This grant will fund an emergency expedition to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to retrieve a large collection of orphaned biological specimens that are currently at high risk of becoming unusable to the conservation and scientific communities. These specimens, presently under the control of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), are kept in an open area exposed to rain and sunlight. In some cases, morphological and genetic data are already severely compromised and may not be redeemable. In others, high-quality specimens are losing associated information as labels fade, disintegrate, or become dissociated, and without accurate geographic and collecting information such specimens lose much of their scientific value. WCS has no resources, facilities, or budget for the proper continuous maintenance of these specimens or for making them available to the research community. This grant will allow the personnel at the University of Alaska (UAM) to travel to Cambodia, sort, identify, and properly store the specimens, and transport the entire collection back to UAM, where it will be permanently archived, accessioned, and stored in accordance with approved collections management policies.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Environmental Biology (DEB)
Type
Standard Grant (Standard)
Application #
0709787
Program Officer
Maureen M. Kearney
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2007-07-01
Budget End
2008-12-31
Support Year
Fiscal Year
2007
Total Cost
$20,000
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Fairbanks
State
AK
Country
United States
Zip Code
99775