The Diatom Collection of the California Academy of Sciences is the largest systematic reference collection of its type in western North America. It includes more than 37,000 prepared slides and hundreds of type specimens. Marine, freshwater, and fossil diatom samples from the western U.S. and the Pacific margin make this collection an internationally important resource. Dr. John P. Kociolek, Curator of Diatoms, has initiated a multifaceted program aimed at improving the accessibility of the collection, and increasing its impact on systematic, evolutionary, and ecological research. The donated collections within the larger holdings will be integrated and entered into a computer database, and unprepared samples will be processed into usable specimen slides. Natural history collections such as this are the foundations on which diverse biological research is based. Ecology, evolutionary biology, and biogeography are but three of the many scientific disciplines that rely on systematic collections. Supporting the growth and improvement of these collections will provide future generations of investigators with the essential tools of biological research.
