What Can We Learn From Natural History Collections?
Collecting and preserving natural history specimens dates back centuries, and well-preserved and curated collections are critically important to many fields within the Natural Sciences. Each specimen is a treasure-trove of information.
Both physical specimens and media captures may be able to help provide data on population size and distribution (including existence vs extinction), habitat, and related information such as seasonal timing associated with lifecycle or migratory activity. Specimens of many kinds also provide genetic and other materials needed for systematic and taxonomic research. Modern ornithology now uses “integrative taxonomy,” which combines genetic sequencing, vocal analysis, and behavioral data to uncover species and define relationships more accurately. Collections can also help in understanding changes in ecosystem health and biodiversity, information that in turn is critical for guiding successful conservation efforts.
The Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates (CUMV)
The Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates (CUMV) is a research and teaching resource within the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. The CUMV is focused on building scientifically valuable collections and training students in museum activities. It holds collections in Ichthyology (study of fish), Herpetology (study of amphibians and reptiles), Mammalogy (study of mammals), and Ornithology (study of birds) comprising more than 2 million specimens in total.
The CUMV ornithology collection houses over 60,000 specimens from around the world and includes representatives from nearly all families of birds. It includes cleared and stained specimens, over 2,100 whole specimens preserved in alcohol, 4,100 extended wings, more than 45,200 study skins, over 3,700 eggs and 730 nests, 5,400 bird skeletons, and over 8,000 tissue samples (most of which are kept in ultra cold freezers).
The collection helps scientists understand how populations change through time and allows for comparative studies including of the global diversity of birds, morphology, eggs, nest construction and materials, as well as providing temporal series for understanding a wide variety of changes through time. The tissue collection is one of the most heavily used resources at the CUMV, providing insight in the evolutionary history across birds and the genes underlying phenotypes. Whole specimens preserved in alcohol are also frequently used for non-destructive CT-scans examining internal anatomy across species. Specimens are available for use by students, the global research community, artists, educators, and more.
The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
The Macaulay Library is the world’s premier scientific archive of natural history audio, video, and photographs with more than 100 million individual photos, audio recordings and videos to date (and counting!). Although the Macaulay Library’s history is rooted in birds, the collection includes amphibians, fishes, and mammals, and the collection preserves recordings of each species’ behavior and natural history. The Macaulay Library’s mission is to facilitate the ability of others to collect and preserve such recordings and to actively promote the use of these recordings for diverse purposes spanning scientific research, education, conservation, and the arts.
Access to audio and video recordings in the archive is available for research, educational, and commercial use. New recordists can also receive training at annual sound recording workshop to learn how to become expert field recordists or use Macaulay’s online resources for quick tutorials.