Out of Their Shells: Digitisation of Endangered Diversity in Orphaned Collections Spurs Access and Discovery

Abstract

Natural history collections assembled before modern-day, anthropogenic declines in species occurrence and abundance can provide essential data for conservation and biogeographic research. Digitizing old, commonly 'orphaned' collections in small institutions without professional curators increases local community access to specimens, as well as global access to digitized data. We present a case study, documenting a 19th century freshwater mussel (Order: Unionoida) collection, which is part of the 'orphaned' natural history collections at Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT, USA). We curated this collection by identifying specimens according to present taxonomic practices, and using archival documents to recover metadata. Nearly 1900 specimens in 402 'lots', representing 155 species, were photographed and catalogued. Three primary type specimens were identified; 64 species are on the IUCN Red List, with 4 extinct, and 28 Critically-Endangered to Endangered. We created and publicly host online 3D models of imperiled species. These models enabled us to organize an exhibit of 3D prints of fragile specimens, and to study ecophenotypic variation of freshwater mussels along a river gradient. Our project documents the challenges and achievements of a case study illuminating the potential scientific value of, and revival strategies for, orphaned natural history collections.

Arctos: Community-driven innovations for managing natural and cultural history collections

“…Media may showcase objects and specimens before and after preservation [43,44] or function as a voucher for observational data. In addition, media can be key to increasing access to rare or fragile collection objects that are not typically loaned, such as eggs and nests [45,46], type specimens [47], endangered species [48], and objects that are no longer available [49,50]. Increasingly, objects are digitized in high-resolution photogrammetry and CT scanning projects [42,51,52], and those digital objects can be linked directly to Arctos records.…”

Bringing Seeds Home: An Exploration of the Rematriation and Indigenous Food Sovereignty Movements

“…In 1871, forty years after the founding of the institution, the accumulated natural history and ethnology collections were moved to the recently established Orange Judd Hall of Natural Sciences. The so called "Wesleyan Museum," which existed on the third and fourth floors of Judd Hall, soon became lauded as one of the most impressive and extensive university collections in the country (Tan et al 2022). The curator, George Brown Goode, also served as the assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution from 1873-1896 (Tan et al 2022).…”

“…The so called "Wesleyan Museum," which existed on the third and fourth floors of Judd Hall, soon became lauded as one of the most impressive and extensive university collections in the country (Tan et al 2022). The curator, George Brown Goode, also served as the assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution from 1873-1896 (Tan et al 2022). This connection proved to be very beneficial to the Wesleyan Museum, and the museum received many transfers from the Smithsonian.…”

“…Thousands of objects that had previously been kept in controlled and secure museum conditions were transferred to unstable locales around the university, including the tunnels beneath the school and the attics of many buildings. Eventually, in 1970, many of the archaeological and anthropological materials were transferred to a room in Exley Science Center where they now reside (Tan et al 2022).…”