Benthic invertebrates collected by the RV 'Walther Herwig I and II' in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean (1966-1978): a review of the Zoological Museum of Hamburg invertebrates collection

Abstract

Digitally accessible Primary Biodiversity Data (PBD) are currently available through a number of web-based platforms. This information is allowing for a growing number of ecological, biodiversity informatics or conservation projects. Most of this information comes from Natural History Collections (NHC) worldwide. Despite well-known limitations, NHC data are particularly useful as a source of data on invertebrates, which comprise about 99% of animal life. However, a presumably very high amount of PBD is still not digitally accessible. Even the most important scientific collections in developed countries are not fully inventoried or digitally accessible. Furthermore, species determination rates remain alarmingly low for some collections, and most existing determinations probably should be retested. This is particularly true of expensive, difficult-to-obtain deep-sea benthic samples. This paper reviews the database on material collected by the German RV ‘Walther Herwig I and II’ during 1966-1978 research cruises to the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean (SAO), stored in the invertebrate collection (invertebrates except Mollusca, Arthropoda and Annelida) of the Zoological Museum of Hamburg. We found that out of 3,305 records, at least 204 species were identified, 72% are still undetermined at species level and 65% at genus level. While sampling of more remote geographic areas and the use of a wider variety of sampling methods are still necessary, supporting the training of an army of taxonomists will be of paramount importance to overcome the daunting task of analyzing the huge number of samples. stored in museum collections. A community-wide effort is urgently needed to address this issue, and international cooperation must play a key role in this endeavor.