Study Skin. Skelton. Alcohol

Transcription

1 Taxidermy GOOD For display BAD Labour-intensive to maintain collection Difficult to assess morphology due to intensive preparation Difficult to store 1

2 Study Skin GOOD External features Complete animal May be possible to extract short sequences of DNA from skin (feet) Easy to prepare in the field (if you re an expert) BAD NO internal anatomy Diagnostic, but missing features for further study Difficult to prepare if you re not an expert! Skelton GOOD Detailed preservation Osteological characters, important for phylogenetics Complete anatomy BAD Species-level diagnosis sometimes lost No external features May be impossible to determine gender Time-consuming to prepare (cleaning bones) Alcohol GOOD Detailed preservation Anatomical important for phylogenetics Complete anatomy The only (good) way for DNA Relatively easy to prepare BAD Labour-intensive to maintain collection More difficult to handle to assess external characters Chemical bleaching 2

3 Examples: Preservation Formalin vs. Alcohol Ethyl alcohol (EtOH) Inexpensive and widely available Relatively easy to work with Unsurpassed DNA preservation Formalin Carcinogenic Unpleasant Unsurpassed morphological preservation Alcohol vs. Alcohol IMS - most specimens in NMINH industrial methylated spirit Denatured alcohol (EtOH + methyl alcohol) EtOH Pure alcohol Heavily taxed!! EtOH has superior DNA preservation, but sequence data is more closely linked to concentration 3

4 Preservation - decisions Display / Study DRY specimens osteology shell sponges & corals skins WET specimens Alcohol Formalin Formalin + Alcohol anatomy education endangered species history invasive species medical research systematics taxonomy toxicology vouchers Dry specimens / Study Skins artistic models history education endangered species systematics taxonomy vouchers 4

5 DRY specimens Separate or Together? Field Gear: bottles, chemicals OR knives, cotton, thread, needles, corn meal / sawdust AND someplace dry osteology skins shell sponges & corals Skeleton OR Study Skin WET specimens Isopropyl Alcohol 70% Ethyl Alcohol 70% Ethyl Alcohol 95% Formalin general use molecular preservation (DNA / protein analysis) morphology (histology, organ anatomy, colour) Cnidaria; Reptilia 5

6 Vital Statistics How Many? - 20,000 Oldest (known) Youngest One of Europe s s largest collections Vital Statistics How Many? - 20,000 Taxidermy : 3,000 Study skins : 15,000 Wet specimens : 200 Skeletons : 1,800 6

7 History of the Bird Collections 1870s - First major acquisitions Inventory list published by A.G. More ca Organised according to G.B. Sharpe 7

8 Birds around the world Juan Fernandez Firecrown Sephanoides fernandensis 8

9 Modern applications Past and present biodiversity New techniques on old specimens - DNA sequencing Our only access to endangered and extinct species Museums Then and Now... Museums are organised collections of objects Objects alone do not make a museum Collections alone do not make a museum Buildings alone do not make a museum 9

10 Cabinet of Curiosties 1599 Ferrante Imperato s museum, Naples Cabinet of Curiosities 1655 Olaus Worm s museum, Leiden Systematic Collecting World Travel 19th Century Growth Increasing focus Taxonomic layout Access for scientists Public Access 10

11 Services to Specialists Identification Taxonomy Records Publications Analysis Forensic support Flour beetles Ladybird controlling aphid infestation Services to Public Scientific Authority Identify objects Supply facts Explain theories Correct errors Exhibitions - Traditional Diorama Model 11

12 Exhibitions - Modern Methods Audience Research Communication Plan Select Objects Interpretation Engage Visitor Make connections Interactive Learning Exhibitions - Reconstructions Exhibitions - Challenges Plants Landscape 12

13 Exhibitions - Sensitive Issues Human evolution History Touring Exhibitions Earliest Reptile Health Education Activity Centre Handling Collection 13

14 Outreach - Field Trips Publicity The Hazards of Public Life Everything on display is also part of the collection Exhibition carries more risks for collections All hazards apply to collections stores too! (Beggars Bush) 14

15 Pollutants - dirt Rocky mountain goat Before After Work by Jac Bouten & Son, Venlo, Netherlands 2003 Light - Fading Mammals fade to giraffe colours of cream and tan Birds less obvious, less familiar Thylacine, acquired 1917 Light - Embrittlement UV damage to structure of hide Combined with poor heat control Form maintains shape, skin stretches and splits Solutions: replacement or repair Giraffe in 2001, acquired

16 Replacement: Giraffe Jac Bouten & Son, Venlo, Netherlands, January 2003 Heat Large bore pipework Floor heating of large spaces Heat loss through roof Little buffering Shrinkage of hides Repair: Zebra Equus burchelli burchelli extinct in wild 1910, in captivity 1918 ex Antwerp Zoo, then Dublin Zoo 1885, died 1895 Work by Jac Bouten & Son, Venlo, Netherlands 2003 NMINH :

17 Pests Need airflow which is not provided through open doors and windows Need to seal floor spaces and other refuges Documenting Repeatability = Science Proof Who you, the collector When day, month, year (also tide, time ) Where GPS; lat & long; country What species identification How PRESERVATION (& gear) Field Notes Publications Documenting National Museum of Ireland - Natural History Division Cryptochiton stelleri Middendorff Botanical Bay, N. of park, West Coast of Vancouver Island, Canada coll. J.D. Sigwart 2 September 2003 (know your goal) 17

18 Duchas National Parks and Wildlife Interaction on biodiversity, internally (e.g. NPWS,EVS, National Botanic Gardens and NMI) and externally Ensuring all Departments are aware of, and feed into, relevant developments under Convention North/South co-operation on biodiversity Review Policy on Nature Conservation including the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations, 1997 Produce National Biodiversity Plan and co-ordinate its implementation Duchas The Wildlife Act Wildlife Act 1976; Wildlife (Ammendment) Act fauna means all wild birds and all wild animals (both aquatic and terrestrial) and includes wild mammals, reptiles, amphibians and aquatic and non-aquatic invertebrate animals, and all such wild animals eggs, larvae, pupae or other immature stage and young conservation includes measures to maintain of enhance or restore the quality, value or diversity of speices, habitats, communities, geological features or geomorphological features CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Washington, D.C. 1973; Ammended 1997) 164 Parties Appendix I - most endangered Appendix II - not necessarily endangered yet 18

19 CITES in Ireland Appendix I - 18 (8 whales, 5 birds, 3 sea turtles, Otter, & Atlantic Sturgeon) Appendix II - 72 Deleted - 4 (Mediterranean & Lesser Horseshoe bats, Glossy Ibis, Pond Terrapin) No species protected by CITES has become extinct since the Convention came into force Vouchering (permits in order) Repository information for citation = repeatability Do not underestimate value to future research 19