What We Do

Overview

Unsorted and minimally curated marine collections which have been accepted and accessioned by the Museum are assessed as to their curation level and provided first level processing. Ultimately, our goal is to process and eliminate collection backlogs and refine taxonomic specimen identifications.

Assessment

Collections processing begins with an assessment of the collections. The Center staff assess each collection as to the approximate size of the collection e.g., number of lots, jars, buckets, shelves occupied, etc. Each collection has a summary webpage at this site.

Individual collections can be accessed either by clicking on the map (graphics) and selecting a collection by location or by selecting list (text only).

Collection-level data capture

For each collection our goal is to:

• capture information about the significance of the collection,
• briefly describe the collection's historical background,
• determine when and where collections were made,
• identify the taxonomic contents,
• determine the whereabouts of electronic and hard copy collection documentation,
• provide a physical description of the collection,
• provide a collection inventory, and
• make any images (photos, maps, etc.) involving the collections available (in some cases we have both pre- and post- processing photos).

We also assess the:

• physical state of the collection,
• container condition,
• label condition,
• label content completeness, and
• level of taxonomic identification.

As collection processing and curation takes place, we update these collection databases. A sample collection input page provides an overview of our data fields. A detailed summary of the database input fields (content and rating criteria) is provided. Each collection summary page also contains this information.

Collection curation

Once an initial assessment is complete, unsorted lots are further processed, curated, and databased at the level of individual lots. A lot is a group of specimens from the same collection locality. Upon initial processing each lot is entered into the collections database. We sort lots to appropriate taxonomic units (echinoderms, polychaetes, crustaceans, mollusks, and others), generate highest quality museum labels, and forward curated specimens to invertebrate sections for assimilation into respective collections.

Specimen-level data capture and labeling

The Center uses FileMakerPro as its database input software.

A sample data entry layout provides an overview of the fields captured. A unique sequential numeric value is assigned to each lot (Biodiversity Processing Center No.). The Museum accession number, taxonomic information (if available), locality data, collecting method, habitat information, station number, project name, collector, and date of collection are entered. Depth information is entered in the format provided on the original specimen label (either in feet, fathoms, or meters) and automatically recalculated to meters for output. Similarly, beginning and ending latitudes and longitudes are entered and output as decimal degrees regardless of the original entry format.

Label data are automatically generated and formatted from the data entered on the entry layout. Labels are formatted to take advantage of standard 8.5 x 11 inch sheets of label paper. The unique "Biodiversity Processing Center No." is used as the tag to print multiple labels for a single lot and to fill pages in order to maximize the number of labels per sheet and reduce partially used sheets.

Collection disposition

Finally, curated, identified, and labeled specimens are sent to respective curatorial sections and the collection data associated with the specimens (captured during processing) is made available via a webpage. Curatorial staff can directly import this information into their existing sectional databases.