U.S. Department of Agriculture: Agricultural Research Service, Lincoln, Nebraska
Date of this Version
1988
Abstract
One third of the known species of birds are unrepresented in alcoholic collections and nearly 70% of the rest are represented by 10 or fewer specimens (Wood et al. 1982, Zusi et al. 1982). Simply put, "existing anatomical specimens do not meet present and future research needs and . .. the situation must be corrected" (Jenkinson and Wood 1985:587). Actually, current alcoholic specimen resources may be even worse than indicated by Wood et al. (1982), despite commendable recent improvements. Here, we argue the urgent need for additional alcoholic specimens, stressing in particular quality of fixation, the importance of series, documentation of treatment history, and the role of object conservators in the biological museum environment. Biological collection management lags behind that of art, anthropological, and historical collections. For the sake of a fundamental and irreplaceable ornithological resource, we urge that this gap be closed.
Comments
Published in The Condor, 90:500-503 (1988)