A grant has been awarded to the University of Michigan, under the direction of Dr. Diarmaid O'Foighil, for partial support of the computerization of the Museum of Zoology Mollusk Collection (UMMZ-MC). This collection is a major national and international resource, serving as an influential research reference to diverse fields including freshwater biology and conservation, invertebrate zoology, medical and veterinary zoology, and paleontology. The present day scientific utilization of the UMMZ-MC is hindered by the absence of an online searchable database. In practical terms, this means that biologists/conservationists interested in UMMZ-MC holdings often have to physically visit the collection for extended periods to access the information they require. The grant will enable UMMZ-MC personnel to enter all of the catalogued lots (approximately 251,000) into an online searchable database. During this process, each lot will be re-housed in an acid-free environment, enumerated, taxonomically-updated and georeferenced. This work will have a transformative effect on the research utility of the UMMZ-MC and will greatly facilitate remote access to the collection's historical biodiversity data.
University of Michigan undergraduate students and graduate student curatorial assistants will be centrally involved in this project. These students will receive a thorough grounding in modern museum skills and work practices. They will receive expert training in identifying specimens based on conchological features, in taxonomic practice and nomenclature, and in the management and care of museum collections. They will also be trained in a variety of computer science skills, including data management, database design, SQL server and online database applications, and geographic information systems.
Computerization of the UMMZ-MC will return it to the forefront of active research mollusk collections, releasing its enormous store of latent historical biodiversity and biogeographical data to an eager audience of systematists, ecologists and conservation biologists, and spurring significant increases in overall collection activity rates. The online database will also be available to the general public, a growing fraction of whom are increasingly interested in conservation issues and who are gradually becoming aware that the greatest loss in North American animal diversity has involved freshwater mollusks. It will allow the UMMZ-MC to eventually link with sister collections in peer museums, facilitating the transition to online multiple-collection searches as they develop. Finally, this project will also enable the UMMZ-MC to strengthen its prominent role in training graduate and undergraduate students in systematic biology and museum science by incorporating significant levels of practical database and general curatorial skill development.
