scholarly journals Insect Collections as an Untapped Source of Bioactive Compounds—Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) and Cardiotonic Steroids as a Proof of Concept

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 689
Author(s):  
Andreas Berger ◽  
Georg Petschenka ◽  
Thomas Degenkolb ◽  
Michael Geisthardt ◽  
Andreas Vilcinskas
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Bioactive Compounds ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
Chemical Information ◽  
Cardiac Diseases ◽  
Museum Specimens ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
Non Destructive

Natural history collections provide an invaluable basis for systematics, ecology, and conservation. Besides being an important source of DNA, museum specimens may also contain a plethora of natural products. Especially, dried insect collections represent a global repository with billions of inventoried vouchers. Due to their vast diversity, insects possess a great variety of defensive compounds, which they either produce autogenously or derive from the environment. Here, we present a case study on fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae), which produce bufadienolides as a defense against predators. These toxins belong to the cardiotonic steroids, which are used for the treatment of cardiac diseases and specifically inhibit the animal enzyme Na+/K+-ATPase. Bufadienolides have been reported from only seven out of approximately 2000 described firefly species. Using a non-destructive approach, we screened 72 dry coleopteran specimens for bufadienolides using HPLC-DAD and HPLC-MS. We found bufadienolides including five novel compounds in 21 species of the subfamily Lampyrinae. The absence of bufadienolides in the phylogenetically related net-winged beetles (Lycidae) and the lampyrid subfamilies Luciolinae and Lamprohizinae indicates a phylogenetic pattern of bufadienolide synthesis. Our results emphasize the value of natural history collections as an archive of chemical information for ecological and evolutionary basic research and as an untapped source for novel bioactive compounds.

Natural History Collections as Dynamic Research Archives

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamar Dayan ◽  
Bella Galil
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Marine Biota ◽  
Museum Specimens ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
Individual Specimen ◽  
International Awareness

This chapter discusses the importance of museum specimens and samples. Natural history collections are archives of biodiversity, snapshots that provide a way to physically retrieve an individual specimen and through it track changes in populations and species across repeatable surveys in time and space. Growing international awareness of the potential effects on humanity due to the loss of biodiversity and the ensuing erosion of ecosystem services has reinforced the value of natural history collections, museums, and herbaria worldwide. The chapter summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of natural history collections for repeated surveys and other historical studies that require replication. Through a case study of the historical surveys and resurveys of the taxonomic exploration of the marine biota of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, it highlights the relevance of collections for ecology and conservation. Finally, it discusses prospects for future uses of natural history collections in the context of replicated research.

scholarly journals “Attractive to Strangers and Instructive to Students.” The McCullochs’ 19th Century Bird Collection in Dalhousie College

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 88-108
Author(s):  
Eric L. Mills
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Liberal Education ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Hybrid Origin ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Great Caution ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
Thomas Mcculloch

Thomas McCulloch, Presbyterian minister and educator, founder of Pictou Academy, first President of Dalhousie College 1838-1843, established a museum in Pictou, NS, by 1828, including a bird collection. To McCulloch, the order of the natural world instilled in students principles of a liberal education and a model of society. His first collections were sold, but when McCulloch came to Dalhousie in 1838 he started a new collection, hoping to make it the basis of a provincial museum. In this he was aided by his son Thomas, who had been trained as a taxidermist. The younger McCulloch kept and expanded the collection until his death, after which it passed to Dalhousie College. The current McCulloch Collection, mainly the work of Thomas McCulloch junior, seems to exemplify purposes and practices of 19th century natural history. But research shows that the collection has a hybrid origin and must be viewed with great caution as an historical artifact. This is a case study in the difficulty of interpreting 19th century natural history collections without careful examination of their history.

Tracking changes in natural history collections utilization: A case study at the Museum of Southwestern Biology at the University of New Mexico

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany L. Abrahamson
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
University Of New Mexico ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
Fields Of Study ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
History Of ◽  
Data Source ◽  
History Of Use ◽  
The University

AbstractNatural history collections (NHCs) are used in many fields of study, but general knowledge regarding their uses is poor. Because of this, funding and support for NHCs frequently fluctuate. One way in which collections professionals can illustrate a collection’s contribution to a variety of fields is based on the collection’s history of use. Tracking NHC utilization through time can increase NHC value to others outside of the collection, allow for the analysis of changes in specimen-based research trends, and assist in effective collection management. This case study focuses on NHC usage records held by the Museum of Southwestern Biology (MSB), a currently growing university collection used in many research fields, and presents methods for quantifying collections utilization through time. Through an exploration of these data, this paper illustrates MSB’s growth and changes in research produced over time and offers explanations for the changes observed. Last, this study provides suggestions for how collections professionals can most greatly benefit from considering NHC records as a data source. Understanding NHC usage from “the collection’s perspective” provides a new way for NHC professionals to understand NHCs’ value in the context of the research it supports and demonstrates the importance of this key infrastructure to a broader audience.

scholarly journals Closing Gaps But Increasing Bias In North American Butterfly Inventory Completeness

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaughn Shirey ◽  
Michael W. Belitz ◽  
Vijay Barve ◽  
Robert Guralnick
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Museum Specimens ◽  
Biodiversity Data ◽  
Human Footprint ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
Global Change Research ◽  
Under Sampling ◽  
Community Science

AbstractAggregate biodiversity data from museum specimens and community observations have promise for macroscale ecological analyses. Despite this, many groups are under-sampled, and sampling is not homogeneous across space. Here we used butterflies, the best documented group of insects, to examine inventory completeness across North America. We separated digitally accessible butterfly records into those from natural history collections and burgeoning community science observations to determine if these data sources have differential spatio-taxonomic biases. When we combined all data, we found startling under-sampling in regions with the most dramatic trajectories of climate change and across biomes. We also found support for the hypothesis that community science observations are filling more gaps in sampling but are more biased towards areas with the highest human footprint. Finally, we found that both types of occurrences have familial-level taxonomic completeness biases, in contrast to the hypothesis of less taxonomic bias in natural history collections data. These results suggest that higher inventory completeness, driven by rapid growth of community science observations, is partially offset by higher spatio-taxonomic biases. We use the findings here to provide recommendations on how to alleviate some of these gaps in the context of prioritizing global change research.

scholarly journals THE THE FIRST DOCUMENTED PREY ITEMS FOR Bothrops medusa (STERNFELD, 1920)

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Tristan David Schramer
Keyword(s):  
Endangered Species ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Museum Specimens ◽  
University Of Illinois ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
The University ◽  
Prey Items

The Venezuelan forest pitviper (Bothrops medusa) is an endangered viperid endemic to the central range of the Cordillera de la Costa in Venezuela. Little is known regarding its natural history. We examined the stomach contents of museum specimens housed in the University of Illinois Museum of Natural History Herpetology Collection and report the first prey items for the species. The arboreal habits of both prey items support the notion that B. medusa may be semi-arboreal. This exposes the need for further studies on this rare viperid and showcases the value of natural history collections for studying endangered species.

When natural history collections reveal secrets on data deficient threatened species: Atlantic seahorses as a case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (12) ◽  
pp. 2791-2802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Otero-Ferrer ◽  
José A. González ◽  
Mafalda Freitas ◽  
Ricardo Araújo ◽  
José M. N. Azevedo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Threatened Species ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
Data Deficient

The documentation of the British Museum's natural history collections, 1760–1836

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
British Museum ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Select Committee ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
Critical Attention ◽  
The Way

While much critical attention has been paid to the British Museum's early collections of natural history, less has been made of the way in which the items were catalogued and recorded. This paper will examine how information was organized within the Museum from its inception in 1753 to 1836, following the publication of the second Report from the Select Committee on the condition, management and affairs of the British Museum. Drawing on the Museum's avian collections as a case study, it will become apparent that while the Trustees and staff recognized the need for detailed catalogues of their natural history collections, their attention and resources were diverted from this task for various reasons during the early years of the Museum.

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