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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 3/10/16 10:28 AM, Callomon,Paul
wrote:<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Colleagues:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In some collections, individual components
of a lot that are stored in a particular medium (for example:
the empty dry shell, frozen tissue snip and alcohol-preserved
body from the same snail or the dry skin and fluid-preserved
guts of a single bird) each get different catalog numbers. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The question: All other things being equal,
is it better collections management practice for all parts of
a single lot to have the same catalog number (perhaps with
different states of preservation indicated separately or as
prefixes/suffixes)?
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A “lot” is defined as all specimens
collected at the same time in the same place. This can be a
single bird or a hundred pond snails.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How do you handle this in your collection?<o:p></o:p></p>
<span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black"><i></i></span><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span>
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We assign unique numbers to things in the entomology collection by
curatorial unit, not by lot. A single insect pin/vial/slide gets one
number, even if there are multiple specimens (of multiple taxa,
even, like predator/prey, host/parasite) - so UCRC ENT 95667 could
represent multiple specimens, of one (or more) taxon, though always
with identical collection data. If it becomes necessary to separate
the records in the database by taxon, they would appear as UCRC ENT
95667a, UCRC ENT 95667b in the database. Other specimens from the
same collecting event get their own GUIDs, though the database is
relational and each locality has its own code, so one could
reconstruct a traditional "lot" by querying for all specimens with
the same date/locality code.<br>
<br>
If it's a bulk sample, then we will assign a GUID but don't attempt
to discriminate among taxa, or count specimens - far too
impractical. The database allows easy carryover of data if specimens
are removed from bulk samples, and then given their own GUID. Again,
the date/locality code will link specimens even if they've been
physically dispersed.<br>
<br>
Peace,<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
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)
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__cache.ucr.edu_-7Eheraty_yanega.html&d=AwMD-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=Jaf2xRPjvyOOEhizEXAxGFT6-yRPDLJPjJT2DtOXN4k&s=vMJSMu4hpROAA81Qx0wRipnYcJ8ejCV6NqNxYZUCHuc&e=">http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html</a>
"There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82</pre>
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