[Nhcoll-l] Minimum viable mammal specimen

[Rose Leach Basom]

Hi Rebecca,

I am glad that you are bringing up an important topic to the listserv; I
think there are many excellent responses, so I won't repeat some of the
points brought up in the thread. However, I do have a suggestion to
consider for mammal prep that may or may not be feasible, I'm not sure of
what resources you have available to you.

As someone who does a lot of osteological research, I think having CT
scans, or even surface scans of bones provide a lot of research potential,
even if you're unable to permanently house large collections of complete
skeletal specimens. By having this digital data, there is a significantly
increased level of accessibility for researchers who may be interested in
your collections, but may not have the resources to travel to the
institution. Of course that does provide its own set of challenges, as the
more inexpensive surface scanners (~$2000) are limited in the size of the
specimen, and you have to determine where to store the data and how to
access the database. But definitely something to think about, particularly
if you're interested in future research.

Best,
Rose

Rose Leach Basom
David and Jane Cohn Scientist
Science Museum of Virginia
2500 W Broad St
Richmond, VA 23220



On Mon, Feb 12, 2024 at 9:38 AM Rob Robins <rhrobins at flmnh.ufl.edu> wrote:

> Here’s a view into a little of the process (jars were barcode labeled in
> Dickinson Hall prior to packing and shipping to FM Special Collections
> building):
>
>
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK8gyGRMYnc
>
>
> Best wishes,
>
>
> Rob
>
>
>
> Robert H. Robins
>
> Collection Manager
>
> Division of Ichthyology
>
> [image: FLMNH Fishes logo email small]
>
> Florida Museum
>
> 1659 Museum Rd.
>
> Gainesville, FL 32611-7800
>
> Office: (352) 273-1957
>
> rhrobins at flmnh.ufl.edu
>
>
>
> The UF Fish Collection is moving:
>
> https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/fish/
>
>
>
> Search the Collection:
>
> http://specifyportal.flmnh.ufl.edu/fishes/
>
>
>
> Search samples suitable for dna analysis:
>
> https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/grr/holdings/
>
>
>
> *From:* Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> * On Behalf Of *Hendrickson
> Dean
> *Sent:* Friday, February 9, 2024 5:15 PM
> *To:* nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] Minimum viable mammal specimen
>
>
>
> *[External Email]*
>
> Thanks John, for mentioning our presentation/paper. With permission of
> SPNHC, we archived both a copy of the pdf and the recording of my
> presentation of it at:
>
>
>
> Cohen, A. E., Hendrickson, D. A., & Casarez, M. J. (2022). Testing An
> Alternative Shelving Arrangement to Optimize Space and Task Efficiency in a
> Fluid Fish Collection. Presented by Hendrickson at SPNHC 2022, Edinburgh,
> Scotland. http://dx.doi.org/10.26153/tsw/44357
>
>
>
> Adam (TNHC_Fish_CM at austin.utexas.edu) and I are both happy to answer
> questions and discuss this further. We’re still both very happy with the
> new system, and continue hoping one day we can convert the whole collection
> to this shelving method. He and his crew of volunteers and students have
> since done more testing of aspects of the system, and implemented some
> related experiments, all interesting and promising.
>
>
>
> I’ll also point out that Rob Robbins et al in the Fish Collection at
> University of Florida <https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/fish/> converted
> that collection to a similar space-efficient system that shares some of the
> same features as ours, and, with their move, they also were able to barcode
> everything to add additional power and efficiency.
>
>
>
> Dean
>
>
>
> [image: Fishes of Texas] <http://www.fishesoftexas.org/home/>Dean A.
> Hendrickson (pronunciation <https://namedrop.io/deanhendrickson>), Ph.D.
> (he/him/his)
>
> Curator of Ichthyology, Biodiversity Center
> <https://biodiversity.utexas.edu/>, University of Texas
> <https://www.utexas.edu/>,
>
> Texas Natural History Collections,10100 Burnet Rd., PRC176/R4000
>
> Austin, Texas 78758 USA
>
> +1-512-656-9504 (cel.); Orcid <https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7835-0295> /
> lab <https://sites.cns.utexas.edu/hendricksonlab/home> / collection
> <https://integrativebio.utexas.edu/biodiversity-collections/collections/ichthyology-fish>
>  / zoom <https://utexas.zoom.us/j/7165800443>
>
>
>
> *From:* Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> *On Behalf Of *John
> E Simmons
> *Sent:* Friday, February 9, 2024 12:19 PM
> *To:* Hawkins, Rebecca K. <rkhawkins at ou.edu>
> *Cc:* nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] Minimum viable mammal specimen
>
>
>
> Thank you, Rebecca Hawkins, for bringing up this problem that we, the
> natural history collections community need to discuss.
>
>
>
> I sympathize with the problem of crowded collections. I don’t know of a
> heavily used natural history collection anywhere that does not have this
> problem. However, I don’t think selecting a few essential parts of a
> specimen is a good idea. As several responses have already pointed out,
> there are research uses for all parts of a specimen, and we keep finding
> new uses for all parts of a specimen. The history of use of natural history
> collections tells us very clearly that there is an unending variety of ways
> to use specimens, particularly as advances in technology enable us to look
> at specimens in entirely new ways. Which brings us to a collecting
> conundrum—we should be making collections for future research, not just
> present research, but what will future researchers need? We don’t know.
> What we do know is that the large amount of literature on uses of natural
> history collections, taken all together, makes a strong argument for
> keeping all parts of organisms rather than just traditional preparations or
> reduced parts of specimens.
>
>
>
> What museums should be doing is diversifying the types of preparations for
> specimens they are collecting now (natural history museums should be
> actively collecting to document the effects of climate change). Traditional
> study skins are still useful, but so are full skeletons, fluid-preserved
> specimens, and many other types of preparations. One of the problems is
> that modern collections reflect the traditions in the various “-ologies,”
> which is why mammal collections have traditionally had mostly skins and
> skulls, bird collections mostly skins with a partial skull intact,
> amphibian, reptile, and fish collections but whole animals in fluid,
> insects are pinned, and so on. These traditional preparations often fail to
> provide the kind of specimens needed for future research.
>
>
>
> To address the very serious problem you have brought up about “specimen
> footprint” (that is a very descriptive term and we should all start using
> it)—there are several approaches to solving the problem. To mention just a
> few:
>
>
>
> 1-We need new designs for collection storage furniture to make better use
> of space while still allowing efficient monitoring of specimens (without
> having to pick them up or move them). We need to re-think drawer size and
> shape, cabinet configurations, the use of wide shelving vs narrow shelving,
> making better use of compactors, the size and shape of specimens and
> specimen containers, and so forth.
>
>
>
> 2-We can house specimen parts separately. Consider that most skulls are
> not the same shape as study skins, round jars are not necessarily the best
> shape to hold fluid-preserved specimens, skeletons need individual
> containers but study skins usually do not, etc.
>
>
>
> 3-This next suggestion often results in me being called a heretic, but it
> is, in fact, the easiest and most cost-effective way to make better use of
> space that we have right now. The suggestion is that we should abandon
> attempts at so-called “systematic arrangements” of collection storage
> arrays and instead develop collection storage arrays that are designed to
> better use space while providing the best storage environment for the
> collection (for example, bones tolerate a wider range of temperature and
> humidity than do skins). Particularly considering the flood of taxonomic
> changes resulting from molecular systematics, and the need to collect more
> specimens now to document climate change, our old collection storage arrays
> are a liability. We need to start by assessing the size and shape of
> specimens and containers, then consider the environmental requirements, and
> then develop storage arrays that are a better use of space and use the
> collection database to find specimen, not a faux systematic arrangement (no
> linear arrangement can be phylogenetic, and I have never seen a branching
> sequence of cabinets or shelving). Non-systematic arrangements can
> accommodate collection growth far more efficiently than traditional
> collection storage arrays.
>
>
>
> There have been a few publications addressing the problem of crowded
> natural history collection storage. I will list a few below, and hope that
> people will add those that I have missed.
>
>
>
> At the 2022 SPNHC meeting in Edinburgh there was a session on “Managing
> Long-Term Sustainability in an Uncertain Future” that included several
> presentations directly addressing the topic of best use of storage space.
> Not all of the speakers published papers based on their presentations, so
> if you are interested, check the abstracts from the meeting.
>
>
>
> One last thing—before anyone rejects the idea of non-systematic
> arrangements for natural history collections, please take time to read the
> paper below by Cohen et al. listed below and look carefully at the amount
> of space they saved.
>
>
>
> Thanks again to Rebecca for bringing up this very important topic for
> discussion.
>
>
>
> --John
>
>
>
> Callomon, P. 2019. An improved design for the storage of fluid-preserved
> specimens in small to medium-sized containers. *SPNHC Connection*
> 33(2):28-32.
>
>
>
> Cohen, A. E., D. A. Hendrickson, and M. J. Casarez. 2019. An alternative
> shelving arrangement for natural history collection objects to optimize
> space and task efficiency. *Collection Storage* 33(1):55-72.
>
>
>
> McAlpine, D. F., and F. W. Schueler. 2018. Herpetology meets botany: using
> herbarium methods to archive dried skins of frogs and snakes. *Herpetological
> Review* 49(2):236-238.
>
>
>
> Simmons, J. E. 2013. Application of preventive conservation to solve the
> coming crisis in collections management. *Collection Forum*
> 27(1-2):89-101.
>
>
>
> Simmons, J. E. and Y. Muñoz-Saba. 2003. The theoretical bases of
> collections management. *Collection Forum* 18(1-2):38-49.
>
>
>
>
>
> John E. Simmons
> Writer and Museum Consultant
>
> Museologica
> *and*
> Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia
> Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima
>
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Feb 9, 2024 at 9:43 AM Hawkins, Rebecca K. <rkhawkins at ou.edu>
> wrote:
>
> Hello all,
>
>
>
> Here at the Sam Noble Museum, we have been brainstorming about mammal prep
> types that would minimize a specimen's footprint in the collection space
> while maximizing research potential, which we have dubbed the 'minimum
> viable specimen' in conversation. Such a concept would be useful for larger
> mammals like coyotes, which—in large numbers—would take a lot of time and
> effort to prepare and would be spatially expensive to store as stuffed
> skins and skeletons. With minimum viable specimens, large mammals could be
> collected in larger sample sizes crucial for research like characterizing
> population variability and change over time.
>
>
>
> Right now we are thinking that a minimum viable mammal specimen consists
> of a skull, skin swatch, and tissues (muscle and liver?), but would like to
> open this discussion to other museums as it could benefit all. Thanks!
>
>
>
> Rebecca Hawkins (she/her)
>
> Curatorial Associate
>
> Sam Noble Museum
>
> 2401 Chautauqua Ave.
>
> Norman, OK 73072
>
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