scholarly journals Den naturhistoriske samling og forskningen

1970 ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Niels P. Kristensen
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Biological Information ◽  
Natural History Museums ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Biodiversity Crisis ◽  
History Museums ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
Biological Systematics ◽  
Phylogenetic Affinities

Natural history collections and research Among the research activities linked to natural history collections, biological systematics stands out for the topicality conferred upon it by growing concern over the biodiversity crisis. Systematic biologists, most of whom work in natural history museums, are faced with the task of naming and describing/redescribing millions of undescribed or poorly described organisms from rapidly dwindling natural habitats, and of classifying the known organisms according to their phylogenetic affinities, so that all kinds of biological information on all kinds of organisms may be pieced together into coherent patterns. 

scholarly journals The Global Museum: natural history collections and the future of evolutionary science and public education

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e8225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Freek T. Bakker ◽  
Alexandre Antonelli ◽  
Julia A. Clarke ◽  
Joseph A. Cook ◽  
Scott V. Edwards ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Educational Innovation ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Natural History Museums ◽  
Long Term Storage ◽  
History Museums ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
Museum Data

Natural history museums are unique spaces for interdisciplinary research and educational innovation. Through extensive exhibits and public programming and by hosting rich communities of amateurs, students, and researchers at all stages of their careers, they can provide a place-based window to focus on integration of science and discovery, as well as a locus for community engagement. At the same time, like a synthesis radio telescope, when joined together through emerging digital resources, the global community of museums (the ‘Global Museum’) is more than the sum of its parts, allowing insights and answers to diverse biological, environmental, and societal questions at the global scale, across eons of time, and spanning vast diversity across the Tree of Life. We argue that, whereas natural history collections and museums began with a focus on describing the diversity and peculiarities of species on Earth, they are now increasingly leveraged in new ways that significantly expand their impact and relevance. These new directions include the possibility to ask new, often interdisciplinary questions in basic and applied science, such as in biomimetic design, and by contributing to solutions to climate change, global health and food security challenges. As institutions, they have long been incubators for cutting-edge research in biology while simultaneously providing core infrastructure for research on present and future societal needs. Here we explore how the intersection between pressing issues in environmental and human health and rapid technological innovation have reinforced the relevance of museum collections. We do this by providing examples as food for thought for both the broader academic community and museum scientists on the evolving role of museums. We also identify challenges to the realization of the full potential of natural history collections and the Global Museum to science and society and discuss the critical need to grow these collections. We then focus on mapping and modelling of museum data (including place-based approaches and discovery), and explore the main projects, platforms and databases enabling this growth. Finally, we aim to improve relevant protocols for the long-term storage of specimens and tissues, ensuring proper connection with tomorrow’s technologies and hence further increasing the relevance of natural history museums.

Viewing the Draft BioCode as a protistologist and museum employee

Bionomina ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-70
Author(s):  
Erna AESCHT
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Type Specimen ◽  
Type Material ◽  
Natural History Museums ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Biodiversity Crisis ◽  
History Museums ◽  
Stability Concept

The initiative resulting in a revived Draft BioCode (DBC) is highly welcomed, to a lesser extent the acontextual, ahistorical and disembodied presentation of the latter. Examples from ciliatology show that we not only face a taxonomic gap combined with a biodiversity crisis but also a “nomenclature awareness” gap. Because of many discrepancies between announced and actually deposited type material in protistology, a four-eyes principle is suggested, viz. registration of type specimen(s) should be performed or countersigned by the curator(s) of the relevant institution(s), preferably natural history museums. Pseudonomenclature may be characterized by a loose series of articles covering more or less ranks viewed from a top-down perspective, a misleading, discordant terminology (e.g. concerning diagnosis, circumscription, protologue, sorts of types) and a stability concept flawed by the absence of clear guidelines concerning “prevailing usage” or “established custom”. Bionomenclature-in-the-making resulting in a de facto unified BioCode would be enhanced by a critical mass of taxonomists defending a clear coherent plan favouring a bottom-up approach, i.e., most important are concrete specimens including their (micro)habitats, a fine-tuned, consistent terminology, and stringent, automatic rules.

Museums of natural history—do we need their collections in the time of molecular biology?

1993 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 319-328
Author(s):  
Sven Mathiasson
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Molecular Biology ◽  
Natural History Museums ◽  
Museum Visitors ◽  
History Museums ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
The World

All over the world natural history museums act as storehouses. Billions of creatures are preserved. Most museum visitors never see these collections; they only meet the limited specimens presented in public exhibitions. Most people seem to know little about the value of these collections and how they are used. This article presents some aspects of natural history collections and their value in scientific and other contexts.

scholarly journals Taxonomic triage and the poverty of phylogeny

2004 ◽  
Vol 359 (1444) ◽  
pp. 571-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quentin D. Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Information Age ◽  
Biological Research ◽  
Natural History Museums ◽  
Biodiversity Crisis ◽  
Intellectual Content ◽  
History Museums ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
The World

Revisionary taxonomy is frequently dismissed as merely descriptive, which belies its strong intellectual content and hypothesis–driven nature. Funding for taxonomy is inadequate and largely diverted to studies of phylogeny that neither improve classifications nor nomenclature. Phylogenetic classifications are optimal for storing and predicting information, but phylogeny divorced from taxonomy is ephemeral and erodes the accuracy and information content of the language of biology. Taxonomic revisions and monographs are efficient, high–throughput species hypothesis–testing devices that are ideal for the World Wide Web. Taxonomic knowledge remains essential to credible biological research and is made urgent by the biodiversity crisis. Theoretical and technological advances and threats of mass species extinctions indicate that this is the time for a renaissance in taxonomy. Clarity of vision and courage of purpose are needed from individual taxonomists and natural history museums to bring about this evolution of taxonomy into the information age.

scholarly journals The Global Museum: natural history collections and the future of evolutionary biology and public education

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Freek T. Bakker ◽  
Alexandre Antonelli ◽  
Julia Clarke ◽  
Joseph A Cook ◽  
Scott V Edwards ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Educational Innovation ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Natural History Museums ◽  
Long Term Storage ◽  
History Museums ◽  
Natural History Collections

Natural history museums are unique spaces for interdisciplinary research and for educational innovation. Through extensive exhibits and public programming and by hosting rich communities of amateurs, students, and researchers at all stages of their careers, they provide a place-based window to focus on integration of science and discovery, as well as a locus for community engagement. At the same time, like a synthesis radio telescope, when joined together through emerging digital resources, the global community of museums (the ‘Global Museum’) is more than the sum of its parts, allowing insights and answers to diverse biological, environmental, and societal questions at the global scale, across eons of time, and spanning vast diversity across the Tree of Life. We argue that, whereas natural history collections and museums began with a focus on describing the diversity and peculiarities of species on Earth, they are now increasingly leveraged in new ways that significantly expand their impact and relevance. These new directions include the possibility to ask new, often interdisciplinary questions in basic and applied science; inform biomimetic design; and even provide solutions to climate change, global health and food security challenges. As institutions, they are incubators for cutting-edge research in biology and simultaneously protect core infrastructure for present and future societal needs. In this perspective, we discuss challenges to the realization of the full potential of natural history collections and museums to serve society. After reviewing collections and types of museums, including local and global efforts, we discuss the value of specimens and the importance of observations. We then focus on mapping and modelling of museum data (including place-based approaches and discovery), and explore the main projects, platforms and databases enabling this. We also explore ways in which improved infrastructure will allow higher quality science and increased opportunities for interdisciplinary research and communication, as well as new uses of collections. Finally, we aim to improve relevant protocols for the long-term storage of specimens and tissues, ensuring proper connection with tomorrow’s technologies and hence further increasing the relevance of natural history museums.

scholarly journals The Global Museum: natural history collections and the future of evolutionary biology and public education

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Freek T. Bakker ◽  
Alexandre Antonelli ◽  
Julia Clarke ◽  
Joseph A Cook ◽  
Scott V Edwards ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Educational Innovation ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Natural History Museums ◽  
Long Term Storage ◽  
History Museums ◽  
Natural History Collections

Natural history museums are unique spaces for interdisciplinary research and for educational innovation. Through extensive exhibits and public programming and by hosting rich communities of amateurs, students, and researchers at all stages of their careers, they provide a place-based window to focus on integration of science and discovery, as well as a locus for community engagement. At the same time, like a synthesis radio telescope, when joined together through emerging digital resources, the global community of museums (the ‘Global Museum’) is more than the sum of its parts, allowing insights and answers to diverse biological, environmental, and societal questions at the global scale, across eons of time, and spanning vast diversity across the Tree of Life. We argue that, whereas natural history collections and museums began with a focus on describing the diversity and peculiarities of species on Earth, they are now increasingly leveraged in new ways that significantly expand their impact and relevance. These new directions include the possibility to ask new, often interdisciplinary questions in basic and applied science; inform biomimetic design; and even provide solutions to climate change, global health and food security challenges. As institutions, they are incubators for cutting-edge research in biology and simultaneously protect core infrastructure for present and future societal needs. In this perspective, we discuss challenges to the realization of the full potential of natural history collections and museums to serve society. After reviewing collections and types of museums, including local and global efforts, we discuss the value of specimens and the importance of observations. We then focus on mapping and modelling of museum data (including place-based approaches and discovery), and explore the main projects, platforms and databases enabling this. We also explore ways in which improved infrastructure will allow higher quality science and increased opportunities for interdisciplinary research and communication, as well as new uses of collections. Finally, we aim to improve relevant protocols for the long-term storage of specimens and tissues, ensuring proper connection with tomorrow’s technologies and hence further increasing the relevance of natural history museums.

Best practices for genetic resources associated with natural history collections: Recommendations for practical implementation

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 77-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Breda M Zimkus ◽  
Linda S Ford
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Genetic Resources ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Natural History Museums ◽  
Best Practice Guidelines ◽  
History Museums ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
Traditional Natural

Abstract Researchers associated with natural history museums have made the collection of genetic resources a priority due to their importance in molecular studies, but often the long-term curation of these collections is difficult due to decentralized curation over multiple storage locations and lack of community best practice guidelines for their stewardship. Unlike traditional natural history specimens, the research utility of genetic samples increases with lower storage temperatures and fewer freeze–thaw events and, in addition, their use is consumptive. Collection managers must, therefore, maximize the research potential of each sample by carefully considering use on a case-by-case basis. This paper presents standardized guidelines accumulated for the management of genetic collections associated with natural history collections. These recommended practices are informed by general standards for biorepositories and augmented by information unique to natural history collections with the goal of providing a foundation for those curating genetic samples. Information pertains to all aspects of genetic sample curation and will assist those in making decisions regarding how to collect, store, track, process, and distribute genetic specimen samples. These guidelines also will allow users to make informed decisions regarding how to apply and improve the curation of their collection given their institution's goals and available resources.

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