Funds are provided to The Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History to conduct a workshop with the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) Board of Directors in May 2008 on collections-related issues. The workshop will strengthen the focus on the importance of systematics as a component of NEON, and foster discussion and planning on research uses of NEON data. Additionally, the workshop will foster interchange among ecologists and systematists regarding the best possible collections to develop from NEON domains. This interchange should maximize the intellectual benefit of NEON, reinforcing the important connections within the research community and enable it to use NEON resources to advance ecological knowledge.
Specifically, the workshop will address the kinds of collections to be made from NEON?s 20 domains that will best serve NEON?s aims, and the standards, methods, protocols, and responsibilities for partnering institutions that will serve as repositories for associated specimens and data. The workshop participants will conduct sessions to resolve issues including the need to develop and test inventory methods; details of standards for specimens, vouchers, and data; details regarding collections facility needs; need for taxonomic support and training of parataxonomists; and, development of an electronic virtual type collection. Long-term issues needing consideration included issues of ownership, long-term care, and permitting. The proposed workshop will address all of these considerations through brief lectures and related breakout discussions, resulting in written recommendations and a final report to the NEON Board of Directors.
