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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%">Joachim,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%">Thank you for your comments and for posting the two papers. <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%">It seems we are approaching this problem from two different
points of view. Neither one of the papers addresses the specific problem posed
by Jessica, which was what to do about mold on preserved mammal skins. From my
point of view, the issue is not how to kill the mold, but how to safely remove
it while minimizing its spread to other specimens</span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%">―</span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%">to do this you must take into
consideration the substrate the mold is growing on, which in this case is the
mammal specimens, some with fur, some without.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%">The mammal skins with mold growing on them will have already
been damaged to some extent by the mold—what is needed is a method to remove
the mold without causing further damage or spreading the mold to other
specimens. The advice provided by Thacker et al. is good for removing mold from
skeletal specimens which can be submerged in 70% ethanol, but submerging mammal
skins would cause more problems than it would solve. Meier compared the
effectiveness of immersion, spraying, and gas treatments for killing mold, but as
far as I can determine from her article (I do not speak German so perhaps I
have misunderstood the translation), Meier did not attempt to remove the mold
from the paper samples. This is significant because leaving the supposedly dead
mold on the specimens elevates the risk of further contamination from the inactive
mold, and given the difficulty in distinguishing between an active mold
infestation and an inactive one, will complicate monitoring of the specimens in
the future. For these reasons, I recommend that it be removed from the specimens
entirely.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%">The reason I suggested using full-strength ethanol is because
it evaporates more rapidly from the substrate it is applied to than do weaker
dilutions of alcohol. If applied as I recommended (by rolling a cotton swab
moistened with alcohol over the surface, rather than rubbing the surface), 70% ethanol
is far more likely to penetrate into the skin than 95.6% ethanol. As Meier points
out in her paper, the 70% ethanol was most effective in killing the mold when the
samples of mold were submerged in the fluid, but much less effective in spray
applications, but keep in mind that neither the spraying or the submersion removed
the mold from the paper samples.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%">I agree with your suggestions for elevating the cabinets from
the floor and keeping them from touching the walls of the storage room—these are
both proven ways to reduce humidity increases from rising damp—and it is
important to determine the source of moisture in the cabinet and why it
suddenly increased enough to enable the growth of the mold.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%">--John</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%"><br><span></span></span></p>
</div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif">John E. Simmons<br>Writer and Museum Consultant</span></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif">Museologica<br><i>and</i><br>Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia<br>Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima</span></font><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Thu, Jul 4, 2024 at 12:52 AM Joachim Händel <<a href="mailto:Joachim.Haendel@zns.uni-halle.de">Joachim.Haendel@zns.uni-halle.de</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
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<p>No, more is not better here!</p>
<p>70% ethanol is a fungicide that has a membrane-active effect on the cell wall. The 30% water transports the alcohol into the cytoplasm. The proteins in the membrane of the mould fungi and spores are denatured and the cell is prevented from carrying out vital metabolic processes, which kills the fungi and often even the spores.<br>In the case of alcohol with a higher concentration, this transport does not take place or only to a limited extent. Growth is merely inhibited. The spores of the fungi are not destroyed by this application. In addition, alcohol in high concentrations can cause shrinkage.</p>
<p>There is an excellent paper on this topic about mould on papers - see attachment (sorry, only in German).</p>
<p>I am also enclosing an interesting publication on your topic from the journal "Copeia".</p>
<p>Ben wrote that you should check the humidity conditions at the location of the cabinet. This is important. It is often sufficient for a better microclimate to move the cabinets 1...2 centimetres away from the wall and, if possible, place them on feet so that the entire cabinet is ventilated and no damp patches form.</p>
<p>Good luck!<br>Joachim</p>
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<div><span style="color:rgb(148,148,148);font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:small">-- </span></div>
<div><span style="color:rgb(148,148,148);font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:small">Joachim Haendel</span></div>
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<div><span style="color:rgb(148,148,148);font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:small">Center of Natural Science Collections<br>of the Martin Luther University (ZNS)<br>- Entomological Collection -<br><br>Domplatz 4<br>D-06099 Halle (Saale)<br>Germany<br><br>Phone: +49 345 - 55 26 447<br></span><span style="color:rgb(148,148,148);font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:small">Email: <a href="mailto:joachim.haendel@zns.uni-halle.de" target="_blank">joachim.haendel@zns.uni-halle.de</a></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr"><span><br>>>> John E Simmons <<a href="mailto:simmons.johne@gmail.com" target="_blank">simmons.johne@gmail.com</a>> 04.07.2024, 05:00 >>><br></span>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Ben's advice is good, but you might want to consider using full-strength ethanol (95.6%) rather than 70%. At 70%, ethanol is a good biocide, but the advantage to full-strenth is that it evaporates faster and therefore is less likely to affect the specimen or be absorbed deeply into the specimen. I also recommend cleaning the specimens by rolling a cotton swab (Q-tip) over the mold rather than brushing.</div>
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<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">--John</div>
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<div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:small"><span style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif">John E. Simmons<br>Writer and Museum Consultant</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:small"><span style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif">Museologica<br><em>and</em><br>Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia<br>Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima</span></span></div>
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<div class="gmail_attr" dir="ltr">On Wed, Jul 3, 2024 at 5:42 PM Benjamin Hess <<a href="mailto:bmhess@umich.edu" target="_blank">bmhess@umich.edu</a>> wrote:</div>
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<div dir="auto">Jessica,</div>
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<div dir="auto">I treated an entire cabinet with mammal specimens, which included several bats. I am listing our process steps below. If you have any questions, please let me know. I am happy to share more specific details.</div>
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<li>Isolate the cabinet out of the collection (if possible). We moved ours to our preparation lab.</li>
<li>Remove moldy specimens from the cabinet and place inside a fume hood.</li>
<li>Discard any archival trays that may hold mold spores. Place in a sealed trash bag.</li>
<li>Use 70% ethanol to wipe all surfaces of the cabinet including seal. If possible, you can spray the cabinet with 70% ethanol. Use HEPA vacuum after each treatment. Repeat 2-3 times depending upon mold severity.</li>
<li>If this is an older cabinet, consider improving the seal.</li>
<li>Check the temperature and humidity conditions of the cabinet location. We discovered an airflow issue and resealed a collection door that contributed to the issue.</li>
<li>Specimens:</li>
<ul>
<li>Under the fume hood, use 70% ethanol and a small brush like a toothbrush (soft brush or Q-tip for bat membrane) to coat all surfaces of specimens with mold. Use new ethanol frequently based upon mold coverage.</li>
<li>Leave specimens in the fume hood until dry.</li>
<li>With a dry brush, brush specimens toward HEPA vacuum with screen over tip to prevent unwanted vacuuming (e.g., specimen tags).</li>
<li>Depending upon the severity of mold, repeat 2-3 times.</li>
<li>Once complete, dry specimens under fume hood with a drying method for specimen preparation including compressed air and additional drying "dust" for skins.</li>
<li>No paper material beyond specimen labels should be retained.</li>
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<div>Sincerely,</div>
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<div>Ben </div>
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<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Benjamin M. Hess | EEB Museums Registrar | </span></strong><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-size:13.3333px;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><strong style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">EEB Museums Safety Representative to the RMC </strong></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">University of Michigan | LSA Ecology & Evolutionary Biology | Research Museums Center</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">3600 Varsity Drive, Ann Arbor MI 48108-2228</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><a style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif" href="mailto:bmhess@umich.edu" rel="noopener" target="_blank">bmhess@umich.edu</a> | 734-764-2432</span></p>
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<div class="gmail_attr" dir="ltr">On Wed, Jul 3, 2024 at 2:56 PM Jessica E. Light <<a href="mailto:jessica.light@ag.tamu.edu" rel="noopener" target="_blank">jessica.light@ag.tamu.edu</a>> wrote:</div>
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<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>Anyone have any advice for the best treatment for mold on preserved skins (small mammals, primarily bats, mostly on exposed wing and tail membranes and ear/face tissue) and skeletal elements (mainly skulls)? I'm looking for advice for treating the specimens themselves as well as the cases in which the specimens are stored.</p>
<p>Thank you in advance for your help!<br>Jessica</p>
<pre style="font-family:monospace">--
Dr. Jessica E. Light (she/her/hers)
Professor and Curator of Mammals
Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology
Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843
<a style="font-family:monospace" href="https://lightjessica.weebly.com" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://lightjessica.weebly.com</a></pre>
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