The needs for care, growth and use of collections of the ontogenetic stages of fishes--especially the early life stages or ichthyoplankton--have increased enormously in caliber and magnitude over the past few decades, largely because fish eggs and larvae have been central to solving some of the perplexing problems in fisheries biology, environmental and ecological analyses, and systematic studies. Examples of important studies based on larval fishes include estimating the spawning biomass of commercially important fishes, analyzing sensitive habitats to assess ecological and environmental impacts, and studying the development, relationships and evolution of fishes. This project will support the establishment and initial development of a significant new larval fish depository at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Specific goals are to accession and catalog already identified specimens; to identify several backlog collections of fish larvae; to develop improved identification procedures for larval fishes; and to begin the installation of a computerized collection management system.
