Archbold Biological Station From the scrub to the web: Digitizing Archbold’s natural history collections Stephanie Leon @sleon002 sleon@Archbold-station.org Archbold Biological Station

Outline History of Collections at Archbold Special Collection Databasing Goals Beyond Databasing Public Outreach Special Research Projects

History Large, on-site natural history collection Archbold Prioritized development and curation of the on-site ABS collection Multi-taxon More than 270,000 specimens Rich in local flora and fauna reference collection Treasure trove for Entomologists  And Ecologists given the richness of data © B. Mansell

Collections at Archbold Invertebrates ~250,000 pinned specimens ~6,000 species Birds & Mammals ~1500 bird skins, 512 species 73 mammal skins, 30 species Herptiles & Fish 2,068 wet specimens of amphibians and reptiles 100 species 2,248 fish specimens, 45 species Plants >4,000 mounted vascular plants >1400 species Small number of lichens and bryophyte specimens

Why digitize? Specimens serve as “global research infrastructure” Provide long-term preservation Increase access to specimen data PROMOTE and INCREASE use of collections Provide opportunities for student training

Collections at Archbold: Arthropods Flower visiting insects Scrub endemics Synoptic collections Gall berry insects Palmetto visitors Ants of Florida Crematogaster pinicola Crematogaster ashmeadi Mark Deyrup Collections in support of Biological Collections (CSBR)

Scientific Goals of ABS CSBR Award Prioritize digitization of the Archbold arthropod collection (Largest). Ant collection Flower Visitor LWR Rare Endemics Dead Wood Specialists Build a complete searchable holdings list (all taxa) and image specimens. Build on our existing collaboration with iDigBio. Add metrics and web analytics of the use and impact of Archbold Collection data. In conjunction with iDigBio Archbold to serve as a model for biological field station collections.

General Workflow Pre-digitization Curation Data capture Specimen Image capture Data upload

Digitization of the Archbold arthropod collection: Pre-digitization specimen curation Expand storage capacity for the arthropod collection Added 6 new full Cornell cabinets and one vial cabinet Arthropods re-organized by order, then alphabetically by family within order, genus within family and species within genus (1 species per tray[s]) Spread specimens out among existing/new drawers: 120/420 drawers or 29% complete

Arthropod Digitization Part II: Data Capture Flower visitors Florida Ants Data entry: ARTHARCH #s Label transcription QA/QC: Check for all errors Red Dot= Checked and ready for upload

Arthropod Digitization Part III: Specimen image capture Pre-digitization/Curation/Staging Curating specimens; Selecting the right specimen: intact, legible labels, etc. Image Capture Position & parameters Image processing and Wrap-up Adding scale bar and species name Adding yellow dot to specimen to mark as “imaged”

Data entry achievements in numbers Taxa Specimens Species Databased (imaged) Specimens OnLine Plants 4,531  1,499 4,580 Bryophytes 538 200  80%   Pollen slides 300 100% Arthropods 258,000 ~8,000  ~26,000 specimens 1500 species 1350 imaged (roughly 25% of all species in collection) 11,708 (4.5% of 258,000) Herptiles 2,068 110 Fishes 2,248 52 0% Birds 2,007 554 (incl. skeletons) (~20%) Mammals 399 57

Specimens & data for research ABS Collections Student training Specimens & data for research Public outreach Students are trained in basic curatorial skills, databasing and imaging; They are encouraged to use the collection for research projects; in turn they deposit specimens into the collection Lab and collection tours are given to the public; social media posts, newspaper articles Interns/students present their research at symposia

Engaging “non-collections” scientists Ecologists being immersed in the world of collections Graduate Student training Transcribing field notes and labels from our Florida Scrub Jay collection Representing over 40 years of scrub jay research Young Ha Suh

Bees and Wasps on ALL sampled flowers at Archbold Using our database Dylan Ricke

Flower visitors

Broader Impact Goals Establish collections research internships at Archbold Establish an annual multi-taxon training workshop for Archbold post- baccalaureate research interns Newsletters, newspaper articles, and social media posts

Conclusions Collections digitization at Archbold extends beyond data and image capture Living collection Adding specimens Answering research questions based on specimen data Creating a natural history collections environment to all scientists volunteers and the general public Our Flower visiting insects database is available online (and waiting to be used )

Acknowledgements Archbold Biological Station Hilary Swain Mark Deyrup SPNHC Fitzgerald Travel Grant Dylan Ricke Young Ha Suh