Specimen Collection Essential for Modern Science PDF

FORMAL COMMENT Specimen collection is essential for modern science Michael W. Nachman ID1*, Elizabeth J. Beckman1, Rauri CK Bowi...

FORMAL COMMENT Specimen collection is essential for modern science Michael W. Nachman ID1*, Elizabeth J. Beckman1, Rauri CK Bowie1, Carla Cicero1, Chris J. Conroy1, Robert Dudley1, Tyrone B. Hayes1, Michelle S. Koo1, Eileen A. Lacey1, Christopher H. Martin1, Jimmy A. McGuire1, James L. Patton1, Carol L. Spencer1, Rebecca D. Tarvin1, Marvalee H. Wake1, Ian J. Wang1, Anang Achmadi2, Sergio Ticul Álvarez- Castañeda3, Michael J. Andersen4, Jairo Arroyave5, Christopher C. Austin6, F Keith Barker7, Lisa N. Barrow4, George F. Barrowclough8, John Bates9, Aaron M. Bauer10, Kayce C. Bell11, Rayna C. Bell12, Allison W. Bronson13, Rafe M. Brown14, Frank T. Burbrink8, Kevin J. Burns15, Carlos Daniel Cadena16, David C. Cannatella17, Todd A. Castoe18, Prosanta Chakrabarty6, Jocelyn P. Colella14, Joseph A. Cook4, Joel L. Cracraft8, Drew R. Davis19, Alison R. Davis Rabosky20, Guillermo D’Elı́a21, John P. Dumbacher12, Jonathan L. Dunnum4, Scott V. Edwards22, Jacob A. Esselstyn6, Julián Faivovich23, Jon Fjeldså24, Oscar A. Flores-Villela25, Kassandra Ford7, Jérôme Fuchs26, Matthew K. Fujita18, Jeffrey M. Good27, Eli Greenbaum28, Harry W. Greene17, Shannon Hackett9, Amir Hamidy2, James Hanken22, Tri Haryoko2, Melissa TR Hawkins29, Lawrence R. Heaney9, David M. Hillis17, Bradford D. Hollingsworth30, Angela D. Hornsby27, Peter A. Hosner24, Mohammad Irham2, Sharon Jansa7, Rosa Alicia Jiménez31, Leo Joseph32, Jeremy J. Kirchman33, Travis J. LaDuc17, Adam D. Leaché34, Enrique P. Lessa35, Hernán López-Fernández20, Nicholas A. Mason6, John a1111111111 E. McCormack36, Caleb D. McMahan9, Robert G. Moyle14, Ricardo A. Ojeda37, Link a1111111111 E. Olson38, Chan Kin Onn39, Lynne R. Parenti29, Gabriela Parra-Olea5, Bruce D. Patterson9, a1111111111 Gregory B. Pauly11, Silvia E. Pavan13, A Townsend Peterson14, Steven Poe4, Daniel a1111111111 L. Rabosky20, Christopher J. Raxworthy8, Sushma Reddy7, Alejandro Rico-Guevara34, a1111111111 Awal Riyanto2, Luiz A. Rocha12, Santiago R. Ron40, Sean M. Rovito41, Kevin C. Rowe42, Jodi Rowley43, Sara Ruane9, David Salazar-Valenzuela44, Allison J. Shultz11, Brian Sidlauskas45, Derek S. Sikes38, Nancy B. Simmons8, Melanie L. J. Stiassny8, Jeffrey W. Streicher46, Bryan L. Stuart47, Adam P. Summers48, Jose Tavera49, Pablo Teta23, Cody W. Thompson20, Robert M. Timm14, Omar Torres-Carvajal40, Gary Voelker50, Robert OPEN ACCESS S. Voss8, Kevin Winker38, Christopher Witt4, Elizabeth A. Wommack51, Robert M. Zink52 Citation: Nachman MW, Beckman EJ, Bowie RCK, 1 Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America, 2 Museum Cicero C, Conroy CJ, Dudley R, et al. (2023) Zoologicum Bogoriense, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Cibinong, Indonesia, 3 Centro de Specimen collection is essential for modern Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste, La PazAU , México, : Pleasenotethatcitynameshavebeenaddedforaffiliations3; 4 Museum of Southwestern Biology, University 17; of 28; 32; and3 science. PLoS Biol 21(11): e3002318. https://doi. New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America, 5 Instituto de Biologı́a, Universidad org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002318 Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico, 6 Museum of Natural Science and Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America, 7 Bell Received: June 14, 2023 Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States of America, 8 American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America, 9 Field Museum of Accepted: August 30, 2023 Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America, 10 Department of Biology, Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States of America, 11 Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Published: November 22, 2023 Angeles, California, United States of America, 12 California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, Copyright: This is an open access article, free of all United States of America, 13 Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, Arcata, copyright, and may be freely reproduced, California, United States of America, 14 Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum, University of distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America, 15 Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, United States of America, 16 Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia, 17 Biodiversity Center & Dept. of Integrative Biology, The The work is made available under the Creative University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America, 18 Department of Biology, University Commons CC0 public domain dedication. of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, United States of America, 19 Natural History Museum and Dept. of Funding: The authors received no specific funding Biology, Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, New Mexico, United States of America, 20 Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America, 21 Instituto de Cs. for this work. Ambientales y Evolutivas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile, 22 Museum of Comparative Zoology, Competing interests: The authors have declared Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America, 23 Museo Argentino de Ciencias that no competing interests exist. Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia", Buenos Aires, Argentina, 24 Natural History Museum of Denmark, PLOS Biology | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002318 November 22, 2023 1/6 PLOS BIOLOGY University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark, 25 Museo de Zoologı́a, F.C. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico, 26 ISYEB, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, France, 27 Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, United States of America, 28 Biodiversity Collections and Dept. of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 29 Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, United States of America, 30 San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, California, United States of America, 31 Escuela de Biologı́a, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala, 32 Australian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO, Canberra, Australia, 33 New York State Museum, Albany, New York, United States of America, 34 Burke Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America, 35 Departamento de Ecologı́a y Evolución, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay, 36 Moore Laboratory of Zoology, Occidental College, Los Angeles, California, United States of America, 37 CONICET, Centro de Ciencia y Técnica Mendoza, Mendoza, Argentina, 38 University of Alaska Museum, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States of America, 39 National University of Singapore, Singapore, 40 Museo de Zoologı́a, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador, 41 Unidad de Genómica Avanzada, Cinvestav, Mexico, 42 Museums Victoria Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia, 43 Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, Sydney, Australia, 44 Facultad de Ciencias de Medio Ambiente, Universidad Indoamérica, Quito, Ecuador, 45 Dept. of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, United States of America, 46 Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom, 47 North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America, 48 Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, Friday Harbor, Washington, United States of America, 49 Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia, 50 Dept. Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America, 51 University of Wyoming Museum of Vertebrates, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, United States of America, 52 University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States of America * [email protected] In a :recent AU Perspective, Byrne emphasized that natural history museums “are essential Pleaseconfirmthatallheadinglevelsarerepresentedcorrectly: hubs for research and education” but that their mission should be reimagined to focus on non- lethal collecting. We endorse many of the practices advocated by Byrne, including the storage of tissues, recordings, photos, and other data; embracing new technologies such as massively parallel DNA sequencing, μCT scanning, and stable isotope analysis; and large-scale digitiza- tion of collections and associated metadata. Indeed, many of these practices are widely used by museums today. We also welcome the call to provide stable financial support to maintain and expand the infrastructure of existing collections. However, we do not support the call to use new technologies “to replace the need for whole animal bodies.” Byrne’s position overstates the potential of new technologies to replace specimen-based research and fails to acknowledge the importance of whole-organism–based research in building the foundations of modern biology and in continuing to promote new discoveries. Our intention is not to address all the claims or ethical assumptions made by Byrne. We fully realize that collecting specimens is not necessary or desirable in certain circumstances, and we value the scientific contributions of researchers who choose not to collect whole ani- mals. The importance and ethics of scientific collecting have been reviewed in many recent papers (e.g., [2–4]). Rather, our goal is to underscore the tremendous value of ongoing, whole- organism specimen collection by highlighting some of the key scientific and societal gains that arise from this research (Box 1). Box 1. The value of whole-organism specimen collection Whole-organism specimens enable many kinds of research that would be difficult or impossible to conduct in a comprehensive way with nonlethal samples such as record- ings or photos. A few examples of research enabled by whole-organism specimens and their associated tissues and data illustrate the value of museum collections [2–13]. PLOS Biology | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002318 November 22, 2023 2/6 PLOS BIOLOGY Discovery and description of new species The origins and spread of infectious diseases Studies of environmental degradation such as the accumulation of microplastics and mercury in fish or DDT in eggshells Most research on endoparasites and small invertebrates (which constitute the majority of all animals) Research on morphology and physiology of whole organisms Studies of gene expression and epigenetic modifications in wild animals, including gene regulatory changes associated with adaptation to different environments Research that links genomic variation to phenotypic differences Studies of the biotic consequences of global change in the Anthropocene A global scientific resource for future studies and future technologies Documenting biodiversity Most of the Earth’s biodiversity remains to be characterized, with an estimated 86% of species yet to be described. Voucher specimens in the form of whole organisms are an essential part of species descriptions, providing a physical reference against which other individuals can be compared. Photographs, recordings, and DNA sequences do not individually or collectively provide the same quality of information, nor do they maximize the potential for linking geno- type with phenotype. For example, as genomic data have become part of the standard taxo- nomic toolkit, discovery of cryptic or nearly cryptic species diversity is now routine. However, verification of these species requires intensive anatomical analyses that are impossible without whole-organism voucher specimens. Moreover, most animal species are small arthropods such as insects and mites, the majority of which cannot be found using nonlethal means and cannot be identified without microscopic examination. Similarly, research on the endopar- asites of most species is not possible without collection of whole organisms. Finally, under- standing evolutionary processes often involves the study of large series of voucher specimens that document geographic, temporal, age, or sexual variation in specific traits. These studies all rely on the collection of whole organisms. Conservation of species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assesses species once they are described. Thus, there is typically no mechanism to initiate conservation efforts prior to spe- cies descriptions. In addition, many conservation threats to individual species have been iden- tified because of research conducted using combinations of modern and historical specimens. For example, the effects of DDT on the thinning of bird eggshells prompted the ban on the use of DDT as a pesticide, leading to the subsequent recovery of threatened species. This work, which was based on linking eggshell weight and thickness to chemical concentrations , could not have been carried out from photographs or eggshell fragments. Similarly, the timing and spread of the chytrid fungus pandemic that has driven worldwide declines of amphibian populations continues to be documented using both historical and recently collected museum specimens. PLOS Biology | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002318 November 22, 2023 3/6 PLOS BIOLOGY Conservation of geographic regions Documenting regional patterns of biodiversity from museum specimens has led to the creation of new national parks or protected areas in many regions of the world. For example, the most important biodiversity hotspot of East Africa, in the Udzungwa and Rubeho highlands of Tan- zania, was discovered and documented through comprehensive collecting efforts, resulting in large investments in better management and the establishment of a national park. Biodiver- sity documented through collections is also helping conservations efforts in Guatemala, Indo- nesia, the Philippines, and other countries. In such instances, the establishment of protected areas preserves far more individual organisms than were collected by researchers at these loca- tions. Biodiversity is highest in the tropics where it is understudied and underrepresented in scientific collections, both locally and globally. Biodiversity is often highest in countries with limited resources for technologies such as massively parallel DNA sequencing or μCT scan- ning. Specimen collection is essential to document biodiversity in these critical regions, many of which face habitat destruction. Linking genotype to phenotype Museum collections are repositories of phenotypic diversity. A central challenge of modern biology is to understand how genetic variation generates phenotypic differences. Whole- organism collections that preserve phenotypic diversity among many sampled individuals pro- vide the opportunity to study how that diversity is generated and maintained. For example, the NSF-funded oVert (Open Exploration of Vertebrate Diversity in 3D) project uses CT scanning of approximately 20,000 museum specimens to provide high-resolution 3D representations of internal anatomy across diverse vertebrate taxa. However, this database captures only a limited portion of the variation in one lineage, and such databases will be improved in the future only by adding more whole-organism specimens. By contrast, when only DNA samples are col- lected in the field (e.g., by nonlethal collecting), it becomes impossible to associate genotypes with most types of phenotypic data, severely limiting the utility of DNA sequences for many types of future study. Identifying, monitoring, and predicting zoonotic pathogen emergence Because the majority of emerging diseases in humans comes from animals, whole specimens that include frozen tissues are essential to identifying new pathogens, understanding pathogen circulation, spillover potential, and host immunology. For example, deer mice were identi- fied as the primary reservoir for a new hantavirus in the Southwestern United States in 1993, and the origin and spread of this virus was traced using tissues archived in 2 museums. Museum specimens also allow future pathogen discovery. Indeed, the recent SARS-CoV- 2 pandemic has revealed a major gap in biosecurity infrastructure; the lack of biological sam- ples across geographic regions and taxonomic groups prevents scientists from quickly and reli- ably identifying novel pathogens and their hosts. Ongoing specimen collection would help create a biorepository to prepare for future pandemics by enabling early detection and provid- ing a framework for understanding spillover events. Providing a resource for future technologies Natural history museums are engaged in research today in ways that were unimaginable when many of our institutions were founded. Specimens collected in the distant past have enabled research that utilizes novel technologies including DNA sequencing, stable isotope analysis, PLOS Biology | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002318 November 22, 2023 4/6 PLOS BIOLOGY chemical and pollutant analysis, and μCT scanning. Just as past museum scientists could not imagine all the uses of specimens in the future, we cannot imagine the technologies that might be available a hundred years from now. It is only by continuing to provide complete voucher specimens with rich associated metadata that we will be able to empower discoveries using yet- to-be developed technologies by future generations of scientists. Establishing a baseline for the future Environmental change in the Anthropocene, including climate change, land-use change, bio- logical invasions, environmental contaminants, and habitat loss and degradation, is affecting many aspects of life on Earth. Comparisons of historical and modern museum specimens allow us to document and study the effects of global change on individual species and ecologi- cal communities. Specimen collections in rapidly changing habitats like urban environ- ments provide a means for understanding both ecological and evolutionary responses to land- use change and environmental degradation. Similarly, museum specimens can reveal the time course over which contaminants and pollutants have become widespread. As we move into a time of even greater climate transition and land-use change, there has never been a more pressing need for contemporary collections that allow comparisons to the past and also serve as a baseline for the future. The contributions of whole-organism collecting listed above are not exhaustive but high- light some of the key reasons why specimen collecting continues to add value to science and to issues of societal importance including conservation, zoonotic pathogens, environmental pol- lutants, and numerous others. Although a few of these lines of inquiry could be pursued in a limited way without new collections or without whole organisms, most could not. We support the development of new technologies that increase the information obtained from museum specimens, but these should augment and not replace other methods. Specimen collection is still essential for modern science. Supporting information S1 File. Spanish translation of comment. (DOCX) References 1. Byrne AQ. Reimagining the future of natural history museums with compassionate collection. PLoS Biol. 2023; 21(5):e3002101. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002101 PMID: 37141192 2. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Biological Collections: Ensuring Critical Research and Education for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2020. https://doi.org/10.17226/25592 3. Winker K, Reed JM, Escalante P, Askins RA, Cicero C, Hough GE, et al. The importance, effects, and ethics of bird collecting. Auk. 2010; 127:90–695. 4. Rohwer VG, Rohwer Y, Dillman CB. Declining growth of natural history collections fails future genera- tions. PLoS Biol. 2022; 20:e3001613. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001613 PMID: 35439244 5. Dombrow HE, Colville JF, Bowie RCK. Review of the genus Amblymelanoplia (Coleoptera: Scarabaei- dae: Melolonthinae: Hopliini) with the description of ninety-three new species from South Africa and observations on its biogeography and phylogeny. Zootaxa. 2022; 5163:1–278. 6. Hickey JJ, Anderson DW. Chlorinated hydrocarbons and eggshell changes in raptorial and fish-eating birds. Science. 1968; 162:271–273. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.162.3850.271 PMID: 4877438 7. Cheng TL, Rovito S, Wake DB, Vredenburg VT. Coincident mass extirpation of neotropical amphibians with the emergence of the infectious fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011; 108:9502–9507. PLOS Biology | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002318 November 22, 2023 5/6 PLOS BIOLOGY 8. Rovero F, Menegon M, Fjeldså J, Collett L, Doggart N, Leonard C, et al. Targetted vertebrate surveys enhance the faunal importance and improve explanatory models within the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya and Tanzania. Divers Distrib. 2014; 20:1438–1449. 9. Dunnum JL, Yanagihara R, Johnson KM, Armien B, Batsaikhan N, Morgan L, et al. Biospecimen reposi- tories and integrated databases as critical infrastructure for pathogen discovery and pathobiology research. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2017; 11:e0005133. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005133 PMID: 28125619 10. Yates TL, Mills JN, Parmenter CA, Ksiazek TG, Parmenter RR, Vande Castle JR, et al. The ecology and evolutionary history of an emergent disease: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome: evidence from two El Niño episodes in the American southwest suggests that El Niño–driven precipitation, the initial cata- lyst of a trophic cascade that results in a delayed density dependent rodent response, is sufficient to pre- dict heightened risk for human contraction of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Bioscience. 2002; 52:989–998. 11. Colella JP, Bates J, Burneo SF, Camacho MA, Carrion Bonilla C, Constable I, et al. Leveraging natural history biorepositories as a global, decentralized, pathogen surveillance network. PLoS Pathog. 2021; 17(6):e1009583. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1009583 PMID: 34081744 12. Moritz C, Patton JL, Conroy CJ, Parra JL, White GC, Beissinger SR. Impact of a century of climate change on small-mammal communities in Yosemite National Park, USA. Science. 2008; 322:261–264. 13. Schmitt CJ, Cook JA, Zamudio KR, Edwards SV. Museum specimens of terrestrial vertebrates are sen- sitive indicators of environmental change in the Anthropocene. Philos Trans R Soc B. 2018; 374:20170387. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2017.0387 PMID: 30455205 14. Mora C, Tittensor DP, Adl S, Simpson AGB, Worm B. How many species are there on Earth and in the ocean? PLoS Biol. 2011; 9(8):e1001127. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127 PMID: 21886479 PLOS Biology | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002318 November 22, 2023 6/6  Biol 105L Lab 9 Exploring Biological Collections A longstanding tradition in biology is the collection of specimens to document the living world. Naturalists have long collected everything from fossils, plants, and fungi to birds, mammals, and other animals. The purpose of such collections is to act as a permanent record of the discovery of new species and the documentation of the morphology and distribution of already recognized species. Such collections in museums and herbaria (a curated collection of pressed plant specimens) represent a historical record of past discoveries and can be used to answer many questions about living organisms, both past and present. Probably the first and most important role played by such collections is to house voucher specimens that document the discovery and description of new species. When a new species is discovered, biologists will compare it with all previously discovered species to determine whether it is, in fact, a new species, or whether it just represents new variation within a previously described species. Such specimens are carefully preserved and are labeled with thorough documentation about when and where they were collected. If such a specimen is a new species the new specimen becomes what is called a type specimen. For example, in the case of a new plant species the person who discovers a new species often identifies several specimens as type specimens, one of them referred to as the holotype, and duplicates are referred to as isotypes. Often isotypes will be distributed to other herbaria so researchers have more ready access to type specimens. Museums and herbaria keep many more specimens than just the type specimens, including voucher specimens from research projects. Voucher specimens are often collected to document the organisms that a researcher examined or used in a field study. Additional more general specimens collected by field biologists are preserved as a record of the geographic distribution of various species. Large numbers of specific species or related species are also sometimes collected when someone is carefully studying specific taxonomic questions. To further understand the importance of biological collections please read the paper, “Specimen collection is essential for modern science.” Many older collections may seem quaint or out of date, but they contain critical information about life on earth that can be used to investigate all kinds of important questions. Museum and herbarium collections continue to be a valuable resource and collection need to continue to grow so that the distribution and characteristics of today’s life can be documented for future generations. In this week’s exercise we will get some hands-on experience in using the specimens in PUC’s animal and plant collections. The Donald Hemphill Natural History Museum This museum is located on the first floor of Clark Hall and houses our animal specimen collection. Donald Hemphill (1917-2002) was a Professor of Biology at PUC for many years and was a prolific collector of mammal and bird specimens which he carefully preserved and entered into the departmental collection. Today the museum contains mammal, bird, reptile, and various invertebrate specimens. The collection is open for use by students and researchers. The following exercise is to help you get acquainted with the collection. I. Amphibians and Reptiles Find the cabinets that contain preserved amphibians and reptiles. Look through the specimens for a few minutes to familiarize yourself with what is there. Find a species for which there is more than one specimen and complete the following exercise: What species have you chosen? List the common and scientific names for this species. ____________________________________________________________________________ How many specimens of this species are in the collection? ____________________ Do you notice any visible differences in size or other characteristics among the specimens? Describe what you notice: List below the location where five of the specimens were collected: 1. _____________________________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________________________ 3. _____________________________________________________________ 4. _____________________________________________________________ 5. _____________________________________________________________ Look at a few more specimens, noting the locations. Can you generalize about the distribution of this species from these specimens. Elaborate below. II. Birds Find the cabinets that contain preserved amphibians and reptiles. Look through the specimens for a few minutes to familiarize yourself with what is there. Find a species for which there is more than one specimen and complete the following exercise: As you look through the cabinets, how are the specimens arranged? Explain. What species have you chosen? List the common and scientific names for this species. ____________________________________________________________________________ How many specimens of this species are in the collection? ____________________ Do you notice any visible differences in size or other characteristics among the specimens? Describe what you notice: List below the location where five of the specimens were collected: 6. _____________________________________________________________ 7. _____________________________________________________________ 8. _____________________________________________________________ 9. _____________________________________________________________ 10. _____________________________________________________________ Look at a few more specimens, noting the locations. Can you generalize about the distribution of this species from these specimens. Elaborate below. III. Mammals Find the cabinets that contain preserved amphibians and reptiles. Look through the specimens for a few minutes to familiarize yourself with what is there. Find a species for which there is more than one specimen and complete the following exercise: As you look through the cabinets, how are the specimens arranged? Explain. What species have you chosen? List the common and scientific names for this species. ____________________________________________________________________________ How many specimens of this species are in the collection? ____________________ Do you notice any visible differences in size or other characteristics among the specimens? Describe what you notice: List below the location where five of the specimens were collected: 11. _____________________________________________________________ 12. _____________________________________________________________ 13. _____________________________________________________________ 14. _____________________________________________________________ 15. _____________________________________________________________ Look at a few more specimens, noting the locations. Can you generalize about the distribution of this species from these specimens. Elaborate below. The PUC Biology Department Herbarium houses pressed specimens of vascular plants. Specimens are collected and pressed in special plant presses to preserve them and are then glued to herbarium sheets with a label giving information about the specimen. The herbarium sheets are stored flat in special metal cabinets. Look through the specimens for a few minutes to familiarize yourself with what is there. Find a species for which there is more than one specimen and complete the following exercise: As you look through the cabinets, how are the specimens arranged? Explain. What species have you chosen? List the common and scientific names for this species. ____________________________________________________________________________ How many specimens of this species are in the collection? ____________________ Do you notice any visible differences in size or other characteristics among the specimens? Describe what you notice: List below the location where five of the specimens were collected: 16. _____________________________________________________________ 17. _____________________________________________________________ 18. _____________________________________________________________ 19. _____________________________________________________________ 20. _____________________________________________________________ Look at a few more specimens, noting the locations. Can you generalize about the distribution of this species from these specimens. Elaborate below.