[Nhcoll-l] no data specimens

Thu Oct 14 13:33:40 EDT 2021

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<mailto: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<mailto:cearly at smm.org>>; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu<mailto: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
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Andy Bentley
Ichthyology Collection Manager
University of Kansas
Biodiversity Institute
Dyche Hall
1345 Jayhawk Boulevard<x-apple-data-detectors://9>
Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561<x-apple-data-detectors://9>
USA<x-apple-data-detectors://9>

Tel: (785) 864-3863<tel:%28785%29%20864-3863>
Fax: (785) 864-5335<tel:%28785%29%20864-5335>
Email: abentley at ku.edu<mailto:abentley at ku.edu>
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From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu<mailto: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<mailto: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

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Catherine M. Early, PhD

she/her

Barbara Brown Chair of Ornithology

e: cearly at smm.org<mailto:cearly at smm.org>

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