[Nhcoll-l] no data specimens

[Catherine Early (she/her)]

Hi all,

Thank you, as always, for the thoughtful discussion. I had assumed the
tanning process would have yielded these skins unsuitable for ectoparasite
and other work. Andy, do you think even something like a hyena skin rug
would still house this information? I do think your imaging and keeping a
small portion of the hide idea strikes a good balance between preservation
and not taking up space unnecessarily.

While I do understand the reasoning behind keeping things in trust for the
future - and think your bat example does an excellent job of making that
point, Sue - it gets harder to apply it to specimens that were collected
for other reasons, like some of our hides that were hunted for sport by
museum trustees in the 1930's then donated to the collection...with no data
and *no taxonomic determination*. If any mammalogists on here want to help
with identification, I'm happy to send you photos! (And I may actually
request help with this in a separate NHCOLL post in the future).

We are very lucky to have a full-time conservator and full-time registrar
on staff to test for dangerous chemicals and make sure that there are
absolutely no records associated with the specimens that would make them
scientifically valuable. But even with that, we will still need to make
tough decisions, like what to do with the unlabeled jumble of fish bones
that would be a choking hazard in an education setting. Your responses will
help us make those decisions.

Best,
Catherine

<https://www.smm.org/>

*Catherine M. Early, PhD*

she/her

*Barbara Brown Chair of Ornithology*

e: cearly at smm.org

https://catherineearly.wixsite.com/home

We envision a world where everyone has the power to use science to make
lives better,
and we are committed to using STEM as a tool to advocate for justice and
equity.


On Thu, Oct 14, 2021 at 3:13 PM McLaren, Suzanne <McLarenS at carnegiemnh.org>
wrote:

> Cody,
>
>
>
> You make a good point about the vertebrate specimens that contain
> hazardous chemicals.  One cannot just throw them into the dumpster, any
> more than you would want to give them to an organization that would use
> them as “touchables.”  It is not legal to merely discard specimens,
> including taxidermy, that contain arsenic, asbestos, and other chemicals.
> This is a costly problem that many of us face with older taxidermy when it
> is no longer worthy of exhibition.
>
>
>
> Sue
>
>
>
> *Suzanne B. McLaren *(she, her, hers)
>
> Collection Manager, Section of Mammals
>
> Edward O'Neil Research Center
>
> (Carnegie Museum of Natural History Annex)
>
> 5800 Baum Blvd
>
> Pittsburgh PA 15206   USA
>
> Telephone 412-665-2615
>
> Fax 412-665-2751
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> * On Behalf Of *Cody
> Thompson
> *Sent:* Thursday, October 14, 2021 1:47 PM
> *To:* Thomas Labedz <tlabedz1 at unl.edu>
> *Cc:* nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] no data specimens
>
>
>
> Hi, Catherine!  It looks like you have received a lot of good advice
> here.  Like most, I would think twice about deaccessioning.  Rather than
> donating, you could provide them as a permanent loan to another institution
> for education and outreach use.
>
>
>
> I do have one word of caution about mammal taxidermy and fur.  Depending
> on their vintage, arsenic and other nasty chemicals were used pretty
> frequently on these sorts of specimens.  So, be cautious on what you donate
> or loan to other institutions for hands-on educational purposes.
>
>
>
> Good luck,
>
> Cody
>
>
> Cody W. Thompson, PhD
>
> Mammal Collections Manager
>
> & Assistant Research Scientist
>
> University of Michigan
>
> Museum of Zoology
>
> 3600 Varsity Drive
>
> Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108
>
> Office: (734) 615-2810
>
> Fax: (734) 763-4080
>
> Email: cwthomp at umich.edu
>
> Website: codythompson.org
> <https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fcodythompson.org&c=E,1,lv8m7Bzqwdu5gMbuwyeHqqEnvRjnYCA_S4zoQy5-YmVmctKxVyQvlLfpVeLIl5xKfkuAWt8IiJCcXbPbzfd1G2Gsvd2JcHZB_K616lyw8Vb56IjeQ4wd9Q,,&typo=1>
>
>
>
> *In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UMMZ/Herbarium has limited
> personnel available working onsite. No loan returns should be shipped
> without prior notification, and collection visits, loan requests, gifts,
> exchanges, etc. should be coordinated with the appropriate curatorial
> staff. Please expect delayed responses. We apologize for any inconvenience
> this may cause.*
>
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Oct 14, 2021 at 1:33 PM Thomas Labedz <tlabedz1 at unl.edu> wrote:
>
> A few months ago I posted a request for information about deaccessioning
> “no data” taxidermy of common game birds. As a result of the informative
> and positive comments from this group there has been a change in plans and
> we are now going to hold these mounts as best we can. In the past I have
> “unmounted” smaller birds and repositioned them into study skins. Doing the
> same I’ll start to nibble away at these, likely beginning with the rarest.
> Thank you all for the advice.
>
> Thomas
>
>
>
> Thomas E. Labedz (Mr.), Collections Manager
>
> Division of Zoology and Division of Botany
>
> University of Nebraska State Museum
>
> Morrill Hall
>
> 645 North 14th Street
> Lincoln, NE 68588-0338
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> *On Behalf Of *McLaren,
> Suzanne
> *Sent:* Thursday, October 14, 2021 12:05 PM
> *To:* Catherine Early (she/her) <cearly at smm.org>;
> nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] no data specimens
>
>
>
> Non-NU Email
> ------------------------------
>
> I’ll just mention one mammal species that will make anyone think twice
> about not maintaining what we have initially accepted “in trust for the
> future”:   *Myotis lucifugus* – the little brown bat was the most common
> species of bat in eastern North America until white-nose syndrome struck in
> 2005.   Roosts that once hosted *tens of thousands* of ‘little browns’
> have been decimated in some places to numbers in the *teens*.   It was
> unthinkable 20 years ago.  In this changing world, the question is what
> species is next?  It sounds so dramatic until you think about *Myotis
> lucifugus*.
>
>
>
> Sue
>
>
>
> *Suzanne B. McLaren *(she, her, hers)
>
> Collection Manager, Section of Mammals
>
> Edward O'Neil Research Center
>
> (Carnegie Museum of Natural History Annex)
>
> 5800 Baum Blvd
>
> Pittsburgh PA 15206   USA
>
> Telephone 412-665-2615
>
> Fax 412-665-2751
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> *On Behalf Of *Bentley,
> Andrew Charles
> *Sent:* Thursday, October 14, 2021 12:43 PM
> *To:* Catherine Early (she/her) <cearly at smm.org>;
> nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] no data specimens
>
>
>
> Catherine
>
>
>
>    1. There are all sorts of techniques like genetic, ectoparasite and
>    environmental work that can be done on these skins that may yield data that
>    is useful even if provenance is unknown.  I agree that you have to balance
>    this against space and resource limitations but maybe imaging and keeping
>    portions of the skins for genetic analysis would be doable if not keeping
>    the whole animal
>    2. This is a slippery slope I agree and donating these to educational
>    facilities is the way to go.  There are a myriad of these in your own and
>    area and beyond that would be grateful for the materials.  Our mission is
>    not only to serve the research community but the educational community
>    too.  There are all sorts of negative connotations regarding deaccessioning
>    to members of the general public etc. that I would deem fraught with issues
>    and would not attempt.
>
>
>
> 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
> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http*3a*2f*2fichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu*2f&c=E,1,URnxGAJyoFIKt4AG4DD9Fpz-vK-KsLALD0KQdjTyTUC6nWQZ8vcAgh0E2LOIkwhRlhWz1AIJA6RpqbCfz2abnnnZXKj2Xxb7rIKVCxyoAc4UFg,,&typo=1__;JSUlJQ!!PvXuogZ4sRB2p-tU!QY9gTf7xb0omCd5iWMgxGefivXAtAVVcleRWXHYBfFo7iNYk11QDtSQbP5hVsoAx$>
>
>     A  :             A  :             A  :
>  }<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<)))_°>
>     V                V                V
>
>
>
> *From:* Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> *On Behalf Of *Catherine
> Early (she/her)
> *Sent:* Thursday, October 14, 2021 8:18 AM
> *To:* nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> *Subject:* [Nhcoll-l] no data specimens
>
>
>
> Hello all,
>
>
>
> I have a two-part question today:
>
>
>
> 1) Is there any *scientific* value to tanned hides with no data? We have
> many large mammal hides that were purchased from fur suppliers in the
> 1970's that take up a lot of room but lack data. We might keep one of each
> species for identification, but otherwise, they do not belong in a
> scientific collection (where we are constantly running out of space),
> correct?
>
>
>
> 2) Have any of your institutions developed protocols for deaccessioning no
> data specimens into the hands of private citizens? We will prioritize
> giving no data (former) specimens to education centers, but there is a
> limited need for no data shell collections that previous curators accepted
> from donors, so we will likely need to look elsewhere. We know that we
> would be limited in what we could give to private citizens by permit
> restrictions for owning wildlife parts, but we're also very concerned with
> devaluing public opinions of specimens by creating the impression that
> specimens can just be given away. I would love to hear any language or
> agreements you've developed to make it clear why items are deaccessioned
> and how they differ from scientific specimens.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Catherine
>
>
>
>
> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https*3A*2F*2Fwww.smm.org*2F&data=04*7C01*7Cabentley*40ku.edu*7C1d55b3ed6f9542d1b64c08d98f151713*7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a*7C0*7C0*7C637698143621953123*7CUnknown*7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0*3D*7C3000&sdata=lwhKYeSr5G6n7q0dyonTLTSFvBpWENKL*2BYUItbJ*2F4Ac*3D&reserved=0__;JSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJQ!!PvXuogZ4sRB2p-tU!QY9gTf7xb0omCd5iWMgxGefivXAtAVVcleRWXHYBfFo7iNYk11QDtSQbP2aLkxjb$>
>
> *Catherine M. Early, PhD*
>
> she/her
>
> *Barbara Brown Chair of Ornithology*
>
> e: cearly at smm.org
>
> https://catherineearly.wixsite.com/home
> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https*3A*2F*2Fcatherineearly.wixsite.com*2Fhome&data=04*7C01*7Cabentley*40ku.edu*7C1d55b3ed6f9542d1b64c08d98f151713*7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a*7C0*7C0*7C637698143621963114*7CUnknown*7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0*3D*7C3000&sdata=EbcTjpM7bcyw2aGvPRHLTReNnLNNhpBhV25aDuRVQAc*3D&reserved=0__;JSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSU!!PvXuogZ4sRB2p-tU!QY9gTf7xb0omCd5iWMgxGefivXAtAVVcleRWXHYBfFo7iNYk11QDtSQbP6R4j0RZ$>
>
>
>
> We envision a world where everyone has the power to use science to make
> lives better,
> and we are committed to using STEM as a tool to advocate for justice and
> equity.
>
>
>
>
>
>
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