWS intends to clearly lay out when and how it will undertake an analysis of whether to exclude certain lands from critical habitat. This includes identifying a ?non-exhaustive list of categories of potential impacts? for USFWS to consider. Among the categories of ?other relevant impacts? that may be considered, the proposed rule includes public health and safety; community interests; and the environment, such as increased risk of wildfire or pest and invasive species management. According to USFWS, the ?benefits of exclusion may include avoidance of additional permitting requirements, time delays, or additional cost requirements to the community development project?due to the designation of critical habitat.? The new proposal could also make it easier to keep federal lands out of future critical habitat designations: ?We will now consider whether to exclude ... Federal lands on which non-Federal entities have a permit, lease, contract or other authorization for use where the benefits of exclusion outweigh the benefits of inclusion, so long as the exclusion of a particular area does not cause extinction of a species.? USFWS Director Aurelia Skipwith explained that the the proposed rule ?would provide greater transparency for the public, improve consistency and predictability for stakeholders affected by ESA determinations and stimulate more effective conservation on the ground.? The proposed rule has received swift criticism from conservation groups. According to E&E News, Jamie Rappaport Clark, President and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife, said that the new proposal ?puts a heavy thumb on the scale in favor of developers and industry, making it even easier to exclude areas from designation as critical habitat.? Ya-Wei Li, Director for Biodiversity at the Environmental Policy Innovation Center, stated that the proposal ?does increase the likelihood that FWS will exclude an area from critical habitat.? USFWS is inviting public comments on the proposed rule until October 8, 2020. This is the latest effort by the Trump Administration to reconfigure how the ESA is enforced. In August 2019, the Administration finalized significant changes to the regulations that implement the ESA by making it easier for regulators to delist species from the endangered species list and remove automatic protections for threatened species. NSF Requests Information on STEM Education In coordination with the National Science and Technology Council's (NSTC's) Committee on STEM Education (CoSTEM) and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the National Science Foundation (NSF) is soliciting input on the implementation of the Federal STEM Education Strategic Plan, Charting a Course For Success: America's Strategy for STEM Education. This Request for Information (RFI) addresses changes in education systems that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Information collected from this solicitation may be used to guide future Federal STEM education resource development. The questions included in this RFI focus on the following elements of the Federal STEM Education Strategic Plan: * Future opportunities in STEM education; * Develop STEM education digital resources; * Increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM; * Engage students where disciplines converge; * Develop and enrich strategic partnerships; * Build computational literacy; and * Community use and implementation of the Federal STEM Education Strategic Plan. Comments can be submitted online to CoSTEM at nsf.gov until October 19, 2020. Further details about this RFI can be found at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-09-04/html/2020-19681.htm 2020 ADBC Conference and Pre-Conference Webinar Series Taking the Pulse of Natural History Collections During COVID-19 Series: Where are we now? Join iDigBio, Natural Science Collections Alliance, Biodiversity Collections Network, National Science Foundation, and Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections for a preconference mini-series on September 15-17, 2020 at 2:00-3:30 PM Eastern to discuss the climate of natural history collections during the COVID-19 pandemic. September 15: Review Results of BCON?s Community Survey & Break-out room discussion Speakers: Gil Nelson, Barbara Thiers September 16: Collections Perspectives & Break-out room discussion Speakers: Brian Atkinson, John Bates, Emily Braker, Mare Nazaire September 17: Moving Forward: Communities Response and Opportunities for the Future: Presentations and Panel Discussion/Q&A Speakers: Robert Gropp, Scott Miller, Pam Soltis, Roland Roberts Zoom link for series: https://ufl.zoom.us/j/93561818170?pwd=eVRxU1RWQWE2VGFhTi91enV6WWJvdz09 For additional information visit: https://www.idigbio.org/content/webinar-series-adapting-covid-resources-natural-history-collections-new-virtual-world Virtual ADBC Summit 2020 The 2020 Advancing Digitization of Biodiversity Collections (ADBC) conference will be held on September 22-25, 2020 at 1:00 PM Eastern. This year's virtual format will allow a unique opportunity for all interested members within the ADBC community to be able to attend and participate in this yearly event. The annual ADBC Summit brings together representatives from TCNs, PENs, NSF, iDigBio, and other initiatives related to the U.S. National Science Foundation?s ADBC program. The Summit inspires collaboration and focuses discussions on shared goals, challenges, and opportunities. September 22: New TCN Orientation and Existing TCN Networking Opportunities September 23: Keynote Speakers: Ian Owens and Rebecca Johnson, Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History & New TCN Presentations September 24: TCN Presentations September 25: National Academy of Sciences' Survey Report, Looking forward with NSF Panel, and Panel Discussion/Q&A For additional agenda details and daily Zoom Registration information, please visit: https://www.idigbio.org/wiki/index.php/ADBC_Summit_2020 Prepare Your Resume, Hone Your Interview Skills Registration is open for the Employment Acquisition Skills Boot Camp for Scientists, an online professional development program from the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate programs in the United States do an excellent job of preparing students for careers in academia. As early career professionals and a growing number of reports note, however, many STEM graduates (including those with advanced degrees) are interested in employment in sectors beyond the professoriate. Scientists continue to report that they feel ill-prepared and ill-equipped to pursue employment in these settings. To help scientists identify and successfully transition into the careers they desire, the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) developed Employment Acquisition Skills Boot Camp for Scientists. This intensive multi-day program blends lecture and hands-on exercises. Designed by scientists with years of work experience in diverse settings and a career coach, the program provides graduate students to senior scientists with the information, tools, and resources required to successfully identify and secure employment in a diversity of careers, including science policy, communications, researchers or program managers in the private sector, research funding organizations, non-profit management, international development, government agencies, and others. Course participants will: * Identify and clarify career interests and opportunities; * Learn to communicate their knowledge and skills to employers; * Develop strategies for finding employment; * Develop application materials with feedback from instructors; * Prepare for and practice different interview styles and scenarios. Current graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, and scientists interested in transitioning to a new employment sector should consider signing up. This course will be offered online in three half-day sessions conducted on September 25, October 2, and October 9, 2020. The program will be offered live from 12:00 - 3:30 PM Eastern Time. For more information, including a general program agenda, and to register, please visit: https://www.aibs.org/events/employmentbootcamp.html Enter the 2020 Faces of Biology Photo Contest Enter the Faces of Biology Photo Contest for your chance to win $250 and to have your photo appear on the cover of the journal BioScience. The competition, sponsored by the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), recognizes scientists who use imagery to communicate aspects of biological research to the public and policymakers. The theme of the contest is ?Faces of Biology.? Photographs entered into the contest must depict a person, such as a scientist, researcher, collections curator, technician, or student, engaging in biological research. The depicted research may occur outside, in a lab, with a natural history collection, on a computer, in a classroom, or elsewhere. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how science is being conducted in 2020. You are invited to share how you are conducting your research in these unusual times. The First Place Winner will have his/her winning photo featured on the cover of BioScience, and will receive $250 and a one year subscription to BioScience. The Second and Third Place Winners will have his/her winning photo printed inside BioScience, and will receive a one year subscription to BioScience. The winning photo from the 2019 contest was featured on the cover of the April 2020 issue of BioScience. Submissions must be received by 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time on September 30, 2020. For more information or to enter the contest, visit https://www.aibs.org/public-programs/photocontest.html. Short Takes * The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is holding a webinar entitled, Designing Research Campaigns for the Next Decade of Biological and Physical Sciences in Space, on September 29 from 1:00-4:00 PM Eastern Time. The Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space 2020-2030 is slated to begin later this year, bringing together the research community to identify priorities for the next decade. The survey will include a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) request to present research ideas, which may integrate multiple missions and multiple disciplines to tackle an overarching scientific or exploration goal. Learn more about NASA?s new research campaign initiative and ways to share ideas with the decadal survey during this webinar. Invited speakers will discuss the decadal survey, flagship missions in NASA's science mission directorate, and how to form teams and develop ideas for decadal survey white papers. 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URL: From nico.franz at asu.edu Mon Sep 14 19:45:34 2020 From: nico.franz at asu.edu (Nico Franz) Date: Mon, 14 Sep 2020 16:45:34 -0700 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Biodiversity data portal manager position at Arizona State University (bryophytes & lichens) Message-ID: The School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University ( https://sols.asu.edu/) is seeking a part-time Research Analyst (= biodiversity data portal manager). The position is part of a dynamic, collaborative Biocollections and biodiversity data science group of faculty, staff, students, volunteers, and other researchers that recently relocated into a unified, 28,000 sq. ft. facility. This new and highly accessible infrastructure is located ca. 2 miles from the main ASU Tempe Campus, and forms part of ASU's BioKIC ? Biodiversity Knowledge Integration Center (https://biokic.asu.edu/). As of 2018, our facility and personnel also constitute the primary Biorepository for NEON, the National Ecological Observatory Network (https://biorepo.neonscience.org). The part-time position is supported by an award from the National Science Foundation, Advancing Digitization of Biodiversity Collections program, for the three-year project "Digitization Thematic Collections Network: Collaborative Research: Building a global consortium of bryophytes and lichens: keystones of cryptobiotic communities" ( https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2001394). A central objective for the 25 participating U.S. herbaria is to image and digitize associated metadata for 1.2 million bryophyte and lichen specimens, while also integrating available DNA data, in order to support broadly impacting future evolutionary and ecological research. Arizona State University is among nearly one dozen primary awardee institutions in the network, and will be responsible in particular for developing, hosting and managing the network's biodiversity data portal and community of contributors and users. Access and use of the data portal is facilitated through the Symbiota software platform (http://symbiota.org/), which is being further developed by members of BioKIC. A wide range of applicant profiles will be considered; and hence candidates with diverse backgrounds are encouraged. Working partly or entirely remotely is possible. Prior inquiries to nico.franz at asu.edu are encouraged. For more information, and to submit an application, go to: https://sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Search/Home/Home?partnerid=25620&siteid=5494#jobDetails=4094868_5494 ????????????????????????????????????????? *Nico M. Franz, Ph.D.* *Professor & Curator of Insects* Director of Biocollections & BioKIC School of Life Sciences, PO Box 874108 Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4108 E-mail: nico.franz at asu.edu ????????????????????????????????????????? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ariel_gaffney at fws.gov Tue Sep 15 16:09:31 2020 From: ariel_gaffney at fws.gov (Gaffney, Ariel M) Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2020 20:09:31 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Mold in our bird collection Message-ID: Our collection here at the National Fish & Wildlife Forensic Laboratory is experiencing an unprecedented mold outbreak in our bird collection and we could use some advice about mold removal and cleaning while protecting the specimens. A few weeks ago we found two cabinets with mold growth, some skins were nearly encased in a thin mold film. The specimens with obvious mold growth were moved to the freezer, then cleaned with a cotton swab dipped in ammonia. All other specimens were placed in a hood with a UV light for 24 hours. The drawers were cleaned with ammonia and then a UV light was placed inside the cabinet for 24 hours. We have now discovered more cabinets with mold. Has anyone encountered large-scale mold outbreak in their collection? How did you handle cleaning? From what I've read, UV light exposure will kill the mold and won't necessarily harm the specimens unless exposed to UV light for an extensive period of time. Is ammonia the best way of cleaning specimens? Should we be using Ethanol or another solution for the specimens with visible mold growth? How would you wipe down/rid the bird skins of mold growing on them? Damp rag with ethanol? Cotton swabs? This is a brand new facility built in the last year. The humidity in the building ranges from 40-42% and the temperature is kept from 64-68 F. We put in dehumidifiers this week to try and drop the humidity even further and are considering an anti-fungal fogger. If anyone has had experience with any of these foggers, we'd appreciate your insight. Any/all advice would be appreciated. Thank you, Ariel Gaffney --- Ariel M. Gaffney, M.Sc. Forensic Scientist / Ornithologist Office of Law Enforcement National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory 1490 E. Main Street Ashland, OR 97520 phone: 541-488-6516 fax: 541-482-4989? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From epearl at ucla.edu Tue Sep 15 16:29:22 2020 From: epearl at ucla.edu (ELLEN PEARLSTEIN) Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2020 13:29:22 -0700 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Mold in our bird collection In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hello! Please do not irradiate these collections with UV, which will destroy the keratin! Also, ammonia or any high pH solution can displace and destroy biopigments. Often for major outbreaks, a fume cupboard can be created or rented, and collections should be vacuumed with a HEPA vacuum and swabbed with isopropanol. Operators should be using PPE. Collections should be returned to a dry climate (RH at 40% +/- 5) onto shelves that have been disinfected. Hope this helps! Ellen Ellen Pearlstein Professor UCLA Information Studies 230 GSEIS Los Angeles, CA 90095 UCLA/Getty Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials A 410 Fowler Los Angeles, CA 90095 epearl at ucla.edu Editor, Conservation of featherwork from Central and South America https://archetype.co.uk/our-titles/conservation-of-featherwork-from-central-and-south-america/?id=245 PI, Andrew W. Mellon Opportunity for Diversity in Conservation http://conservation.ucla.edu/Mellon_diversity_opportunity https://www.instagram.com/uclagettydiversityconservation/?hl=en As a land grant institution, the faculty and administration at UCLA acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin, So. Channel Islands). On Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 1:10 PM Gaffney, Ariel M wrote: > Our collection here at the National Fish & Wildlife Forensic Laboratory is > experiencing an unprecedented mold outbreak in our bird collection and we > could use some advice about mold removal and cleaning while protecting the > specimens. > > > A few weeks ago we found two cabinets with mold growth, some skins were > nearly encased in a thin mold film. The specimens with obvious mold growth > were moved to the freezer, then cleaned with a cotton swab dipped in > ammonia. All other specimens were placed in a hood with a UV light for 24 > hours. The drawers were cleaned with ammonia and then a UV light was placed > inside the cabinet for 24 hours. > > > We have now discovered more cabinets with mold. Has anyone encountered > large-scale mold outbreak in their collection? How did you handle cleaning? > > From what I've read, UV light exposure will kill the mold and won't > necessarily harm the specimens unless exposed to UV light for an extensive > period of time. > Is ammonia the best way of cleaning specimens? Should we be using Ethanol > or another solution for the specimens with visible mold growth? > > How would you wipe down/rid the bird skins of mold growing on them? Damp > rag with ethanol? Cotton swabs? > > > This is a brand new facility built in the last year. The humidity in the > building ranges from 40-42% and the temperature is kept from 64-68 F. We > put in dehumidifiers this week to try and drop the humidity even further > and are considering an anti-fungal fogger. If anyone has had experience > with any of these foggers, we'd appreciate your insight. > > > Any/all advice would be appreciated. > > > Thank you, > > Ariel Gaffney > > > --- > Ariel M. Gaffney, M.Sc. > Forensic Scientist / Ornithologist > Office of Law Enforcement > National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory > 1490 E. Main Street > Ashland, OR 97520 > > phone: 541-488-6516 > fax: 541-482-4989? > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rw at protectheritage.com Tue Sep 15 17:16:34 2020 From: rw at protectheritage.com (Robert Waller) Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2020 21:16:34 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Mold in our bird collection In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi Ariel, It seems extraordinary to have mold growth at the conditions you mention (40-42%RH and 64-68?F). Can you be certain that wet or damp materials have not been placed within the cabinets? In my experience a small amount of damp material in a metal cabinet can raise the RH to 100% for days to weeks. Rob From: Nhcoll-l On Behalf Of ELLEN PEARLSTEIN Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2020 4:29 PM To: Gaffney, Ariel M Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Mold in our bird collection Hello! Please do not irradiate these collections with UV, which will destroy the keratin! Also, ammonia or any high pH solution can displace and destroy biopigments. Often for major outbreaks, a fume cupboard can be created or rented, and collections should be vacuumed with a HEPA vacuum and swabbed with isopropanol. Operators should be using PPE. Collections should be returned to a dry climate (RH at 40% +/- 5) onto shelves that have been disinfected. Hope this helps! Ellen Ellen Pearlstein Professor UCLA Information Studies 230 GSEIS Los Angeles, CA 90095 UCLA/Getty Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials A 410 Fowler Los Angeles, CA 90095 epearl at ucla.edu Editor, Conservation of featherwork from Central and South America https://archetype.co.uk/our-titles/conservation-of-featherwork-from-central-and-south-america/?id=245 PI, Andrew W. Mellon Opportunity for Diversity in Conservation http://conservation.ucla.edu/Mellon_diversity_opportunity https://www.instagram.com/uclagettydiversityconservation/?hl=en As a land grant institution, the faculty and administration at UCLA acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin, So. Channel Islands). On Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 1:10 PM Gaffney, Ariel M > wrote: Our collection here at the National Fish & Wildlife Forensic Laboratory is experiencing an unprecedented mold outbreak in our bird collection and we could use some advice about mold removal and cleaning while protecting the specimens. A few weeks ago we found two cabinets with mold growth, some skins were nearly encased in a thin mold film. The specimens with obvious mold growth were moved to the freezer, then cleaned with a cotton swab dipped in ammonia. All other specimens were placed in a hood with a UV light for 24 hours. The drawers were cleaned with ammonia and then a UV light was placed inside the cabinet for 24 hours. We have now discovered more cabinets with mold. Has anyone encountered large-scale mold outbreak in their collection? How did you handle cleaning? From what I've read, UV light exposure will kill the mold and won't necessarily harm the specimens unless exposed to UV light for an extensive period of time. Is ammonia the best way of cleaning specimens? Should we be using Ethanol or another solution for the specimens with visible mold growth? How would you wipe down/rid the bird skins of mold growing on them? Damp rag with ethanol? Cotton swabs? This is a brand new facility built in the last year. The humidity in the building ranges from 40-42% and the temperature is kept from 64-68 F. We put in dehumidifiers this week to try and drop the humidity even further and are considering an anti-fungal fogger. If anyone has had experience with any of these foggers, we'd appreciate your insight. Any/all advice would be appreciated. Thank you, Ariel Gaffney --- Ariel M. Gaffney, M.Sc. Forensic Scientist / Ornithologist Office of Law Enforcement National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory 1490 E. Main Street Ashland, OR 97520 phone: 541-488-6516 fax: 541-482-4989? _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From couteaufin at btinternet.com Tue Sep 15 18:00:04 2020 From: couteaufin at btinternet.com (Simon Moore) Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2020 23:00:04 +0100 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Mold in our bird collection In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: It does seem odd to experience a mould outbreak at such low pH, normally upwards of 55/60%. The method I use to clean is using a soft brush with a broad spread of bristles, dipped in ethanol; make sure that the fungal growth is removed on the brush, wipe off the brush and repeat. For smaller areas of mould I use cotton swabs dipped in ethanol. With all good wishes, Simon. Simon Moore MIScT, RSci, FLS, ACR Conservator of Natural Sciences and Cutlery Historian, www.natural-history-conservation.com > On 15 Sep 2020, at 22:16, Robert Waller wrote: > > Hi Ariel, > It seems extraordinary to have mold growth at the conditions you mention (40-42%RH and 64-68?F). > Can you be certain that wet or damp materials have not been placed within the cabinets? In my experience a small amount of damp material in a metal cabinet can raise the RH to 100% for days to weeks. > Rob > > From: Nhcoll-l On Behalf Of ELLEN PEARLSTEIN > Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2020 4:29 PM > To: Gaffney, Ariel M > Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Mold in our bird collection > > Hello! > > Please do not irradiate these collections with UV, which will destroy the keratin! Also, ammonia or any high pH solution can displace and destroy biopigments. Often for major outbreaks, a fume cupboard can be created or rented, and collections should be vacuumed with a HEPA vacuum and swabbed with isopropanol. Operators should be using PPE. Collections should be returned to a dry climate (RH at 40% +/- 5) onto shelves that have been disinfected. > > Hope this helps! > Ellen > > Ellen Pearlstein > Professor > > UCLA Information Studies > 230 GSEIS > Los Angeles, CA 90095 > > UCLA/Getty Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials > A 410 Fowler > Los Angeles, CA 90095 > > epearl at ucla.edu > Editor, Conservation of featherwork from Central and South America > https://archetype.co.uk/our-titles/conservation-of-featherwork-from-central-and-south-america/?id=245 > > PI, Andrew W. Mellon Opportunity for Diversity in Conservation > http://conservation.ucla.edu/Mellon_diversity_opportunity > https://www.instagram.com/uclagettydiversityconservation/?hl=en > > > As a land grant institution, the faculty and administration at UCLA acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin, So. Channel Islands). > > > On Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 1:10 PM Gaffney, Ariel M wrote: > Our collection here at the National Fish & Wildlife Forensic Laboratory is experiencing an unprecedented mold outbreak in our bird collection and we could use some advice about mold removal and cleaning while protecting the specimens. > > > > A few weeks ago we found two cabinets with mold growth, some skins were nearly encased in a thin mold film. The specimens with obvious mold growth were moved to the freezer, then cleaned with a cotton swab dipped in ammonia. All other specimens were placed in a hood with a UV light for 24 hours. The drawers were cleaned with ammonia and then a UV light was placed inside the cabinet for 24 hours. > > > > We have now discovered more cabinets with mold. Has anyone encountered large-scale mold outbreak in their collection? How did you handle cleaning? > > From what I've read, UV light exposure will kill the mold and won't necessarily harm the specimens unless exposed to UV light for an extensive period of time. > Is ammonia the best way of cleaning specimens? Should we be using Ethanol or another solution for the specimens with visible mold growth? > > How would you wipe down/rid the bird skins of mold growing on them? Damp rag with ethanol? Cotton swabs? > > > > This is a brand new facility built in the last year. The humidity in the building ranges from 40-42% and the temperature is kept from 64-68 F. We put in dehumidifiers this week to try and drop the humidity even further and are considering an anti-fungal fogger. If anyone has had experience with any of these foggers, we'd appreciate your insight. > > > > Any/all advice would be appreciated. > > > > Thank you, > > Ariel Gaffney > > > > --- > Ariel M. Gaffney, M.Sc. > Forensic Scientist / Ornithologist > Office of Law Enforcement > National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory > 1490 E. Main Street > Ashland, OR 97520 > phone: 541-488-6516 > fax: 541-482-4989? > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. From heather.janetzki at qm.qld.gov.au Tue Sep 15 18:23:27 2020 From: heather.janetzki at qm.qld.gov.au (Heather Janetzki) Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2020 22:23:27 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Bird wing storage Message-ID: Hi Tonya, I thought I would contribute an idea for wing storage at the Queensland Museum. Small wings in clear folders in a filing cabinet. Medium wings in sleeves and hung by coat hangers on rail inside cupboards * Timber rod in slot at top for support * Sit in on leading edge and easy to access Large wings stored in 'map' style drawer * Similar to medium wings but with map cabinet tape along the top to fit on metal spikes for hanging * Metal spikes offset so they go through adjoining holes in tape. * Slide the wing you need to the gap and open out metal spikes. ( I have taken out a lot of the wings so you can see the spikes) * Timber box front face is on runners to pull out and tilts to open metal spikes Very large wings (albatross) are still stored flat on a shelf although I like the hanging idea suggested. Kind regards, Heather [cid:image002.jpg at 01D68C00.60C80C20][cid:image003.jpg at 01D68C00.60C80C20] [cid:image004.jpg at 01D68C00.60C80C20][cid:image005.jpg at 01D68C00.60C80C20] Heather Janetzki Collection Manager (Mammals/Birds) Biodiversity Program [Description: QM] PO Box 3300 | South Brisbane BC | Queensland 4101 | Australia southbank.qm.qld.gov.au The information in this email together with any attachments is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. There is no waiver of any confidentiality/privilege by your inadvertent receipt of this material. Any form of review, disclosure, modification, distribution and/or publication of this email message is prohibited, unless as a necessary part of Queensland Museum business. 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Name: image005.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 35380 bytes Desc: image005.jpg URL: From neumann at snsb.de Wed Sep 16 03:42:07 2020 From: neumann at snsb.de (Dirk Neumann) Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2020 09:42:07 +0200 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Mold in our bird collection In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi Ariel, concur with Rob; closed metal cabinets (compared to wooden ones - with different pros and cons) are perfect to trap and maintain unsuited microclimates. Damp material definitely is a source, unwanted RH and temperature fluctuations as they may occur in a new storage building during calibration of the new climate control systems could have been another potential source. Also any form of moisture released from the new building itself (e.g. from the concrete, walls, paint, etc.). With best wishes Dirk Am 15.09.2020 um 23:16 schrieb Robert Waller: > > Hi Ariel, > > It seems extraordinary to have mold growth at the conditions you > mention (40-42%RH and 64-68?F). > > Can you be certain that wet or damp materials have not been placed > within the cabinets? In my experience a small amount of damp material > in a metal cabinet can raise the RH to 100% for days to weeks. > > Rob > > *From:* Nhcoll-l *On Behalf Of > *ELLEN PEARLSTEIN > *Sent:* Tuesday, September 15, 2020 4:29 PM > *To:* Gaffney, Ariel M > *Cc:* nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] Mold in our bird collection > > Hello! > > Please do not irradiate these collections with UV, which will destroy > the keratin! Also, ammonia or any high pH solution can displace and > destroy biopigments. Often for major outbreaks, a fume cupboard can be > created or rented, and collections should be vacuumed with a HEPA > vacuum and swabbed with isopropanol. Operators should be using PPE. > Collections should be returned to a dry climate (RH at 40%?+/- 5) onto > shelves that have been disinfected. > > Hope this helps! > > Ellen > > Ellen Pearlstein > > Professor > > UCLA Information Studies > > 230 GSEIS > > Los Angeles, CA 90095 > > UCLA/Getty Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and > Ethnographic Materials > > A 410 Fowler > > Los Angeles, CA 90095 > > epearl at ucla.edu > > Editor, Conservation of featherwork from Central and South America > > https://archetype.co.uk/our-titles/conservation-of-featherwork-from-central-and-south-america/?id=245 > > PI, Andrew W. Mellon Opportunity for Diversity in Conservation > > http://conservation.ucla.edu/Mellon_diversity_opportunity > > https://www.instagram.com/uclagettydiversityconservation/?hl=en > > As a land grant institution, the faculty and administration at UCLA > acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land > caretakers of Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin, So. Channel Islands). > > On Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 1:10 PM Gaffney, Ariel M > > wrote: > > Our collection here at the National Fish & Wildlife Forensic > Laboratory is experiencing an unprecedented mold outbreak in our > bird collection and we could use some advice about mold removal > and cleaning while protecting the specimens. > > A few weeks ago we found two cabinets with mold growth, some skins > were nearly encased in a thin mold film. The specimens with > obvious mold growth were moved to the freezer, then cleaned with a > cotton swab dipped in ammonia. All other specimens were placed in > a hood with a UV light for 24 hours. The drawers were cleaned with > ammonia and then a UV light was placed inside the cabinet for 24 > hours. > > We have now discovered more cabinets with mold.?Has anyone > encountered large-scale mold outbreak in their collection? How did > you handle cleaning? > > From what I've read, UV light exposure will kill the mold and > won't necessarily harm the specimens unless exposed to UV light > for an extensive period of time. > Is ammonia the best way of cleaning specimens??Should we be using > Ethanol or another solution for the specimens with visible mold > growth? > > How would you wipe down/rid the bird skins of mold growing on > them? Damp rag with ethanol? Cotton swabs? > > This is a brand new facility built in the last year.?The humidity > in the building ranges from 40-42% and the temperature is kept > from 64-68 F. We put in dehumidifiers this week to try and drop > the humidity even further and are considering an anti-fungal > fogger. If anyone has had experience with any of these foggers, > we'd appreciate your insight. > > Any/all advice would be appreciated. > > Thank you, > > Ariel Gaffney > > --- > Ariel?M. Gaffney, M.Sc. > Forensic Scientist / Ornithologist > Office of Law Enforcement > National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory > 1490 E. Main Street > Ashland, OR ?97520 > > phone: ?541-488-6516 > fax: 541-482-4989? > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- Dirk Neumann Tel: 089 / 8107-111 Fax: 089 / 8107-300 neumann(a)snsb.de Postanschrift: Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns Zoologische Staatssammlung M?nchen Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Storage M?nchhausenstr. 21 81247 M?nchen Besuchen Sie unsere Sammlung: http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ --------- Dirk Neumann Tel: +49-89-8107-111 Fax: +49-89-8107-300 neumann(a)snsb.de postal address: Bavarian Natural History Collections The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Storage Muenchhausenstr. 21 81247 Munich (Germany) Visit our section at: http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: kpkifplfagdkjchk.png Type: image/png Size: 23308 bytes Desc: not available URL: From ecashion at ohiohistory.org Wed Sep 16 10:53:42 2020 From: ecashion at ohiohistory.org (Erin Cashion) Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2020 14:53:42 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Mold in our bird collection In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi Ariel, Your post is of particular interest to me as my institution had a mold outbreak in one of our buildings containing history objects a few years ago due to an HVAC leak, and it was a nightmare (and $$$) to remediate. We will soon be constructing a new collections facility, and I?m keen to avoid a similar scenario. I agree with Rob and Dirk and suggest you first consider all possible sources of the dampness coming from inside the cabinets and work to eliminate it. Consider how the specimens were handled, wrapped, stored, and transported between the time it was in the old facility and relocated to the new facility (and the conditions they encountered during that time). Given your description of the mold bloom on the specimens it seems possible that tissues may have rehydrated to some degree, and are themselves the source the moisture. How were the specimens prepared ? are they traditional study skins, or freeze dried? Are they stored individually in plastic sleeves or boxes, or laid out on the drawers? Some other questions for consideration: -Prior to the discovery of the mold outbreak, how much time had passed since those specimens were last viewed or used for research? -Are the specimens stored below ground level? If so, is the surrounding substrate consistently damp? -What about the cabinets themselves? Are they made of wood or metal? How were they transported and stored during the collections move? What are the shelf lining materials made of, could they be harboring moisture? In addition to cleaning the mold off of the specimens as Ellen suggested with isopropyl and a HEPA vac (if the specimens are not too friable for vacuuming), I recommend placing trays of a granular indicator dessicant in ALL of your specimen cabinets and changing/recharging it as needed until the source of the moisture is identified and addressed. Prevention is key to keep the mold from gaining a foothold in the rest of the collection while you address the current outbreak. If you have access to an industrial freeze drier, you could also cycle the specimens through it to remove any residual moisture; however this is a more energy-intensive option. Wishing you the best, Erin Erin B. Cashion, Curator of Natural History Ohio History Connection 800 East 17th Ave. Columbus, Ohio 43211 p. 614-298-2054 ecashion at ohiohistory.org The Ohio History Connection?s mission is to spark discovery of Ohio?s stories. Embrace the present, share the past and transform the future. From: Nhcoll-l [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Dirk Neumann Sent: Wednesday, September 16, 2020 3:42 AM To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Mold in our bird collection Hi Ariel, concur with Rob; closed metal cabinets (compared to wooden ones - with different pros and cons) are perfect to trap and maintain unsuited microclimates. Damp material definitely is a source, unwanted RH and temperature fluctuations as they may occur in a new storage building during calibration of the new climate control systems could have been another potential source. Also any form of moisture released from the new building itself (e.g. from the concrete, walls, paint, etc.). With best wishes Dirk Am 15.09.2020 um 23:16 schrieb Robert Waller: Hi Ariel, It seems extraordinary to have mold growth at the conditions you mention (40-42%RH and 64-68?F). Can you be certain that wet or damp materials have not been placed within the cabinets? In my experience a small amount of damp material in a metal cabinet can raise the RH to 100% for days to weeks. Rob From: Nhcoll-l On Behalf Of ELLEN PEARLSTEIN Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2020 4:29 PM To: Gaffney, Ariel M Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Mold in our bird collection Hello! Please do not irradiate these collections with UV, which will destroy the keratin! Also, ammonia or any high pH solution can displace and destroy biopigments. Often for major outbreaks, a fume cupboard can be created or rented, and collections should be vacuumed with a HEPA vacuum and swabbed with isopropanol. Operators should be using PPE. Collections should be returned to a dry climate (RH at 40% +/- 5) onto shelves that have been disinfected. Hope this helps! Ellen Ellen Pearlstein Professor UCLA Information Studies 230 GSEIS Los Angeles, CA 90095 UCLA/Getty Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials A 410 Fowler Los Angeles, CA 90095 epearl at ucla.edu Editor, Conservation of featherwork from Central and South America https://archetype.co.uk/our-titles/conservation-of-featherwork-from-central-and-south-america/?id=245 PI, Andrew W. Mellon Opportunity for Diversity in Conservation http://conservation.ucla.edu/Mellon_diversity_opportunity https://www.instagram.com/uclagettydiversityconservation/?hl=en As a land grant institution, the faculty and administration at UCLA acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin, So. Channel Islands). On Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 1:10 PM Gaffney, Ariel M > wrote: Our collection here at the National Fish & Wildlife Forensic Laboratory is experiencing an unprecedented mold outbreak in our bird collection and we could use some advice about mold removal and cleaning while protecting the specimens. A few weeks ago we found two cabinets with mold growth, some skins were nearly encased in a thin mold film. The specimens with obvious mold growth were moved to the freezer, then cleaned with a cotton swab dipped in ammonia. All other specimens were placed in a hood with a UV light for 24 hours. The drawers were cleaned with ammonia and then a UV light was placed inside the cabinet for 24 hours. We have now discovered more cabinets with mold. Has anyone encountered large-scale mold outbreak in their collection? How did you handle cleaning? From what I've read, UV light exposure will kill the mold and won't necessarily harm the specimens unless exposed to UV light for an extensive period of time. Is ammonia the best way of cleaning specimens? Should we be using Ethanol or another solution for the specimens with visible mold growth? How would you wipe down/rid the bird skins of mold growing on them? Damp rag with ethanol? Cotton swabs? This is a brand new facility built in the last year. The humidity in the building ranges from 40-42% and the temperature is kept from 64-68 F. We put in dehumidifiers this week to try and drop the humidity even further and are considering an anti-fungal fogger. If anyone has had experience with any of these foggers, we'd appreciate your insight. Any/all advice would be appreciated. Thank you, Ariel Gaffney --- Ariel M. Gaffney, M.Sc. Forensic Scientist / Ornithologist Office of Law Enforcement National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory 1490 E. Main Street Ashland, OR 97520 phone: 541-488-6516 fax: 541-482-4989? _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- [cid:image003.png at 01D68C17.90288780] Dirk Neumann Tel: 089 / 8107-111 Fax: 089 / 8107-300 neumann(a)snsb.de Postanschrift: Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns Zoologische Staatssammlung M?nchen Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Storage M?nchhausenstr. 21 81247 M?nchen Besuchen Sie unsere Sammlung: http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ --------- Dirk Neumann Tel: +49-89-8107-111 Fax: +49-89-8107-300 neumann(a)snsb.de postal address: Bavarian Natural History Collections The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Storage Muenchhausenstr. 21 81247 Munich (Germany) Visit our section at: http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.png Type: image/png Size: 8603 bytes Desc: image003.png URL: From JMGAGNON at nature.ca Wed Sep 16 12:08:38 2020 From: JMGAGNON at nature.ca (Jean-Marc Gagnon) Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2020 16:08:38 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXT]Re: Mold in our bird collection In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Ariel, While this is not directly addressing sources of moisture from within the cabinets, we?ve found (and Rob will remember) that normal, regular floor cleaning within the collection rooms was a significant source of moisture within the rooms. Being in a new building, we also wanted to keep it nice and clean. Maintenance staff would typically come in with their bucket of warm soapy water and big mop and leave the cleaned floor with quite a bit of water remaining on the surface. This water would also get under the cabinets. This was particularly critical for cabinets sitting directly on the floor. While we did not observe mould on our specimens, our cleaner are now instructed to thoroughly wring their mop to leave as little water as possible on the surfaces. Do keep us informed of your conclusions and remediation approaches. Cheers, Jean-Marc Jean-Marc Gagnon, Ph.D. Curator, Invertebrate Collections / Chief Scientist Conservateur, Collection des invert?br?s / Expert scientifique en chef Canadian Museum of Nature / Mus?e canadien de la nature 613 364 4066 613 851-7556 cell 613 364 4027 Fax jmgagnon at nature.ca Adresse postale / Postal Address: Canadian Museum of Nature / Mus?e canadien de la nature P.O. Box 3443, Sta. D / Casier Postal 3443, Succ. D Ottawa, ON K1P 6P4 / Ottawa, ON K1P 6P4 Canada / Canada Adresse de livraison / Courier Address : 1740 Pink Road, Gatineau, QC, J9J 3N7 From: Nhcoll-l [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Erin Cashion Sent: September 16, 2020 10:54 AM To: neumann at snsb.de; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: [EXT]Re: [Nhcoll-l] Mold in our bird collection COURRIEL EXTERNE. Ne cliquez sur aucun lien ou pi?ce jointe ? moins que vous ne connaissiez l'exp?diteur. EXTERNAL EMAIL. Do not click any links or attachments unless you know the sender. Hi Ariel, Your post is of particular interest to me as my institution had a mold outbreak in one of our buildings containing history objects a few years ago due to an HVAC leak, and it was a nightmare (and $$$) to remediate. We will soon be constructing a new collections facility, and I?m keen to avoid a similar scenario. I agree with Rob and Dirk and suggest you first consider all possible sources of the dampness coming from inside the cabinets and work to eliminate it. Consider how the specimens were handled, wrapped, stored, and transported between the time it was in the old facility and relocated to the new facility (and the conditions they encountered during that time). Given your description of the mold bloom on the specimens it seems possible that tissues may have rehydrated to some degree, and are themselves the source the moisture. How were the specimens prepared ? are they traditional study skins, or freeze dried? Are they stored individually in plastic sleeves or boxes, or laid out on the drawers? Some other questions for consideration: -Prior to the discovery of the mold outbreak, how much time had passed since those specimens were last viewed or used for research? -Are the specimens stored below ground level? If so, is the surrounding substrate consistently damp? -What about the cabinets themselves? Are they made of wood or metal? How were they transported and stored during the collections move? What are the shelf lining materials made of, could they be harboring moisture? In addition to cleaning the mold off of the specimens as Ellen suggested with isopropyl and a HEPA vac (if the specimens are not too friable for vacuuming), I recommend placing trays of a granular indicator dessicant in ALL of your specimen cabinets and changing/recharging it as needed until the source of the moisture is identified and addressed. Prevention is key to keep the mold from gaining a foothold in the rest of the collection while you address the current outbreak. If you have access to an industrial freeze drier, you could also cycle the specimens through it to remove any residual moisture; however this is a more energy-intensive option. Wishing you the best, Erin Erin B. Cashion, Curator of Natural History Ohio History Connection 800 East 17th Ave. Columbus, Ohio 43211 p. 614-298-2054 ecashion at ohiohistory.org The Ohio History Connection?s mission is to spark discovery of Ohio?s stories. Embrace the present, share the past and transform the future. From: Nhcoll-l [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Dirk Neumann Sent: Wednesday, September 16, 2020 3:42 AM To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Mold in our bird collection Hi Ariel, concur with Rob; closed metal cabinets (compared to wooden ones - with different pros and cons) are perfect to trap and maintain unsuited microclimates. Damp material definitely is a source, unwanted RH and temperature fluctuations as they may occur in a new storage building during calibration of the new climate control systems could have been another potential source. Also any form of moisture released from the new building itself (e.g. from the concrete, walls, paint, etc.). With best wishes Dirk Am 15.09.2020 um 23:16 schrieb Robert Waller: Hi Ariel, It seems extraordinary to have mold growth at the conditions you mention (40-42%RH and 64-68?F). Can you be certain that wet or damp materials have not been placed within the cabinets? In my experience a small amount of damp material in a metal cabinet can raise the RH to 100% for days to weeks. Rob From: Nhcoll-l On Behalf Of ELLEN PEARLSTEIN Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2020 4:29 PM To: Gaffney, Ariel M Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Mold in our bird collection Hello! Please do not irradiate these collections with UV, which will destroy the keratin! Also, ammonia or any high pH solution can displace and destroy biopigments. Often for major outbreaks, a fume cupboard can be created or rented, and collections should be vacuumed with a HEPA vacuum and swabbed with isopropanol. Operators should be using PPE. Collections should be returned to a dry climate (RH at 40% +/- 5) onto shelves that have been disinfected. Hope this helps! Ellen Ellen Pearlstein Professor UCLA Information Studies 230 GSEIS Los Angeles, CA 90095 UCLA/Getty Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials A 410 Fowler Los Angeles, CA 90095 epearl at ucla.edu Editor, Conservation of featherwork from Central and South America https://archetype.co.uk/our-titles/conservation-of-featherwork-from-central-and-south-america/?id=245 PI, Andrew W. Mellon Opportunity for Diversity in Conservation http://conservation.ucla.edu/Mellon_diversity_opportunity https://www.instagram.com/uclagettydiversityconservation/?hl=en As a land grant institution, the faculty and administration at UCLA acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin, So. Channel Islands). On Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 1:10 PM Gaffney, Ariel M > wrote: Our collection here at the National Fish & Wildlife Forensic Laboratory is experiencing an unprecedented mold outbreak in our bird collection and we could use some advice about mold removal and cleaning while protecting the specimens. A few weeks ago we found two cabinets with mold growth, some skins were nearly encased in a thin mold film. The specimens with obvious mold growth were moved to the freezer, then cleaned with a cotton swab dipped in ammonia. All other specimens were placed in a hood with a UV light for 24 hours. The drawers were cleaned with ammonia and then a UV light was placed inside the cabinet for 24 hours. We have now discovered more cabinets with mold. Has anyone encountered large-scale mold outbreak in their collection? How did you handle cleaning? From what I've read, UV light exposure will kill the mold and won't necessarily harm the specimens unless exposed to UV light for an extensive period of time. Is ammonia the best way of cleaning specimens? Should we be using Ethanol or another solution for the specimens with visible mold growth? How would you wipe down/rid the bird skins of mold growing on them? Damp rag with ethanol? Cotton swabs? This is a brand new facility built in the last year. The humidity in the building ranges from 40-42% and the temperature is kept from 64-68 F. We put in dehumidifiers this week to try and drop the humidity even further and are considering an anti-fungal fogger. If anyone has had experience with any of these foggers, we'd appreciate your insight. Any/all advice would be appreciated. Thank you, Ariel Gaffney --- Ariel M. Gaffney, M.Sc. Forensic Scientist / Ornithologist Office of Law Enforcement National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory 1490 E. Main Street Ashland, OR 97520 phone: 541-488-6516 fax: 541-482-4989? _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- [cid:image001.png at 01D68C21.16F6C9D0] Dirk Neumann Tel: 089 / 8107-111 Fax: 089 / 8107-300 neumann(a)snsb.de Postanschrift: Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns Zoologische Staatssammlung M?nchen Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Storage M?nchhausenstr. 21 81247 M?nchen Besuchen Sie unsere Sammlung: http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ --------- Dirk Neumann Tel: +49-89-8107-111 Fax: +49-89-8107-300 neumann(a)snsb.de postal address: Bavarian Natural History Collections The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Storage Muenchhausenstr. 21 81247 Munich (Germany) Visit our section at: http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ [https://www.nature.ca/sites/all/themes/realdecoy/images/splash/splash-logo.jpg] Saving the World with Evidence, Knowledge and Inspiration. (click to learn more) Sauver le monde avec des preuves, des connaissances et de l'inspiration. (cliquez pour en savoir plus) cmnEmailFooterDefault. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 8603 bytes Desc: image001.png URL: From prc44 at drexel.edu Wed Sep 16 12:12:31 2020 From: prc44 at drexel.edu (Callomon,Paul) Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2020 16:12:31 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXT]Re: Mold in our bird collection In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: For some time now we have forbidden any form of cleaning in our collections apart from vacuums with bags. Previously the contract cleaners were using brooms (just stirs up the dust) and mops (rearranges the dirt into artistic patterns). Only vacuums actually remove dirt from the space. Paul Callomon MSc Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates ________________________________ Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195, USA prc44 at drexel.edu Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170 From: Nhcoll-l On Behalf Of Jean-Marc Gagnon Sent: Wednesday, September 16, 2020 12:09 PM To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXT]Re: Mold in our bird collection External. Ariel, While this is not directly addressing sources of moisture from within the cabinets, we?ve found (and Rob will remember) that normal, regular floor cleaning within the collection rooms was a significant source of moisture within the rooms. Being in a new building, we also wanted to keep it nice and clean. Maintenance staff would typically come in with their bucket of warm soapy water and big mop and leave the cleaned floor with quite a bit of water remaining on the surface. This water would also get under the cabinets. This was particularly critical for cabinets sitting directly on the floor. While we did not observe mould on our specimens, our cleaner are now instructed to thoroughly wring their mop to leave as little water as possible on the surfaces. Do keep us informed of your conclusions and remediation approaches. Cheers, Jean-Marc Jean-Marc Gagnon, Ph.D. Curator, Invertebrate Collections / Chief Scientist Conservateur, Collection des invert?br?s / Expert scientifique en chef Canadian Museum of Nature / Mus?e canadien de la nature 613 364 4066 613 851-7556 cell 613 364 4027 Fax jmgagnon at nature.ca Adresse postale / Postal Address: Canadian Museum of Nature / Mus?e canadien de la nature P.O. Box 3443, Sta. D / Casier Postal 3443, Succ. D Ottawa, ON K1P 6P4 / Ottawa, ON K1P 6P4 Canada / Canada Adresse de livraison / Courier Address : 1740 Pink Road, Gatineau, QC, J9J 3N7 From: Nhcoll-l [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Erin Cashion Sent: September 16, 2020 10:54 AM To: neumann at snsb.de; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: [EXT]Re: [Nhcoll-l] Mold in our bird collection COURRIEL EXTERNE. Ne cliquez sur aucun lien ou pi?ce jointe ? moins que vous ne connaissiez l'exp?diteur. EXTERNAL EMAIL. Do not click any links or attachments unless you know the sender. Hi Ariel, Your post is of particular interest to me as my institution had a mold outbreak in one of our buildings containing history objects a few years ago due to an HVAC leak, and it was a nightmare (and $$$) to remediate. We will soon be constructing a new collections facility, and I?m keen to avoid a similar scenario. I agree with Rob and Dirk and suggest you first consider all possible sources of the dampness coming from inside the cabinets and work to eliminate it. Consider how the specimens were handled, wrapped, stored, and transported between the time it was in the old facility and relocated to the new facility (and the conditions they encountered during that time). Given your description of the mold bloom on the specimens it seems possible that tissues may have rehydrated to some degree, and are themselves the source the moisture. How were the specimens prepared ? are they traditional study skins, or freeze dried? Are they stored individually in plastic sleeves or boxes, or laid out on the drawers? Some other questions for consideration: -Prior to the discovery of the mold outbreak, how much time had passed since those specimens were last viewed or used for research? -Are the specimens stored below ground level? If so, is the surrounding substrate consistently damp? -What about the cabinets themselves? Are they made of wood or metal? How were they transported and stored during the collections move? What are the shelf lining materials made of, could they be harboring moisture? In addition to cleaning the mold off of the specimens as Ellen suggested with isopropyl and a HEPA vac (if the specimens are not too friable for vacuuming), I recommend placing trays of a granular indicator dessicant in ALL of your specimen cabinets and changing/recharging it as needed until the source of the moisture is identified and addressed. Prevention is key to keep the mold from gaining a foothold in the rest of the collection while you address the current outbreak. If you have access to an industrial freeze drier, you could also cycle the specimens through it to remove any residual moisture; however this is a more energy-intensive option. Wishing you the best, Erin Erin B. Cashion, Curator of Natural History Ohio History Connection 800 East 17th Ave. Columbus, Ohio 43211 p. 614-298-2054 ecashion at ohiohistory.org The Ohio History Connection?s mission is to spark discovery of Ohio?s stories. Embrace the present, share the past and transform the future. From: Nhcoll-l [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Dirk Neumann Sent: Wednesday, September 16, 2020 3:42 AM To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Mold in our bird collection Hi Ariel, concur with Rob; closed metal cabinets (compared to wooden ones - with different pros and cons) are perfect to trap and maintain unsuited microclimates. Damp material definitely is a source, unwanted RH and temperature fluctuations as they may occur in a new storage building during calibration of the new climate control systems could have been another potential source. Also any form of moisture released from the new building itself (e.g. from the concrete, walls, paint, etc.). With best wishes Dirk Am 15.09.2020 um 23:16 schrieb Robert Waller: Hi Ariel, It seems extraordinary to have mold growth at the conditions you mention (40-42%RH and 64-68?F). Can you be certain that wet or damp materials have not been placed within the cabinets? In my experience a small amount of damp material in a metal cabinet can raise the RH to 100% for days to weeks. Rob From: Nhcoll-l On Behalf Of ELLEN PEARLSTEIN Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2020 4:29 PM To: Gaffney, Ariel M Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Mold in our bird collection Hello! Please do not irradiate these collections with UV, which will destroy the keratin! Also, ammonia or any high pH solution can displace and destroy biopigments. Often for major outbreaks, a fume cupboard can be created or rented, and collections should be vacuumed with a HEPA vacuum and swabbed with isopropanol. Operators should be using PPE. Collections should be returned to a dry climate (RH at 40% +/- 5) onto shelves that have been disinfected. Hope this helps! Ellen Ellen Pearlstein Professor UCLA Information Studies 230 GSEIS Los Angeles, CA 90095 UCLA/Getty Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials A 410 Fowler Los Angeles, CA 90095 epearl at ucla.edu Editor, Conservation of featherwork from Central and South America https://archetype.co.uk/our-titles/conservation-of-featherwork-from-central-and-south-america/?id=245 PI, Andrew W. Mellon Opportunity for Diversity in Conservation http://conservation.ucla.edu/Mellon_diversity_opportunity https://www.instagram.com/uclagettydiversityconservation/?hl=en As a land grant institution, the faculty and administration at UCLA acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin, So. Channel Islands). On Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 1:10 PM Gaffney, Ariel M > wrote: Our collection here at the National Fish & Wildlife Forensic Laboratory is experiencing an unprecedented mold outbreak in our bird collection and we could use some advice about mold removal and cleaning while protecting the specimens. A few weeks ago we found two cabinets with mold growth, some skins were nearly encased in a thin mold film. The specimens with obvious mold growth were moved to the freezer, then cleaned with a cotton swab dipped in ammonia. All other specimens were placed in a hood with a UV light for 24 hours. The drawers were cleaned with ammonia and then a UV light was placed inside the cabinet for 24 hours. We have now discovered more cabinets with mold. Has anyone encountered large-scale mold outbreak in their collection? How did you handle cleaning? From what I've read, UV light exposure will kill the mold and won't necessarily harm the specimens unless exposed to UV light for an extensive period of time. Is ammonia the best way of cleaning specimens? Should we be using Ethanol or another solution for the specimens with visible mold growth? How would you wipe down/rid the bird skins of mold growing on them? Damp rag with ethanol? Cotton swabs? This is a brand new facility built in the last year. The humidity in the building ranges from 40-42% and the temperature is kept from 64-68 F. We put in dehumidifiers this week to try and drop the humidity even further and are considering an anti-fungal fogger. If anyone has had experience with any of these foggers, we'd appreciate your insight. Any/all advice would be appreciated. Thank you, Ariel Gaffney --- Ariel M. Gaffney, M.Sc. Forensic Scientist / Ornithologist Office of Law Enforcement National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory 1490 E. Main Street Ashland, OR 97520 phone: 541-488-6516 fax: 541-482-4989? _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- [cid:image001.png at 01D68C22.A611A800] Dirk Neumann Tel: 089 / 8107-111 Fax: 089 / 8107-300 neumann(a)snsb.de Postanschrift: Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns Zoologische Staatssammlung M?nchen Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Storage M?nchhausenstr. 21 81247 M?nchen Besuchen Sie unsere Sammlung: http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ --------- Dirk Neumann Tel: +49-89-8107-111 Fax: +49-89-8107-300 neumann(a)snsb.de postal address: Bavarian Natural History Collections The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Storage Muenchhausenstr. 21 81247 Munich (Germany) Visit our section at: http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ [https://www.nature.ca/sites/all/themes/realdecoy/images/splash/splash-logo.jpg] Saving the World with Evidence, Knowledge and Inspiration. (click to learn more) Sauver le monde avec des preuves, des connaissances et de l'inspiration. (cliquez pour en savoir plus) cmnEmailFooterDefault. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 8603 bytes Desc: image001.png URL: From dsm7b at virginia.edu Wed Sep 16 13:38:01 2020 From: dsm7b at virginia.edu (McLeod, David Stirling (dsm7b)) Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2020 17:38:01 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Photo boxes Message-ID: <5BABDA01-2604-43F8-887C-B1B0CEBE73A5@virginia.edu> It seems that the MK Digital Direct Photo E-Box is no longer available. Any recommendations for similar (or better) photo boxes for imaging specimens? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From amiller7 at illinois.edu Wed Sep 16 13:57:25 2020 From: amiller7 at illinois.edu (Miller, Andrew Nicholas) Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2020 17:57:25 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Photo boxes In-Reply-To: <5BABDA01-2604-43F8-887C-B1B0CEBE73A5@virginia.edu> References: <5BABDA01-2604-43F8-887C-B1B0CEBE73A5@virginia.edu> Message-ID: <10AED6D4-4353-4706-AB10-87A2E59D82CC@illinois.edu> I just got a quote on this light box: Thank you for the inquiry about our Photography Automation Tools. Here is a quick overview of Ortery Technologies. I tried reaching you earlier by phone but didn?t have much luck. The Photosimile 50 is priced at $2,200 and includes the Ortery Capture Software, lifetime technical support, and 1-year manufacturer warranty. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. I look forward to having a chance to discuss your requirements and to explore how Ortery solutions will provide value to your current workflow. Sincerely, [cid:image001.png at 01D6810D.8EF8B430] Ian Jones Account Executive 949-859-5580 www.Ortery.com Let Your Pictures Do the Talking? [cid:image002.png at 01D6810D.8EF8B430] [cid:image003.png at 01D6810D.8EF8B430] [cid:image004.png at 01D6810D.8EF8B430] On Sep 16, 2020, at 12:38 PM, McLeod, David Stirling (dsm7b) > wrote: It seems that the MK Digital Direct Photo E-Box is no longer available. Any recommendations for similar (or better) photo boxes for imaging specimens? _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. ????????????????????????????? Andrew Miller, Ph.D. Mycologist and Director of the Herbarium/Fungarium University of Illinois Illinois Natural History Survey 1816 South Oak Street Champaign, IL 61820-6970 phone: (217) 244-0439 email: amiller7 at illinois.edu website: http://www.inhs.illinois.edu/research/pi/amiller Office address: Robert A. Evers Laboratory Room 2003 1909 South Oak Street, MC-652 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 7217 bytes Desc: image001.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.png Type: image/png Size: 441 bytes Desc: image002.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.png Type: image/png Size: 466 bytes Desc: image003.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image004.png Type: image/png Size: 462 bytes Desc: image004.png URL: From katelin.d.pearson24 at gmail.com Wed Sep 16 14:00:58 2020 From: katelin.d.pearson24 at gmail.com (Katelin Pearson) Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2020 11:00:58 -0700 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Photo boxes In-Reply-To: <5BABDA01-2604-43F8-887C-B1B0CEBE73A5@virginia.edu> References: <5BABDA01-2604-43F8-887C-B1B0CEBE73A5@virginia.edu> Message-ID: We use the Ortery Photosimile 50 for imaging our herbarium specimens. It's not cheap ($2100-2800), but it has worked for our purposes. You might not find information about it on their website, but they still have it available. ~Katie On Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 10:55 AM McLeod, David Stirling (dsm7b) < dsm7b at virginia.edu> wrote: > It seems that the MK Digital Direct Photo E-Box is no longer available. > Any recommendations for similar (or better) photo boxes for imaging > specimens? > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -- Katelin D. Pearson Project manager, California Phenology TCN Curator, Robert F. Hoover Herbarium (OBI) California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From abentley at ku.edu Thu Sep 17 10:54:29 2020 From: abentley at ku.edu (Bentley, Andrew Charles) Date: Thu, 17 Sep 2020 14:54:29 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Biological Collections: Ensuring Critical Research and Education for the 21st Century - Report Public Briefing Message-ID: <7CB6E408-D216-4C25-BE3A-25333C98B402@ku.edu> Reminder that this event is in about 10 minutes: Please join us for a 1-hour public webinar to discuss the findings of this new report. Dr. Shirley Pomponi of the Florida Atlantic University and Dr. James P. Collins of the Arizona State University, co-chairs of the report committee, will present brief highlights of the report recommendations. Following the presentation, Pamela Soltis of the University of Florida, Manzour Hazbon of the American Type Culture Collection, and George Matsumoto of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, three members of the report consensus committee, will join the co-chairs to answer questions from webinar registrants. A full presentation of the report findings and recommendations (30-min) is already available for viewing on our website. Webinar registrants and members of the community are highly encouraged to submit questions in advance of this event through this link: https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/5829438/Biological-Collections-Ensuring-Critical-Research-and-Education-for-the-21st-Century-Submit-a-Question Register here: https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/09-17-2020/biological-collections-ensuring-critical-research-and-education-for-the-21st-century-report-public-briefing under events A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jpandey at aibs.org Thu Sep 17 15:15:29 2020 From: jpandey at aibs.org (Jyotsna Pandey) Date: Thu, 17 Sep 2020 15:15:29 -0400 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Last Chance to Register: AIBS Employment Acquisition Skills Boot Camp for Scientists In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: *How to market yourself, excel at interviews, and secure the job you desire* Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate programs in the United States do an excellent job of preparing students for careers in academia. As early career professionals and a growing number of reports note, however, many STEM graduates (including those with advanced degrees) are interested in employment in sectors beyond the professoriate. Scientists continue to report that they feel ill-prepared and ill-equipped to pursue employment in these settings. To help scientists identify and successfully transition into the careers they desire, the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) developed Employment Acquisition Skills Boot Camp for Scientists. This intensive multi-day program blends lecture and hands-on exercises. Designed by scientists with years of work experience in diverse settings and a career coach, the program provides graduate students to senior scientists with the information, tools, and resources required to successfully identify and secure employment in a diversity of careers, including science policy, communications, researchers or program managers in the private sector, research funding organizations, non-profit management, international development, government agencies, and others. Course participants will: - Identify and clarify career interests and opportunities; - Learn to communicate their knowledge and skills to employers; - Develop strategies for finding employment; - Develop application materials with feedback from instructors; - Prepare for and practice different interview styles and scenarios. *Who should take this course?* Current graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, and scientists interested in transitioning to a new employment sector. *Date and Location* This course will be offered online in three half-day sessions conducted on September 25, October 2, and October 9, 2020. The program will be offered live from 12:00 - 3:30 PM Eastern Time. For more information, including pricing, and to register visit: https://www.aibs.org/events/employmentbootcamp.html __________________________________________ Jyotsna Pandey, Ph.D. Public Policy Manager American Institute of Biological Sciences 950 Herndon Parkway Suite 450 Herndon, VA 20170 Phone: 202-628-1500 x 225 -- This message is confidential and should only be read by its intended recipients.? If you have received it in error, please notify the sender and delete all copies. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Jeff.Stephenson at dmns.org Thu Sep 17 17:29:08 2020 From: Jeff.Stephenson at dmns.org (Jeff Stephenson) Date: Thu, 17 Sep 2020 21:29:08 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] October - November On-Line Courses -- Museum Study LLC Message-ID: Hello, Please see below for a compendium of on-line courses in Museum Studies and Collections Management. This list is provided by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections Professional Development Committee as a monthly service for nhcoll subscribers. Please contact the course providers or instructors for more information or questions. As a reminder, nhcoll is not open for advertising by individuals; however, if you would like to have your courses appear in this compendium, please feel free to submit your offerings to jeff.stephenson at dmns.org, and we'll see that you get in. Thank you >From Museum Study, LLC *NEW COURSE* Climate Change Interpretation begins Oct 5 on MuseumStudy.com Join Professor John Veverka for the 4 week online course Climate Change Interpretation. Climate change and global warming issues are quickly reaching a critical level affecting each of us as well as the world every day. From enabling extreme weather, sea level increases from glacial melting and flooding, affecting farming and food production, and the increasing health risks such as asthma in children, we, as interpreters, interpretive organizations and agencies, museums and zoo educators have to do a better job in interpreting climate issues to our visitors. We need to do this particularly at the grass root level, for our own visitors raising awareness of problems and de-bunking myths. For more information visit our website: http://www.museumstudy.com/courses/course-list/climate-change-interpretation/ Rights & Reproductions 2: Fair Use, Open Access, and More 4 week online course begins October 5 on MuseumStudy.com Rights and reproductions methodologies are seemingly ever-changing with new technologies, additional distribution avenues, evolving case law, applicable court decisions, and new legislation. Join Anne M. Young for the four week online course Rights & Reproductions 2: Fair Use, Open Access, and More. Participants will further investigate current trends in rights and reproductions practices at cultural institutions, through discussions of fair use / fair dealing guidelines and codes, Creative Commons and RightsStatements.org, Open Access and more. For more information visit our website: http://www.museumstudy.com/courses/course-list/rights-reproductions-2-fair-use-open-access-and-more/ Assessing Risk to Cultural Property 2 online course begins Oct 5 on MuseumStudy.com This course builds on the foundation instructor Robert Waller established in Assessing Risk to Cultural Property 1. We will explore challenges to quantifying risks and strategies for estimating rates of, and expected impacts of, sporadic incidents (type 2 risks) employing examples based on participant situations. Means of determining or estimating rates of progressive changes (type 3 risks) are provided and practiced. Finally, methods for presenting comprehensive, (semi-) quantitative risk profiles are demonstrated and employed by participants. Prerequisite: Assessing Risk to Cultural Property 1 or a Protect Heritage workshop in the last 5 years. For more information visit our website: http://www.museumstudy.com/courses/course-list/assessing-risk-to-cultural-property-2/ Integrated Pest Management: The Plan and Implementation online course begins November 2 on MuseumStudy.com A written plan formalizes the IPM strategy and keeps management abreast of your status. It organizes your ideas and lays the groundwork for the needs of the collection and the building(s). It provides the direction in which you want to take the program, including grant funding and accreditation. Join Carnegie Museum of Natural History Conservator Gretchen Anderson for this four week online course in which participants will learn how to apply IPM principles to their specific situation and institution. A draft plan and specific implementation strategies will be developed and discussed. Even though our institutions have different challenges the exchange of ideas presents the opportunity for us to help each other brainstorm solutions that will work for our situation. For more information visit our website: http://www.museumstudy.com/courses/course-list/integrated-pest-management-the-plan-implementation/ Decolonizing Museums in Practice course begins August 31 on MuseumStudy.com Articles about decolonizing museums are everywhere these days, but what does this actually mean in practice for museum professionals working in what is now known as North America? Join Laura Phillips for this new course where we will focus on looking critically at how museum professionals can activate decolonial ways of thinking in their own work environment, and in their day to day life. We will investigate how the words of contemporary Indigenous scholars and curators can be put into practice to promote practices that de-centre the subtle (and not so subtle) colonial ways of thinking that surround us every day across this land. (This course sold out in September and is already filling up for November) For more information visit our website: http://www.museumstudy.com/courses/course-list/decolonizing-museums-in-practice/ Advanced Interpretive Techniques course begins Nov 2 on MuseumStudy.com Join Professor John Veverka for the 4 week online course Advanced Interpretive Techniques - Interpreting the "rest of the story". Interpreting "the rest of the story", a powerful Interpretive communications technique for revealing and releasing the "rest of the stories" hidden in artifacts, objects, historical figures/events, landscapes, or sites through both live presentations and interpretive media text and label copy. This course will help you utilize and blend the Paul Harvey Rest of the Story format with Tilden's Interpretive Principles. An interpretive technique marriage I think you can embrace and use throughout your interpretive career. Here is a short sample from a self-guiding historic district walking tour. Look for the Provoke, Relate and the "Reveal of the rest of the story". For more information visit our website: http://www.museumstudy.com/courses/course-list/advanced-interpretive-techniques-interpreting-the-rest-of-the-story/ How to Tell Stories and Construct Effective Exhibition Panels course begins Nov 2 on MuseumStudy.com Ever wanted to know how to tell stories and construct effective exhibition labels? If so, this course is for you. We will focus on providing you with tips on how to research, develop, and structure content. Plus, how to transform your story into effect exhibition panels and labels. As we delve into all stages of the process, strategies will be provided to build sustainable frameworks for this type of content development. Participants will be encouraged to generate and refine their own ideas for content and exhibition label development that fits their respective institutions. Join Saul Sopoci Drake for the 4 week online course How to Tell Stories and Construct Effective Exhibition Panels. For more information visit our website: http://www.museumstudy.com/courses/course-list/how-to-tell-stories-and-construct-effective-exhibition-panels/ -- Brad Bredehoft CEO Museum Study, LLC www.MuseumStudy.com JEFF STEPHENSON COLLECTIONS MANAGER, ZOOLOGY DEPARTMENT [DMNS 2 Line RGB small.jpg] jeff.stephenson at dmns.org W 303.370.8319 F 303.331.6492 2001 Colorado Blvd., Denver CO 80205 preserve, present, inspire, explore www.dmns.org The Denver Museum of Nature & Science salutes the citizens of metro Denver for helping fund arts, culture and science through their support of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 2894 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: From ekrimmel at gmail.com Mon Sep 21 09:20:30 2020 From: ekrimmel at gmail.com (Erica Krimmel) Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 06:20:30 -0700 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] This Wednesday - ADBC Summit edition of the iDigBio API office hours Message-ID: *Join us this Wednesday, September 23, at 3:30pm Eastern for Open Office Hours hosted by the iDigBio API User Group (R-based)! *This week we will be presenting an introduction to what an API is, and how you might use the iDigBio API to review data quality flags associated with data in the iDigBio Portal. There will be plenty of time for questions. This is a twice monthly online drop-in session where anyone is welcome to bring their questions or ideas about using tools such as the iDigBio API (Application Programming Interface) to work with biodiversity occurrence data in R. Community members of all backgrounds (collections staff, researchers, IT, etc.) and levels of programming experience (including R novice, or R non-existent) are encouraged to use these office hours as a time to discover and discuss API data access, issues, and solutions. Participants are welcome to drop by for only part of the hour. *WHEN*: Every second and fourth Wednesday of the month, 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Eastern; See future demo topics and sign up to do *or request* a demo at bit.ly/2wypVsY *WHERE*: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/97729921303 *Erica Krimmel* Digitization Resource Coordinator Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigBio) Florida State University ekrimmel at fsu.edu (619) 876-3794 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From abentley at ku.edu Mon Sep 21 10:31:06 2020 From: abentley at ku.edu (Bentley, Andrew Charles) Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 14:31:06 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Register now for SPNHC Panel Discussion on Actions to Conserve Biodiversity October 7 In-Reply-To: <42d29b1b10714603aa8fdf9920ce4e44@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca> References: <42d29b1b10714603aa8fdf9920ce4e44@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca> Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) is hosting a panel discussion to consider how the biological collections community can most effectively contribute to protecting biodiversity. Please join the SPNHC Biodiversity Crisis Response Committee and a panel of five experts on October 7, 2020 from 11:00 ? 1:00 PM EDT. Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/spnhc-panel-discussion-on-actions-to-conserve-biodiversity-tickets-121073635503 Panelist Biographies Dr. Tara Cornelisse is an insect conservation biologist and Senior Scientist with the Endangered Species Program at the Center for Biological Diversity. After receiving her PhD at the University of California Santa Cruz, she completed a postdoc in conservation education at the American Museum of Natural History and then taught as an assistant professor in animal behavior, ecology, and conservation at Canisius College. Dr. Robert Gropp is Director of Public Policy at the American Institute of Biological Sciences. Dr. Gropp earned his doctorate in plant ecology from the University of Oklahoma and his bachelor?s degree in biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Before joining AIBS in 2003, he was a Presidential Management Intern and a Congressional Science Fellow. Dr. Rebecca Johnson is the Chief Scientist and Associate Director for Science at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Dr. Johnson is a wildlife forensic scientist and conservation geneticist who is passionate about reducing the illegal wildlife trade and promoting the importance of STEM, particularly women in STEM, in early and lifelong education. Dr. Jeremy Kerr holds the University Research Chair in Macroecology and Conservation and is Full Professor and Chair of Biology at University of Ottawa where his research seeks to discover how environmental change affects biodiversity. Dr. Kerr engages in science outreach and is active at the science-policy interface. In those areas and in his research, he works to create policies on equity, diversity, and inclusion. Henry McGhie has a background as an ecologist and worked in museums for nearly 20 years, before setting up Curating Tomorrow, a consultancy that aims to help museums and their partners connect with sustainable development goals, climate action, and nature conservation. He is a member of the International Council of Museum's Sustainability Working Group, International Union for Conservation of Nature's Commission on Education and Communication, and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's Education, Communication, and Outreach Stakeholders Community. Hope to see you then! SPNHC Biodiversity Crisis Response Committee Libby Ellwood (Committee Chair), La Brea Tar Pits and Museum Andy Bentley, University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Museum Jutta Buschbom, Statistical Genetics Talia Karim, University of Colorado Museum of Natural History Austin Mast, Florida State University Gil Nelson, Integrated Digitized Biocollections Erica Wheeler, Royal British Columbia Museum ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Erica Wheeler PhD Head of Collections Care and Conservation | Collections Care and Conservation ROYAL BC MUSEUM Traditional Territory of the Lekwungen (Songhees and Xwsepsum Nations) 675 Belleville Street, Victoria, BC Canada V8W 9W2 T 250 480-8369 EWheeler at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca | royalbcmuseum.bc.ca Welcome back to the Royal BC Museum! You?ll see new operating hours, timed tickets and changes to help you maintain physical distancing during your visit. Click here?for more information about these and other improvements. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From adamhrngzo at gmail.com Mon Sep 21 11:55:41 2020 From: adamhrngzo at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?Adam_Harangoz=C3=B3?=) Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 16:55:41 +0100 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Passenger Pigeon Manifesto Message-ID: Dear All, I would like to share news about a publication that just came out and is very relevant to natural history and heritage: "Signed by a large number of professionals, the Passenger Pigeon Manifesto is a call to public galleries, libraries, archives, and museums to liberate cultural heritage that has already been digitised." The Manifesto: http://ppmanifesto.hcommons.org It was published by multiple platforms online and will appear in print publications too. Please do share it with others and consider acting on the call. Twitter posts for sharing are available here: https://twitter.com/adamhrngzo/status/1305522265803505665, https://twitter.com/Europeanaeu/status/1305872588103725056 Best wishes, Adam Harangoz? -- *'Thank you' emails have a massive carbon footprint:* So this is me saying thanks without sending it. Every email has a carbon footprint, reduce it by sending less . *#WhatWeCanDo* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Diana.Soteropoulos at arkansas.gov Mon Sep 21 12:17:48 2020 From: Diana.Soteropoulos at arkansas.gov (Diana Soteropoulos) Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 16:17:48 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] invitation to participate in symposium about digitized specimen data In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi, everyone! Do you use digitized specimen data in your work? Then we want to hear your story and invite you to join us for a special symposium about "Digitized specimen data use by non-academic and non-museum agencies" at the Society of Preservation for Natural History Collections (SPNHC) conference in Jacksonville, FL on May 11-15, 2021. The SPNHC conference is an excellent venue to meet natural history collection experts and learn about advances in digitization, curation, and collaboration. This symposium will offer a different perspective for the SPNHC conference by bridging the gap between collections and data users. If digitized specimen data has revolutionized your work, please submit an abstract to share your experience. Abstract submission instructions can be found here: https://www.culturalheritage.org/events/annual-meeting/current-meeting/call-for-submissions/submission-tool-and-instructions Also, please share this invitation with anyone you think would be interested in participating in this symposium. Here's the description of our symposium: The utility of digitized natural history specimen data extends beyond universities and public or private museums to non-academic and non-museum agencies such as state and national parks, state conservation agencies, and natural heritage programs. This symposium will cover aspects of how these agencies use digitized collections data, including finding historical distributions of (rare) species at a county-level; searching for specimens from a specified area, such as a National Park or state boundary; describing new species; and identifying areas for conservation, preservation, or restoration. While digitized data are searchable online, many agencies also build connections with academic and museum collections to access the specimens for study, deposit new specimen collections, or collaborate. Audience members should find this symposium engaging no matter the type of institution of employment, as we intend for an exchange of ideas among universities and museums with these non-museum agencies. The location of the SPNHC 2021 meeting is well-suited for many prospective presenters from state heritage programs, the U.S. National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the academic and museum collections which work with these groups. Let us know if you have any questions about this symposium, and we hope to see you at SPNHC 2021! Sincerely, Herrick Brown - Curator Andrew Charles Moore Herbarium (USCH) Coker Life Science room 208 Department of Biological Sciences University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208 803-777-8175 HBrown at mailbox.sc.edu www.herbarium.org and DIANA SOTEROPOULOS Botanist / Arkansas Herbarium Digitization Coordinator Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission 1100 North Street Little Rock, AR 72201 diana.soteropoulos at arkansas.gov p: 501.324.9763 | f: 501.324.9618 NaturalHeritage.com [cid:image001.jpg at 01D69008.A6B7A680] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 9958 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: From abentley at ku.edu Mon Sep 21 15:52:48 2020 From: abentley at ku.edu (Bentley, Andrew Charles) Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 19:52:48 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] FW: 2nd Natural History Collections and COVID-19 Survey: Operational Status, Economic Impacts and Plans for Reopening Message-ID: Hi all We are still accepting submissions to this survey until the end of October ? see below. The results so far are extremely interesting but, if your institution has not completed the survey, please encourage them to do so in order for us to get a complete picture of our community?s status, issues and responses. Thanks Andy (on behalf of BCoN) A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V From: Nhcoll-l on behalf of Jyotsna Pandey Date: Monday, August 17, 2020 at 11:00 AM To: "nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu" Subject: [Nhcoll-l] 2nd Natural History Collections and COVID-19 Survey: Operational Status, Economic Impacts and Plans for Reopening In April, the Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN) conducted a survey of the natural history collections/museum community to understand how COVID-19 related economic disruptions are affecting the work of professionals associated with such collections. We shared the results with the scientific community, including federal program managers and policymakers, in May 2020. This second survey follows up on and uses some questions from a recent American Alliance of Museums request for information. This survey focuses on collections institutions rather than individual staff, with the goal of determining the impact of COVID-19 related economic disruptions on research and management of collections. Our goal with this survey is to collect responses from as many institutions as possible; thus, one response per institution is optimal. If it is not possible to coordinate this, we would rather have multiple responses from an institution that we can combine, rather than no responses from an institution. Institutions are invited to share information about their operating status ? plans to re-open, operational status and limitations, closures, staff furloughs and Reductions in Force, program closures or terminations, and other disruptions to institutional operations. We invite information from all types of natural history collection holding institutions, which includes natural history museums, natural science collections, arboreta and herbaria, or other facilities with natural science collections. We will share a summary of the results through a variety of venues, as we did with the previous survey. No information that identifies individual institutions by name is requested. Please take the survey at https://bcon.aibs.org/2020/08/17/2nd-natural-history-collections-and-covid-19-survey-operational-status-economic-impacts-and-plans-for-reopening/ Thank you. __________________________________________ Jyotsna Pandey, Ph.D. Public Policy Manager American Institute of Biological Sciences 950 Herndon Parkway Suite 450 Herndon, VA 20170 Phone: 202-628-1500 x 225 www.aibs.org Follow us on Twitter! @AIBS_Policy This message is confidential and should only be read by its intended recipients. If you have received it in error, please notify the sender and delete all copies. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dyanega at gmail.com Mon Sep 21 20:26:05 2020 From: dyanega at gmail.com (Douglas Yanega) Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 17:26:05 -0700 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Passenger Pigeon Manifesto In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On 9/21/20 8:55 AM, Adam Harangoz? wrote: > > Dear All, > > I would like to share news about a publication that just came out and > is very relevant to natural history and heritage: > > "Signed by a large number of professionals, the Passenger Pigeon > Manifesto is a call to public galleries, libraries, archives, and > museums to liberate cultural heritage that has already been digitised." > > The Manifesto: http://ppmanifesto.hcommons.org > > It was published by multiple platforms online and will appear in print > publications too. > > Please do share it with others and consider acting on the call. > Twitter posts for sharing are available here: > https://twitter.com/adamhrngzo/status/1305522265803505665 > , > https://twitter.com/Europeanaeu/status/1305872588103725056 > > There is a fairly significant problem with one of the suggestions included in this ambitious and otherwise carefully-thought-out document, at least insofar as images that link to taxonomy: The closing section suggests to make use of the Wikimedia Commons (WC) as a source for "liberated" digital images. While on the surface this is a good idea, the problematic aspect is that a fairly substantial portion of the images presently archived in WC fall into two categories that greatly undermine their utility - (1) *many* are from outdated sources, using scientific names linked to the original image sources but that are no longer valid, resulting in inappropriate placement in the WC hierarchy, and (2) *many* are misidentified, using scientific names that do not apply at all to the species in the image. On top of which, (3) *many* of the taxonomic hierarchies appearing in WC are themselves outdated, using family names or other higher taxonomic ranks that are obsolete or configured differently than what appears in WC. Case in point: the passenger pigeon louse (Columbicola extinctus) is presently classified in the Order Phthiraptera, in the Superorder Psocodea; in WC, however, Psocodea is incorrectly listed as an Order, and Phthiraptera is not one of its constituents. People using WC as a source of taxonomic data are often being given outdated and erroneous results. Adding more images from more sources will only increase the number of contributed images falling into these undesirable categories, *unless* a substantial effort is undertaken to employ qualified taxonomic experts who can act as "digital curators" and address the presently chaotic misplacement, misidentification, and misclassification issues. Adam: with all due respect, I would urge you to bring my comments to the attention of the other co-signatories of this document, with consideration as to editing the proposal to account for the explicit need to employ taxonomic expertise to assist the endeavor. Images that *are not what they claim to be* are a form of misinformation, and making them available *without quality control* does not advance the community's aims. Sincerely, -- Doug Yanega Dept. of Entomology Entomology Research Museum Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314 skype: dyanega phone: (951) 827-4315 (disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's) https://faculty.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rinconrodriguezl at ufl.edu Mon Sep 21 21:28:53 2020 From: rinconrodriguezl at ufl.edu (Rincon Rodriguez,Laura) Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2020 01:28:53 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Collections Lit Club 2nd meetup! - Clean house to survive? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hello everybody! Hola a todos! I will have my second meetup on September 29th at 4:00pm EDT. We will be discussing with my guest host Dieuwertje Wijsmuller the article titled Clean house to survive? Museums confront their crowded basements written by Robin Pogrebin in 2019. Please confirm your assistance and reserve your free spot in this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/collections-lit-club-second-meetup-tickets-122097174937 We will have 16 spots available in order to have an engaging and enriching conversation..so run to reserve your ticket! ? *The Zoom link will be available when you've registered by Eventbrite as well Join Zoom Meeting: https://ufl.zoom.us/j/92071012005 Meeting ID: 920 7101 2005 Stay tuned in my digital platform and check out more info about this initiative: https://community.wearemuseums.com (Sign in and once you get access, you will find the Circles tap on the left side of the page. Look for Collections Lit Club and join it!) Hope to see you there, and don't forget your drink! Cheers! ? Laura Rinc?n -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: meetup flyer.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 285948 bytes Desc: meetup flyer.jpg URL: From info at arcsinfo.org Mon Sep 21 21:30:00 2020 From: info at arcsinfo.org (ARCS) Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 21:30:00 -0400 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] ER Supply Development Program Manual, COVID-19 Employment Impact Survey, & MRM6 Giveaway Winner ARCS Update Vol 5 | Update 16 Message-ID: ***Emergency Programming Sub-Committee - Emergency Supply Program Development Manual*** The ARCS Emergency Programming Sub-Committee presents the ?Emergency Supply Program Development Manual?, a comprehensive resource for those seeking to improve, update, or develop an emergency supply program. This document encourages emergency supply stores as a cost-effective preparedness measure against collections emergencies. http://www.arcsinfo.org/programs/emergency-sub-committee-programs ***Member Advocacy Task Force Covid-19 Employment Impact Survey*** Has the Covid-19 pandemic affected your employment status, wages or workload? What resources can ARCS provide to help? The Member Advocacy Task Force has developed a survey to gather data on how the collections community has been impacted by Covid-19 and to gauge interest in resources ARCS can provide to help. Please take a moment to answer this brief survey and help us bring attention to how our field has been impacted. All responses are anonymous and results will be shared with members in a future ARCS Update. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ARCSCovid19 ***Webinar September 30th at 2:00 p.m. ET: Boxes, Tubes & Pallets, Oh My! Choosing and Using Safe Materials for Collection Housing*** There is still time to register for the upcoming ARCS webinar Boxes, Tubes & Pallets, Oh My! Choosing and Using Safe Materials for Collection Housing. This webinar will focus on choosing appropriate storage materials that won?t inadvertently damage your collections over time. Making wise decisions about products and how they are used in rehousing projects will stretch your budget to get the most preservation bang for your buck. Your instructor, Rachael Perkins Arenstein, will introduce several resources to help with storage organization, mount design, and material choice, and invite the ARCS community to collaboratively grow these resources. Fees: Members: $25.00 Non-Members: $35.00 http://www.arcsinfo.org/news-events/event/1326/1/arcs-boxes-tube-pallets-oh-my-choosing-and-using-safe-materials-for-collection-housing ***MRM6 Giveaway Winner!*** We are excited to announce that the winner of the free copy of Museum Registration Methods, 6th Edition is: Margaret M. Tamulonis Manager, Collections & Exhibitions Fleming Museum of Art Thanks again to all members for entering the giveaway, and for updating your profile information at the same time! Keep an eye out for more giveaways in the future! ***#ARCSchat Day in the Life Submissions*** We want to hear your stories! #ARCSchat is introducing a new segment called "A Day in the Life" that involves you and your crazy job stories. With the voice recorder on your phone, record a 2-5 minute clip telling us the following: 1. Who you are? 2. Where do you work? 3. A crazy or unique work experience you had in the past or during the lockdown. Email the clip to info at arcsinfo.org or leave a voicemail at (847) 440-4294 and we'll include it in the podcast version of the chat. And don?t miss our next #ARCSchat scheduled for October 6, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. ET on the ARCS YouTube Channel! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Erik.Ahlander at nrm.se Tue Sep 22 04:58:23 2020 From: Erik.Ahlander at nrm.se (=?utf-8?B?RXJpayDDhWhsYW5kZXI=?=) Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2020 08:58:23 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Passenger Pigeon Manifesto In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <0fdd2906020d47c4bf24532f3fca7f42@nrm.se> Dear Doug, You are all way correct on this, but the same is true (at least in part) for the museum collections data available on internet. Museum people are aware of this (I hope), but the user outside the museum world, grab the species identifications as some sort of truth. The problem is not to make pictures or museum data available. The problems are: 1. There is usually no disclaimer telling what actually an identification really means. 2. There are not enough taxonomists in the world. (It should be attractive and well paid etc.) 3. Those taxonomists should produce research and curate collections, there is so much else they have to do. Another aspect. When I am cleaning up in a collection of a group which I am not familiar with (presently birds) I am so happy when I can google on a bird name no longer in use and at least find a picture which give a hint on what kind of bird am I looking for! Best wishes, Erik ?hlander vertebrate zoology and museum history ZOO Swedish Museum of Natural History PO Box 50007 SE-10405 Stockholm Sweden +46 0 8 5195 4118 +46 0 70 225 2716 erik.ahlander at nrm.se Fr?n: Nhcoll-l F?r Douglas Yanega Skickat: den 22 september 2020 02:26 Till: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu ?mne: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Passenger Pigeon Manifesto On 9/21/20 8:55 AM, Adam Harangoz? wrote: Dear All, I would like to share news about a publication that just came out and is very relevant to natural history and heritage: "Signed by a large number of professionals, the Passenger Pigeon Manifesto is a call to public galleries, libraries, archives, and museums to liberate cultural heritage that has already been digitised." The Manifesto: http://ppmanifesto.hcommons.org It was published by multiple platforms online and will appear in print publications too. Please do share it with others and consider acting on the call. Twitter posts for sharing are available here: https://twitter.com/adamhrngzo/status/1305522265803505665, https://twitter.com/Europeanaeu/status/1305872588103725056 There is a fairly significant problem with one of the suggestions included in this ambitious and otherwise carefully-thought-out document, at least insofar as images that link to taxonomy: The closing section suggests to make use of the Wikimedia Commons (WC) as a source for "liberated" digital images. While on the surface this is a good idea, the problematic aspect is that a fairly substantial portion of the images presently archived in WC fall into two categories that greatly undermine their utility - (1) many are from outdated sources, using scientific names linked to the original image sources but that are no longer valid, resulting in inappropriate placement in the WC hierarchy, and (2) many are misidentified, using scientific names that do not apply at all to the species in the image. On top of which, (3) many of the taxonomic hierarchies appearing in WC are themselves outdated, using family names or other higher taxonomic ranks that are obsolete or configured differently than what appears in WC. Case in point: the passenger pigeon louse (Columbicola extinctus) is presently classified in the Order Phthiraptera, in the Superorder Psocodea; in WC, however, Psocodea is incorrectly listed as an Order, and Phthiraptera is not one of its constituents. People using WC as a source of taxonomic data are often being given outdated and erroneous results. Adding more images from more sources will only increase the number of contributed images falling into these undesirable categories, unless a substantial effort is undertaken to employ qualified taxonomic experts who can act as "digital curators" and address the presently chaotic misplacement, misidentification, and misclassification issues. Adam: with all due respect, I would urge you to bring my comments to the attention of the other co-signatories of this document, with consideration as to editing the proposal to account for the explicit need to employ taxonomic expertise to assist the endeavor. Images that are not what they claim to be are a form of misinformation, and making them available without quality control does not advance the community's aims. Sincerely, -- Doug Yanega Dept. of Entomology Entomology Research Museum Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314 skype: dyanega phone: (951) 827-4315 (disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's) https://faculty.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From neumann at snsb.de Tue Sep 22 06:57:58 2020 From: neumann at snsb.de (Dirk Neumann) Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2020 12:57:58 +0200 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] bagging and thawing or thawing and bagging? Message-ID: <384e951f-5118-6c87-0083-cee1a7fccdb7@snsb.de> Hi all, a brief question regarding bagging of dry shark fins that were confiscated by customs (approx. 50 kg) and deposited in our collection. When the material arrived, boxes were full of life with thick layers of beetle remains at their bottom. We kept the fins mostly frozen so far (several freezing / thawing cycles to kill the critters) but now have to move the fins into our storage area where they will be kept at room temperature. Because of major renovation works, our climate control systems are currently shut down thus temperature and rH are fluctuating and not really stable, thus I was wondering if I should seal small subsets (5-10 fins, depending on their size and volume) while they are still frozen to avoid that tissues would attract too much humidity during thawing. Of course this would cause condensation inside bags after sealing to some extent, but given the small total volume of air inside the bags, potential negative effects might be negligible ? Bagged fins will finally be stored in transparent plastic boxes to allow easy monitoring. Any ideas/ suggestions would be welcome; thanks in advance Dirk -- Dirk Neumann Tel: 089 / 8107-111 Fax: 089 / 8107-300 neumann(a)snsb.de Postanschrift: Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns Zoologische Staatssammlung M?nchen Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Storage M?nchhausenstr. 21 81247 M?nchen Besuchen Sie unsere Sammlung: http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ --------- Dirk Neumann Tel: +49-89-8107-111 Fax: +49-89-8107-300 neumann(a)snsb.de postal address: Bavarian Natural History Collections The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Storage Muenchhausenstr. 21 81247 Munich (Germany) Visit our section at: http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: fkcappmnpbchljep.png Type: image/png Size: 23308 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tschioette at snm.ku.dk Tue Sep 22 09:12:07 2020 From: tschioette at snm.ku.dk (=?utf-8?B?VG9tIFNjaGnDuHR0ZQ==?=) Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2020 13:12:07 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Passenger Pigeon Manifesto In-Reply-To: <0fdd2906020d47c4bf24532f3fca7f42@nrm.se> References: <0fdd2906020d47c4bf24532f3fca7f42@nrm.se> Message-ID: <719acbfcea0d43acbe87628b2c850c9a@snm.ku.dk> Agreeing with Erik I would say that some way should be found to make the ?disclaimer? he mentions, so that it becomes clear to the public that all this stuff is not a handbook or The Answer, but rather a place where you can find good input. Erik?s example about bird names is one that I recognize from other animals. I can google some obscure name combination from a label and often find that somebody actually used it, maybe 150 years ago, and from that via some further detective work find my way to what it really is. It might help people, if if was possible for specialists to annotate the digitized images with what they consider more correct identifications or current name combinations. That way the system will work much like our physical collections. And it ought to be possible to link to one or more of the large net databases, Catalogue of Life or whatever, and use that as backbone for the taxonomy, while still retaining the old, and useful, synonyms as such. Cheers Tom Tom Schi?tte Collection manager, Echinodermata & Mollusca Natural History Museum of Denmark (Zoology) Universitetsparken 15 DK 2100 Copenhagen OE +45 35 32 10 48 TSchioette at snm.ku.dk From: Nhcoll-l On Behalf Of Erik ?hlander Sent: 22. september 2020 10:58 To: Douglas Yanega ; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Passenger Pigeon Manifesto Dear Doug, You are all way correct on this, but the same is true (at least in part) for the museum collections data available on internet. Museum people are aware of this (I hope), but the user outside the museum world, grab the species identifications as some sort of truth. The problem is not to make pictures or museum data available. The problems are: 1. There is usually no disclaimer telling what actually an identification really means. 2. There are not enough taxonomists in the world. (It should be attractive and well paid etc.) 3. Those taxonomists should produce research and curate collections, there is so much else they have to do. Another aspect. When I am cleaning up in a collection of a group which I am not familiar with (presently birds) I am so happy when I can google on a bird name no longer in use and at least find a picture which give a hint on what kind of bird am I looking for! Best wishes, Erik ?hlander vertebrate zoology and museum history ZOO Swedish Museum of Natural History PO Box 50007 SE-10405 Stockholm Sweden +46 0 8 5195 4118 +46 0 70 225 2716 erik.ahlander at nrm.se Fr?n: Nhcoll-l > F?r Douglas Yanega Skickat: den 22 september 2020 02:26 Till: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu ?mne: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Passenger Pigeon Manifesto On 9/21/20 8:55 AM, Adam Harangoz? wrote: Dear All, I would like to share news about a publication that just came out and is very relevant to natural history and heritage: "Signed by a large number of professionals, the Passenger Pigeon Manifesto is a call to public galleries, libraries, archives, and museums to liberate cultural heritage that has already been digitised." The Manifesto: http://ppmanifesto.hcommons.org It was published by multiple platforms online and will appear in print publications too. Please do share it with others and consider acting on the call. Twitter posts for sharing are available here: https://twitter.com/adamhrngzo/status/1305522265803505665, https://twitter.com/Europeanaeu/status/1305872588103725056 There is a fairly significant problem with one of the suggestions included in this ambitious and otherwise carefully-thought-out document, at least insofar as images that link to taxonomy: The closing section suggests to make use of the Wikimedia Commons (WC) as a source for "liberated" digital images. While on the surface this is a good idea, the problematic aspect is that a fairly substantial portion of the images presently archived in WC fall into two categories that greatly undermine their utility - (1) many are from outdated sources, using scientific names linked to the original image sources but that are no longer valid, resulting in inappropriate placement in the WC hierarchy, and (2) many are misidentified, using scientific names that do not apply at all to the species in the image. On top of which, (3) many of the taxonomic hierarchies appearing in WC are themselves outdated, using family names or other higher taxonomic ranks that are obsolete or configured differently than what appears in WC. Case in point: the passenger pigeon louse (Columbicola extinctus) is presently classified in the Order Phthiraptera, in the Superorder Psocodea; in WC, however, Psocodea is incorrectly listed as an Order, and Phthiraptera is not one of its constituents. People using WC as a source of taxonomic data are often being given outdated and erroneous results. Adding more images from more sources will only increase the number of contributed images falling into these undesirable categories, unless a substantial effort is undertaken to employ qualified taxonomic experts who can act as "digital curators" and address the presently chaotic misplacement, misidentification, and misclassification issues. Adam: with all due respect, I would urge you to bring my comments to the attention of the other co-signatories of this document, with consideration as to editing the proposal to account for the explicit need to employ taxonomic expertise to assist the endeavor. Images that are not what they claim to be are a form of misinformation, and making them available without quality control does not advance the community's aims. Sincerely, -- Doug Yanega Dept. of Entomology Entomology Research Museum Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314 skype: dyanega phone: (951) 827-4315 (disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's) https://faculty.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From prc44 at drexel.edu Tue Sep 22 09:25:03 2020 From: prc44 at drexel.edu (Callomon,Paul) Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2020 13:25:03 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Passenger Pigeon Manifesto In-Reply-To: <719acbfcea0d43acbe87628b2c850c9a@snm.ku.dk> References: <0fdd2906020d47c4bf24532f3fca7f42@nrm.se> <719acbfcea0d43acbe87628b2c850c9a@snm.ku.dk> Message-ID: Sorta apropos this thread: Many years ago, our departmental publication series Tryonia kicked off with a two-part monochrome reproduction of Martini and Chemnitz?s massive (and scientifically unavailable) ?Conchylien-Cabinet? that listed every scientific name of which each figure subsequently became the type. M&C was referred to by Linnaeus, Gmelin, Lightfoot and many, many others, so almost every figure is a type. Enormously useful in all sorts of other ways too, Tryonia is now available on Biodiversity Heritage Library for free. Paul Callomon MSc Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates ________________________________ Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195, USA prc44 at drexel.edu Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From abentley at ku.edu Tue Sep 22 09:30:37 2020 From: abentley at ku.edu (Bentley, Andrew Charles) Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2020 13:30:37 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] bagging and thawing or thawing and bagging? In-Reply-To: <384e951f-5118-6c87-0083-cee1a7fccdb7@snsb.de> References: <384e951f-5118-6c87-0083-cee1a7fccdb7@snsb.de> Message-ID: <558E759C-F99A-423D-8385-0CFAC4E2ACBD@ku.edu> Dirk If it were me, I would thaw them, then complete the drying process through air drying, bag them individually and include a desiccant packet in each bag to prevent further moisture problems and mold. I guess you could always bag them in batches based on species, size or some other criteria. Andy A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V From: Nhcoll-l on behalf of Dirk Neumann Reply-To: "neumann at snsb.de" Date: Tuesday, September 22, 2020 at 5:58 AM To: "nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu" Subject: [Nhcoll-l] bagging and thawing or thawing and bagging? Hi all, a brief question regarding bagging of dry shark fins that were confiscated by customs (approx. 50 kg) and deposited in our collection. When the material arrived, boxes were full of life with thick layers of beetle remains at their bottom. We kept the fins mostly frozen so far (several freezing / thawing cycles to kill the critters) but now have to move the fins into our storage area where they will be kept at room temperature. Because of major renovation works, our climate control systems are currently shut down thus temperature and rH are fluctuating and not really stable, thus I was wondering if I should seal small subsets (5-10 fins, depending on their size and volume) while they are still frozen to avoid that tissues would attract too much humidity during thawing. Of course this would cause condensation inside bags after sealing to some extent, but given the small total volume of air inside the bags, potential negative effects might be negligible ? Bagged fins will finally be stored in transparent plastic boxes to allow easy monitoring. Any ideas/ suggestions would be welcome; thanks in advance Dirk -- [cid:image001.png at 01D690BA.A561DFA0] Dirk Neumann Tel: 089 / 8107-111 Fax: 089 / 8107-300 neumann(a)snsb.de Postanschrift: Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns Zoologische Staatssammlung M?nchen Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Storage M?nchhausenstr. 21 81247 M?nchen Besuchen Sie unsere Sammlung: http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ --------- Dirk Neumann Tel: +49-89-8107-111 Fax: +49-89-8107-300 neumann(a)snsb.de postal address: Bavarian Natural History Collections The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Storage Muenchhausenstr. 21 81247 Munich (Germany) Visit our section at: http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 23309 bytes Desc: image001.png URL: From tlabedz1 at unl.edu Tue Sep 22 09:31:27 2020 From: tlabedz1 at unl.edu (Thomas Labedz) Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2020 13:31:27 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] bagging and thawing or thawing and bagging? In-Reply-To: <384e951f-5118-6c87-0083-cee1a7fccdb7@snsb.de> References: <384e951f-5118-6c87-0083-cee1a7fccdb7@snsb.de> Message-ID: Dirk So, they are still in the boxes and not sealed? I think your idea is good and makes the situation more manageable. Maybe with a stiff brush give the fins a good dry scrub to remove any insects parts before creating the subsets in bags. This will make it easier to determine if pest control freezing was successful. At the future time when the bagged fins are removed from the freezer and brought to ambient temperature you could examine for excess condensation in the bags, opening and adding desiccant pouches as necessary and resealing. I don?t have a lot of experience with shark fins here in the middle of the continent but wonder if oils in the fin will cause future problems and have concern that oils in combination with the moisture will enable mold or fungal growth as well as general discoloration. I?d love to hear from others about how that might be handled. Thomas Thomas Labedz, Collections Manager Division of Zoology and Division of Botany University of Nebraska State Museum Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.A. From: Nhcoll-l On Behalf Of Dirk Neumann Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2020 5:58 AM To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: [Nhcoll-l] bagging and thawing or thawing and bagging? Hi all, a brief question regarding bagging of dry shark fins that were confiscated by customs (approx. 50 kg) and deposited in our collection. When the material arrived, boxes were full of life with thick layers of beetle remains at their bottom. We kept the fins mostly frozen so far (several freezing / thawing cycles to kill the critters) but now have to move the fins into our storage area where they will be kept at room temperature. Because of major renovation works, our climate control systems are currently shut down thus temperature and rH are fluctuating and not really stable, thus I was wondering if I should seal small subsets (5-10 fins, depending on their size and volume) while they are still frozen to avoid that tissues would attract too much humidity during thawing. Of course this would cause condensation inside bags after sealing to some extent, but given the small total volume of air inside the bags, potential negative effects might be negligible ? Bagged fins will finally be stored in transparent plastic boxes to allow easy monitoring. Any ideas/ suggestions would be welcome; thanks in advance Dirk -- [cid:image003.png at 01D690BA.C2D6C460] Dirk Neumann Tel: 089 / 8107-111 Fax: 089 / 8107-300 neumann(a)snsb.de Postanschrift: Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns Zoologische Staatssammlung M?nchen Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Storage M?nchhausenstr. 21 81247 M?nchen Besuchen Sie unsere Sammlung: http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ --------- Dirk Neumann Tel: +49-89-8107-111 Fax: +49-89-8107-300 neumann(a)snsb.de postal address: Bavarian Natural History Collections The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Storage Muenchhausenstr. 21 81247 Munich (Germany) Visit our section at: http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.png Type: image/png Size: 11555 bytes Desc: image003.png URL: From prc44 at drexel.edu Tue Sep 22 09:47:03 2020 From: prc44 at drexel.edu (Callomon,Paul) Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2020 13:47:03 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] bagging and thawing or thawing and bagging? In-Reply-To: References: <384e951f-5118-6c87-0083-cee1a7fccdb7@snsb.de> Message-ID: If the fins can?t be kept frozen, I would say that storage in ethanol is the only reliable path in the long term. Even if they were completely dried out, which with cartilage is probably impossible, they would shrink enormously and eventually crumble. If there?s even a little moisture in there, however, then the bacteria already in there will eventually flourish. Paul Callomon MSc Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates ________________________________ Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195, USA prc44 at drexel.edu Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jpandey at aibs.org Tue Sep 22 15:43:21 2020 From: jpandey at aibs.org (Jyotsna Pandey) Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2020 15:43:21 -0400 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Communicate Science Through Imagery: AIBS Faces of Biology Photo Contest In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Enter the Faces of Biology Photo Contest for your chance to win $250 and to have your photo appear on the cover of the journal *BioScience*. The competition, sponsored by the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), recognizes scientists who use imagery to communicate aspects of biological research to the public and policymakers. The theme of the contest is ?Faces of Biology.? Photographs entered into the contest must depict a person, such as a scientist, researcher, collections curator, technician, or student, engaging in biological research. The depicted research may occur outside, in a lab, with a natural history collection, on a computer, in a classroom, or elsewhere. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how science is being conducted in 2020. You are invited to share how you are conducting your research in these unusual times. The First Place Winner will have his/her winning photo featured on the cover of *BioScience*, and will receive $250 and a one year subscription to *BioScience*. The Second and Third Place Winners will have his/her winning photo printed inside *BioScience*, and will receive a one year subscription to *BioScience*. The winning photo from the 2019 contest was featured on the cover of the April 2020 issue of *BioScience*. Submissions must be received by 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time on September 30, 2020. For more information or to enter the contest, visit https://www.aibs.org/public-programs/photocontest.html. ___________________________________________ Jyotsna Pandey, Ph.D. Public Policy Manager American Institute of Biological Sciences -- This message is confidential and should only be read by its intended recipients.? If you have received it in error, please notify the sender and delete all copies. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From neumann at snsb.de Wed Sep 23 04:34:28 2020 From: neumann at snsb.de (Dirk Neumann) Date: Wed, 23 Sep 2020 10:34:28 +0200 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] bagging and thawing or thawing and bagging? In-Reply-To: References: <384e951f-5118-6c87-0083-cee1a7fccdb7@snsb.de> Message-ID: <32fb2968-1c72-0837-4d63-9f24ab7e3279@snsb.de> Hi Rob (and all), that was my thought, too. Because they are frozen in boxes for considerable time now and have been obviously thoroughly sun-dried before shipping (they are like wooden boards), the fins in a close to freeze-dried condition. By bagging them frozen in small batches (only if the fins are free of ice crystals) my intention was to shift the point of condensation to the outside of the PE-bag away from the tissue. Adding desiccant packets into the bags as recommended by Andy and Thomas surely is a good idea, I also planned put desiccant into the boxes to keep the bags in a as stable as possible microclimate inside the boxes. On the points that Paul raised (shrinkage, embrittlement and bacteria growth) the first two are absolutely valid - the fins show significant signs of shrinkage, but we largely have dorsal, pectoral and pelvic fins - which are very sturdy in most sharks - crumbling membranes (or fin rays, of course) are not too much of a problem. The third, bacterial growth is an interesting one: while we recently had some mould issues on prepared bony fish skeletons due our malfunctioning climate control systems, there were absolutely no signs of mould or bacterial growth on our dry shark jaws or sawfish saws (both are kept dry and open in our storage area). Many thanks for all your thoughtful replies, much appreciated! With best wishes Dirk Am 22.09.2020 um 18:45 schrieb Robert Waller: > > Hi Dirk, > > Just for clarification, when we have an impermeable barrier between > cold and warm, condensation will occur on the warm side of the > barrier. In this case, condensation due to a thermal gradient would > occur on the outside of the bag. If there is no ice on the specimens > then we would expect the RH within the bag to remain moderate to low. > Always good to check that by monitoring at least for the first bag you > deal with. > > Rob > > *From:* Nhcoll-l *On Behalf Of > *Dirk Neumann > *Sent:* Tuesday, September 22, 2020 6:58 AM > *To:* nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > *Subject:* [Nhcoll-l] bagging and thawing or thawing and bagging? > > Hi all, > > a brief question regarding bagging of dry shark fins that were > confiscated by customs (approx. 50 kg) and deposited in our > collection. When the material arrived, boxes were full of life with > thick layers of beetle remains at their bottom. We kept the fins > mostly frozen so far (several freezing / thawing cycles to kill the > critters) but now have to move the fins into our storage area where > they will be kept at room temperature. > > Because of major renovation works, our climate control systems are > currently shut down thus temperature and rH are fluctuating and not > really stable, thus I was wondering if I should seal small subsets > (5-10 fins, depending on their size and volume) while they are still > frozen to avoid that tissues would attract too much humidity during > thawing. Of course this would cause condensation inside bags after > sealing to some extent, but given the small total volume of air inside > the bags, potential negative effects might be negligible ? Bagged fins > will finally be stored in transparent plastic boxes to allow easy > monitoring. > > Any ideas/ suggestions would be welcome; thanks in advance > > Dirk > > -- > > > Dirk Neumann > > Tel: 089 / 8107-111 > Fax: 089 / 8107-300 > neumann(a)snsb.de > > Postanschrift: > > Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns > Zoologische Staatssammlung M?nchen > Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Storage > M?nchhausenstr. 21 > 81247 M?nchen > > Besuchen Sie unsere Sammlung: > http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ > > --------- > > Dirk Neumann > > Tel: +49-89-8107-111 > Fax: +49-89-8107-300 > neumann(a)snsb.de > > postal address: > > Bavarian Natural History Collections > The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology > Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Storage > Muenchhausenstr. 21 > 81247 Munich (Germany) > > Visit our section at: > http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ > -- Dirk Neumann Tel: 089 / 8107-111 Fax: 089 / 8107-300 neumann(a)snsb.de Postanschrift: Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns Zoologische Staatssammlung M?nchen Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Storage M?nchhausenstr. 21 81247 M?nchen Besuchen Sie unsere Sammlung: http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ --------- Dirk Neumann Tel: +49-89-8107-111 Fax: +49-89-8107-300 neumann(a)snsb.de postal address: Bavarian Natural History Collections The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Storage Muenchhausenstr. 21 81247 Munich (Germany) Visit our section at: http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 23976 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: cjachakemgicpbem.png Type: image/png Size: 23308 bytes Desc: not available URL: From james.macklin at canada.ca Fri Sep 25 15:58:46 2020 From: james.macklin at canada.ca (Macklin, James (AAFC/AAC)) Date: Fri, 25 Sep 2020 19:58:46 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] SPNHC 2021 Symposium: looking for contributions Message-ID: <48ec4245-cd63-43b8-88b6-451251004709@DM3NAM05FT016.eop-nam05.prod.protection.outlook.com> Dear All, My colleague Matthew Ryan and I wanted to make you aware that we are once again going to try and hold our symposium that was postponed from last year?s conference, this year at AIC/SPNHC 2021, May 11-15th in Jacksonville, Florida. Please see the description below. We are writing to encourage all who could potentially contribute their expertise and experience on this topic to submit an abstract. We would also like to ask that you forward this on to anyone you might know who may be interested and could potentially attend the meeting. Also note that the symposium is listed under the category ?PRE-, POST-, AND LUNCH SESSIONS? but the organizers have assured me there will be room for the symposium within the regular conference time. The abstract submission deadline of SEPTEMBER 30th is coming up fast so we would appreciate you considering this request in due haste. Please feel free to write to us if you have further questions and if you think you might be able to contribute a talk. Many thanks! James and Matt https://www.culturalheritage.org/events/annual-meeting/current-meeting/call-for-submissions/pre-sessions Appreciating the little things in life: Molecular technologies driving new methodologies in specimen preservation and management Organisers: Dr James Macklin1, Dr Matthew Ryan2 1Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Canada, 2CABI, Egham, United Kingdom The advent of the genomic age and the technologies that drive it have made an enormous impact on biological research. One of these major impacts has been the ability to identify and study microorganisms both as individual species and in their associated communities. These organisms occupy an incredibly diverse set of habitats and substrates such as water, soil, air, and in association with living systems (plants, animals, fungi, etc.). These microbiomes are now being sampled at an unprecedented rate and there is an urgent need to preserve the environments in which these organisms live to support future study. Natural history collections have been preserving non-living baseline physical evidence for centuries: the specimen. Similarly, botanical gardens, zoos, and aquaria, and more recently germplasm and culture collections have preserved living specimens. One solution to preserving these microbiomes is biobanking using various cryotechnologies, which has become a necessity to preserve important genetic material for later use. However, other solutions to long-term preservation are also required to maintain these microorganisms in matrix. This reality has begun to put pressure on collection-based institutions to store and manage these new sample/specimen types and their associated data. In this symposium we will discuss the challenges these new preservation methodologies present and potential solutions. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From abentley at ku.edu Mon Sep 28 12:01:28 2020 From: abentley at ku.edu (Bentley, Andrew Charles) Date: Mon, 28 Sep 2020 16:01:28 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] FW: Science Policy News from AIBS In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <0B39306C-47D3-40D4-911F-2E45EBD9AA6A@ku.edu> Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. AIBS Public Policy Report AIBS Public Policy Report, Volume 21, Issue 20, September 28, 2020 * Congress to Pass Stopgap Measure to Avoid Shutdown * NASEM: Biological Collections Need National Strategy, Increased Investment * American Society of Human Genetics Denounces Unethical Use of False Genetic ?Theories? * Global Biodiversity Goals Not Being Met, Says UN Report * WHO, NASEM Unveil COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Plans * Climate Science Critic to be Appointed as NOAA Chief Scientist * SPNHC Panel Discussion on Actions to Conserve Biodiversity * Last Chance to Enter the 2020 Faces of Biology Photo Contest * Short Takes * Legislation Introduced to Support Early Career Researchers During Pandemic * Senators Call for Climate Questions to be Included in Presidential Debates * Submit Your Nominations for NSB Awards * From the Federal Register ________________________________ The AIBS Public Policy Report is distributed broadly by email every two weeks to the AIBS membership. Any interested party may self-subscribe to receive these free reports by email or RSS news feed, by going to www.aibs.org/public-policy-reports. With proper attribution to AIBS, all material from these reports may be reproduced or forwarded. AIBS staff appreciates receiving copies of materials used. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact the AIBS Director of Public Policy, Robert Gropp, at 202-628-1500 x 250. ________________________________ Congress to Pass Stopgap Measure to Avoid Shutdown With negotiations over COVID-19 pandemic relief stalled, lawmakers are looking to pass a stopgap funding bill to keep the government operational in the new fiscal year which starts on October 1. A stopgap funding measure is required because the House and Senate have not yet agreed on and passed appropriations bills to fund the government in fiscal year 2021. After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reached an agreement to pursue a clean short-term spending bill earlier this month, the House passed a bipartisan continuing resolution on September 22 extending federal funding through December 11. The Senate is expected to pass the bill this week. The measure would provide $21 billion to replenish funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture?s Commodity Credit Corporation, a farm safety net program, which has made $6.5 billion in emergency payments to help farmers cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Democrats initially excluded the farm aid from the continuing resolution over concerns that the Trump Administration would utilize that funding for political gains with agriculture interests in rural areas and petroleum refiners that fail to get biofuel mandate waivers. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) criticized the exclusion, saying the bill ?shamefully leaves out key relief and support that American farmers need. This is no time to add insult to injury and defund help for farmers and rural America.? After negotiations, Democrats agreed to include the farm payments after they were able to get $8 billion in additional federal nutrition assistance included in the measure. The bill would also restrict the farm aid from going to petroleum companies. Speaker Pelosi said that this would ?increase accountability in the Commodity Credit Corporation, preventing funds for farmers from being misused for a Big Oil bailout.? After passing the continuing resolution, lawmakers in the House are now looking to restart pandemic relief negotiations. According to reports, Speaker Pelosi has directed committee chairs to draft a new pared-down relief package that costs between $2.2 trillion and $2.4 trillion. The House is expected to remain in session in October to pass a relief measure should a deal surface. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) said about the likelihood of a coronavirus stimulus deal that ?there?s always a chance for anything around here, but it would be very slim I think.? NASEM: Biological Collections Need National Strategy, Increased Investment According to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), biological collections ? living and natural history specimens, biological materials, and data in museums, stock centers, research centers, and universities ? are in need of long-term financial sustainability, digitization, recruitment and support of a diverse workforce, and infrastructure upgrades. The report, Biological Collections: Ensuring Critical Research and Education for the 21st Century, which was sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), argues that biological collections are an ?invaluable, and often irreplaceable, component of the nation?s scientific enterprise.? Collections provide a wide range of benefits for the scientific community, including important resources for formal and informal education. Collections research is also responsible for many basic science discoveries and innovations, including advancing our understanding of biodiversity loss, global change, and human diseases. ?Many biological collections are at a critical juncture,? said Dr. James Collins, a past-president of AIBS and co-Chair of the report committee and Virginia M. Ullman Professor of Natural History and the Environment at Arizona State University. ?Biological collections need increased investment to serve us in the way we expect, while at the same time expanding their potential for new uses related to science and society.? The committee articulated the following vision for the biological collections community in the next decade: ?To provide long-term support for collections-based scientific research, instill a culture of proper stewardship for and access to biological specimens, build and grow biological collections to better represent global biodiversity in space and time, promote access to biological collections as important educational resources for the general public, and encourage the exchange of biological resources and knowledge.? To achieve this vision, curators, collection managers, directors, and users of biological collections will need to address four interrelated issues: upgrading and maintaining the physical infrastructure and the growth of collections; developing and maintaining of the tools and processes needed to transform digital data into an easily accessible, integrated platform; recruiting, training, and supporting a diverse workforce of the future; and ensuring long-term financial sustainability. According to the report, ?sustained support will be paramount in keeping collections open, supporting their growth, and ensuring they are available for research.? The committee recommended that NSF continue to provide long-term funding for infrastructure maintenance and upgrades. The report suggests that individual collections should explore new revenue streams, such as pay-for-use models, licensing systems, or charging for custom datasets. To secure financial sustainability, the collections community must collaborate with professional societies, business strategists, and communications experts to develop management training programs and strong business models. The panel called for professional societies and associations to ?collaborate and combine efforts aimed at addressing community-level infrastructure needs of the nation?s biological collections,? including creating a national registry to document the location, size, and holdings of the collections in the United States. Opportunities and benefits of greater professional association engagement in collections are also a topic that received attention during the 2019 AIBS Council Meeting, Beyond Specimens (https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaa084). The report suggests that the workforce pipeline for biological collections is underdeveloped and calls for cultivating a highly skilled workforce. This requires collections, host institutions, professional societies, and funders to collaborate to develop and strengthen the pipeline. ?The skill sets of collections managers and directors in particular should be broadened to include strategic leadership, fundraising and donor relations, personnel management, informal education, and public communication.? To ensure access to collections, specimens and their data need to be digitized. The report calls for the NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences, in partnership with other directorates and federal agencies, to fund the digitization of biological collections and the development of a ?permanent national cyber infrastructure? to connect all types of biological collections. According to Dr. Shirley Pomponi, co-Chair of the panel and research professor at Florida Atlantic University Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, ?Strategic planning, coordination, and knowledge-sharing are critical for the community of collections directors, managers, and curators as they work to meet complex needs of society and the scientific community.? NSF, the largest supporter of biological collections in the country, has a critical role to play. According to the report, ?NSF should lead efforts to develop a national vision and strategy, such as a Decadal Survey, for the growth of biological collections, their infrastructure, and their ability to serve a range of scientific and educational needs.? NSF should also help establish a permanent National Action Center for Biological Collections, the report states, to coordinate action, knowledge, resources, and data-sharing. American Society of Human Genetics Denounces Unethical Use of False Genetic ?Theories? The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) has issued a statement reinforcing facts about human genetics and expressing strong opposition to efforts that bend genetics knowledge for social or political ends. The statement reads, in part: ?Genetics demonstrates that humans cannot be divided into biologically distinct subcategories or races, and any efforts to claim the superiority of humans based on any genetic ancestry have no scientific evidence. Moreover, it is inaccurate to claim genetics as the determinative factor in human strengths or outcomes when education, environment, wealth, and health care access are often more potent factors. There is no factual basis for attempts to define communities or regions of people with ?good? or ?bad? genes and a century of science has debunked such claims, which can feed discredited views and racist ideologies. Unchecked, unethical application of false genetic ?theories? have resulted in past atrocities from forced sterilizations to the Holocaust and can still fuel unethical social policies worldwide today. Over the decades, our field also has reflected on its own role in such now-condemned ideas, and we speak out vocally as a community and as individuals to combat their resurgence.? ASHG urges advancing the ethical use of genetics and genomics knowledge for ?the profound good it can realize, including better, more precise healthcare that leverages what we are discovering about human genetic commonality and diversity.? Global Biodiversity Goals Not Being Met, Says UN Report A new report from the United Nations (UN) concludes that the world has not met any of the targets set 10 years ago by the Convention on Biological Diversity for protecting nature. The Global Biodiversity Outlook 5, published by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on September 15, 2020, serves as a final report card on progress on the 20 global biodiversity targets, known as the Aichi biodiversity targets, established in 2010 with a ten year deadline. The report found that despite some progress, natural habitats have continued to shrink, large numbers of species remain threatened by extinction from human activities, and environmentally harmful government subsidies have not been eradicated. Although none of the 20 targets have been fully achieved, six targets have been partially achieved, including those related to protected areas and invasive species. Protected areas have increased substantially from 10 percent to at least 15 percent terrestrially, and from 3 percent to 7 percent of the ocean. These figures, however, are still short of the targets of 17 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Forty-four percent of key biodiversity areas are now protected, compared with 29 percent 20 years ago. Good progress has been made on identifying, prioritizing, and eradicating invasive alien species. The rate of deforestation has fallen globally by about a third compared to the previous decade. On average, countries report that more than a third of all national targets are on track to be met. The report found that although the use of fertilizers and pesticides has stabilized globally, biodiversity continues to decline in landscapes used to produce food and timber. Food and agricultural production remains among the main drivers of global biodiversity loss. Furthermore, despite the recent rate of deforestation being lower than the previous decade, deforestation may be accelerating again in some areas. ?Loss, degradation and fragmentation of habitats remains high in forest and other biomes, especially in the most biodiversity-rich ecosystems in tropical regions,? the report states. ?Wilderness areas and global wetlands continue to decline. Fragmentation of rivers remains a critical threat to freshwater biodiversity.? $500 billion in harmful government subsidies for agriculture, fossil fuels, and fishing are particularly of concern. ?We are still seeing so much more public money invested in things that harm biodiversity than in things that support biodiversity,? said David Cooper, lead author of the report and Deputy Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The report calls for moving away from ?business as usual? across a range of human activities, including agriculture and industry. It emphasizes the need to bring biodiversity into mainstream decision making and policies across all economic sectors. WHO, NASEM Unveil COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Plans The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a preliminary framework for the global allocation of COVID-19 vaccines when they become available. The plan is intended to guide policymakers at the global, regional, and national level in their allocation and prioritization decisions about vaccines. WHO?s ?fair allocation mechanism? emphasizes equitable allocation of vaccines and lists groups of people that should have priority access. The plan proposes vaccine distribution in two phases. In the first phase, all countries would receive vaccine doses in proportion to their population size ? initially enough quantities to immunize 3 percent of their population with priority given to frontline medical workers and then additional doses until 20 percent of a nation?s population is immunized. In the second phase, vaccines to cover additional populations would be distributed to countries based on the country?s ?COVID threat and vulnerability.? The WHO framework developed by its Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization calls for higher income countries to ensure that lower income countries receive vaccines in the early days of allocation. WHO announced on September 21 that countries representing nearly two-thirds of the world?s population have joined its plan to fairly allocate COVID-19 vaccines. High-income countries that have joined WHO?s list of partners in the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility includes Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and Peru. Notably, China and the United States have not signed on. Many questions still remain on how the distribution plan will be implemented and how other higher income countries would be persuaded to join. The WHO guidance follows a similar draft plan released earlier this month by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) which not only identifies priority groups but also ranks them in order of who should get vaccinated first. The NASEM framework proposes a five-phase plan to allocate vaccines, recommending that health-care workers and first responders be the first to be vaccinated, followed by people with underlying conditions and older people in densely populated settings, then essential service workers ? such as teachers, grocery-store, transit and postal workers ? and people in homeless shelters and prisons, then young adults and children at increased risk of exposure, and finally all remaining residents. The NASEM plan also addresses people from minority groups who are over-represented in essential service jobs and have disproportionately higher rates of infection. ?We really are trying to make sure that people of color, who have been disproportionately impacted, will also have priority ? but for the factors that put them at risk, not highlighting just their racial and ethnic makeup,? said Helene Gayle, Co-chair of the NASEM panel that authored the plan. The NASEM committee is expected to release their final guidance, which was requested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health, in October. CDC will consider NASEM?s recommendations in developing its own vaccine-allocation plan. The WHO strategic advisory group will continue to update its plan, including assigning rankings to its priority groups and incorporating new data from vaccine trials. Climate Science Critic to be Appointed as NOAA Chief Scientist The White House will appoint Dr. Ryan Maue, a meteorologist and former researcher at the Cato Institute, to serve as the new Chief Scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), according to The Washington Post. Maue currently serves as the developer of weathermodels.com, a website that offers weather related information, maps, and tools. He previously worked as an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, a Libertarian think tank involved in efforts to challenge the scientific consensus on climate change. Maue acknowledges that humans contribute to climate change but has challenged connections between extreme weather events and climate change. He has been critical of climate scientists, as well as activists and policymakers pushing for climate change policy. The position does not require Senate confirmation. As NOAA?s Chief Scientist, Maue will set oceans and atmospheric research priorities for the agency. ?Based on his record of engagement with climate science community and the public, I?m skeptical that Maue would be acting in good faith as a leader at NOAA,? stated Gretchen Goldman, Research Director for the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists. ?It is alarming to see NOAA appoint yet another person who doesn?t align with mainstream climate science.? Earlier this month, NOAA appointed David Legates, a climate science denier, as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction. Legates, a professor of geography at the University of Delaware who is affiliated with the Heartland Institute, a think tank funded partially by the fossil fuel industry, has long questioned that human activity is causing global warming. SPNHC Panel Discussion on Actions to Conserve Biodiversity The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) is hosting a panel discussion to consider how the biological collections community can most effectively contribute to protecting biodiversity. Join the SPNHC Biodiversity Crisis Response Committee and a panel of five experts on October 7, 2020 from 11:00 ? 1:00 PM EDT. Panelists include: * Dr. Tara Cornelisse, an insect conservation biologist and Senior Scientist with the Endangered Species Program at the Center for Biological Diversity. * Dr. Robert Gropp, Executive Director of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. * Dr. Rebecca Johnson, Chief Scientist and Associate Director for Science at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. * Dr. Jeremy Kerr, University Research Chair in Macroecology and Conservation and Professor and Chair of Biology at University of Ottawa. * Henry McGhie, founder of Curating Tomorrow, a consultancy that aims to help museums and their partners connect with sustainable development goals, climate action, and nature conservation. Register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/spnhc-panel-discussion-on-actions-to-conserve-biodiversity-tickets-121073635503 Last Chance to Enter the 2020 Faces of Biology Photo Contest Enter the Faces of Biology Photo Contest for your chance to win $250 and to have your photo appear on the cover of the journal BioScience. The competition, sponsored by the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), recognizes scientists who use imagery to communicate aspects of biological research to the public and policymakers. The theme of the contest is ?Faces of Biology.? Photographs entered into the contest must depict a person, such as a scientist, researcher, collections curator, technician, or student, engaging in biological research. The depicted research may occur outside, in a lab, with a natural history collection, on a computer, in a classroom, or elsewhere. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how science is being conducted in 2020. You are invited to share how you are conducting your research in these unusual times. The First Place Winner will have his/her winning photo featured on the cover of BioScience, and will receive $250 and a one year subscription to BioScience. The Second and Third Place Winners will have his/her winning photo printed inside BioScience, and will receive a one year subscription to BioScience. The winning photo from the 2019 contest was featured on the cover of the April 2020 issue of BioScience. Submissions must be received by 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time on September 30, 2020. For more information or to enter the contest, visit https://www.aibs.org/public-programs/photocontest.html. Short Takes * Members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, led by Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), have introduced bipartisan legislation to create a new postdoctoral fellowship program at the National Science Foundation (NSF) to help keep early career researchers whose employment opportunities have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the STEM pipeline. ?I am deeply concerned about the disappearance of STEM job opportunities and the potential long-term consequences for our STEM pipeline,? stated Chairwoman Johnson. ?For established researchers, the COVID-19 crisis has severely limited their access to their laboratory space. But for early career researchers, these disruptions come at a critical juncture in their research career, threatening to derail their career path.? The Supporting Early-Career Researchers Act (H.R.8044) would allocate $250 million over fiscal years 2021 and 2022 ?to prevent the loss of research talent due to job market disruptions caused by any economic decline during and after the pandemic.? * A group of nearly 40 Democratic Senators are calling on the Commission on Presidential Debates ?to break precedent and publicly call on the moderators? to include climate change in the topics that will be addressed during the debates. In a letter led by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), the lawmakers argued: ?This is not just any election. It is one that will determine how our country responds to the worsening climate crisis that we face each and every day--we don?t have another election cycle to wait.? The request came after it was reported that climate change was not on the list of topics to be discussed during the first debate on September 29. Earlier this month, more than 70 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a similar request to the Commission on Presidential Debates. * The National Science Board (NSB) is accepting nominations for its 2021 honorary public service awards. The Vannevar Bush Award recognizes lifelong leaders in science and technology who have made substantial contributions to the welfare of the nation through public service in science, technology, and public policy. The Public Service Award honors individuals and groups for substantial contributions to increasing public understanding of science and engineering. Nominations are due by September 30, 2020. Learn more about the awards and submit a nomination at http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/awards/. From the Federal Register The following items appeared in the Federal Register from September 14 to 25, 2020. For more information on these or other recent items, please visit the AIBS Federal Register Resource at www.aibs.org/federal-register-resource/index.html. Week Ending 25 September 2020 Agency for International Development * Board for International Food and Agricultural Development; Notice of Meeting Commerce * Science Advisory Board Energy * Secretary of Energy Advisory Board Environmental Protection Agency * Notice of Meeting of the EPA Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee (CHPAC) * Notification of a Public Meeting of the Chartered Science Advisory Board Health and Human Services * National Cancer Institute; Notice of Meeting National Science Foundation * Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; Graduate Research Fellowships Program * Sunshine Act Meeting; National Science Board * Sunshine Act Meeting; National Science Board * Sunshine Act Meeting; National Science Board Week Ending 18 September 2020 Commerce * Nominations for Advisory Committee and Species Working Group Technical Advisor Appointments to the U.S. Section to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas * Ocean Exploration Advisory Board (OEAB); Ocean Exploration Advisory Board; Meeting Energy * DOE/Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee * Environmental Management Advisory Board Executive Office of the President * Proclamation 10071--Revision to United States Marine Scientific Research Policy Interior * Call for Nominations for the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board National Aeronautics and Space Administration * NASA Advisory Council; STEM Engagement Committee; Meeting State * Notice of Public Meeting of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Scientific Advisory Board ________________________________ * Give your society or organization a voice in public policy. See http://www.aibs.org/public-policy/funding_contributors.html. * Become an advocate for science, visit the AIBS Legislative Action Center at http://policy.aibs.org. * Know the news as it happens, sign-up to receive AIBS press releases and policy statements (https://www.aibs.org/mailing-lists/). The American Institute of Biological Sciences is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) scientific association dedicated to advancing biological research and education for the welfare of society. AIBS works to ensure that the public, legislators, funders, and the community of biologists have access to and use information that will guide them in making informed decisions about matters that require biological knowledge. The organization does this through informing decisions by providing peer-reviewed or vetted information about the biology field and profession and by catalyzing action through building the capacity and the leadership of the community to address matters of common concern. Founded in 1947 as a part of the National Academy of Sciences, AIBS became an independent, member-governed organization in the 1950s. Today, Today, AIBS has over 140 member organizations and has a Public Policy Office in Washington, DC. Its staff members work to achieve its mission by publishing the peer-reviewed journal BioScience, by providing scientific peer-review and advisory services to government agencies and other clients, and by collaborating with scientific organizations to advance public policy, education, and the public understanding of science. Website: www.aibs.org. You received this message because you or your organization have interacted with one of our programs or initiatives. Our mailing address is: American Institute of Biological Science 950 Herndon Parkway Suite 450 Herndon, VA 20170 Copyright (C) 2020 American Institute of Biological Sciences All rights reserved. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From civerson at smm.org Tue Sep 29 15:34:27 2020 From: civerson at smm.org (Charlie Iverson) Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2020 14:34:27 -0500 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Permits for new acquisitions Message-ID: I?m working on creating procedures for making sure we have all applicable permits and comply with all necessary reporting when acquiring new specimens for our collection. Examples: migratory birds, endangered and threatened species, state versus federal compliance. Does anyone have procedures for this that they would be willing to share? Thanks, Charlie _________________________ Charlie Iverson Registrar *(he/him)*Science Museum of Minnesota civerson at smm.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cearly at smm.org Tue Sep 29 20:21:32 2020 From: cearly at smm.org (Catherine Early) Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2020 19:21:32 -0500 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] new article - iodine staining/diceCT Message-ID: Hi all, I wanted to share our recent article comparing the impacts of iodine stains in different solvents on fluid-preserved house sparrow specimens. Broadly, our results suggest that using ethanol instead of water as a solvent for these stains may be better for the long-term preservation of fluid-preserved vertebrate (or at least avian) specimens in collections. The specimens stained in water (the solution also known as Lugol's iodine) became demineralized, which we identified through assessment of the physical condition of the specimens and confirmed with molecular analyses. There still may be situations where curatorial staff decide that staining a specimen in Lugol's iodine is the best way forward, and our work provides information that will help to inform that decision. You can access the article here: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0238783. I'm happy to answer any questions about the article or chat about subjecting fluid-preserved museum specimens to iodine staining / diceCT. Best, Catherine *Catherine M. Early, PhD* *Barbara Brown Chair of Ornithology* e: cearly at smm.org she/her https://catherineearly.wixsite.com/home -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ewommack at uwyo.edu Tue Sep 29 21:03:51 2020 From: ewommack at uwyo.edu (Elizabeth Wommack) Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2020 19:03:51 -0600 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Permits for new acquisitions In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi Charlie, You should check out the AOS page for Collections and Permitting Resources: https://americanornithology.org/professional-resources/collections-permitting-resources/ They have some great info for birds. cheers, Beth Wommack On Tue, Sep 29, 2020 at 1:37 PM Charlie Iverson wrote: > ? This message was sent from a non-UWYO address. Please exercise caution > when clicking links or opening attachments from external sources. > > I?m working on creating procedures for making sure we have all applicable > permits and comply with all necessary reporting when acquiring new > specimens for our collection. Examples: migratory birds, endangered and > threatened species, state versus federal compliance. > > Does anyone have procedures for this that they would be willing to share? > > > Thanks, > Charlie > _________________________ > Charlie Iverson > Registrar > > *(he/him) *Science Museum of Minnesota > civerson at smm.org > -- Elizabeth Wommack, PhD Curator and Collections Manager of Vertebrates University of Wyoming Museum of Vertebrates Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071 ewommack@ uwyo.edu www.uwymv. org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From abentley at ku.edu Wed Sep 30 13:32:35 2020 From: abentley at ku.edu (Bentley, Andrew Charles) Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2020 17:32:35 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Reminder: Register now for SPNHC Panel Discussion on Actions to Conserve Biodiversity October 7 Message-ID: <1363477E-E8A1-48D8-B0FE-32463B8725F9@ku.edu> Dear Colleagues, A reminder of this webinar discussion coming up next week? The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) is hosting a panel discussion to consider how the biological collections community can most effectively contribute to protecting biodiversity. Please join the SPNHC Biodiversity Crisis Response Committee and a panel of five experts on October 7, 2020 from 11:00 ? 1:00 PM EDT. Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/spnhc-panel-discussion-on-actions-to-conserve-biodiversity-tickets-121073635503 Panelist Biographies Dr. Tara Cornelisse is an insect conservation biologist and Senior Scientist with the Endangered Species Program at the Center for Biological Diversity. After receiving her PhD at the University of California Santa Cruz, she completed a postdoc in conservation education at the American Museum of Natural History and then taught as an assistant professor in animal behavior, ecology, and conservation at Canisius College. Dr. Robert Gropp is Director of Public Policy at the American Institute of Biological Sciences. Dr. Gropp earned his doctorate in plant ecology from the University of Oklahoma and his bachelor?s degree in biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Before joining AIBS in 2003, he was a Presidential Management Intern and a Congressional Science Fellow. Dr. Rebecca Johnson is the Chief Scientist and Associate Director for Science at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Dr. Johnson is a wildlife forensic scientist and conservation geneticist who is passionate about reducing the illegal wildlife trade and promoting the importance of STEM, particularly women in STEM, in early and lifelong education. Dr. Jeremy Kerr holds the University Research Chair in Macroecology and Conservation and is Full Professor and Chair of Biology at University of Ottawa where his research seeks to discover how environmental change affects biodiversity. Dr. Kerr engages in science outreach and is active at the science-policy interface. In those areas and in his research, he works to create policies on equity, diversity, and inclusion. Henry McGhie has a background as an ecologist and worked in museums for nearly 20 years, before setting up Curating Tomorrow, a consultancy that aims to help museums and their partners connect with sustainable development goals, climate action, and nature conservation. He is a member of the International Council of Museum's Sustainability Working Group, International Union for Conservation of Nature's Commission on Education and Communication, and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's Education, Communication, and Outreach Stakeholders Community. Hope to see you then! SPNHC Biodiversity Crisis Response Committee Libby Ellwood (Committee Chair), La Brea Tar Pits and Museum Andy Bentley, University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Museum Jutta Buschbom, Statistical Genetics Talia Karim, University of Colorado Museum of Natural History Austin Mast, Florida State University Gil Nelson, Integrated Digitized Biocollections Erica Wheeler, Royal British Columbia Museum -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: