Specimen Curation and Fieldwork

Scientists in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology are stewards for the >50 million specimens comprising the U.S. National Collection. NMNH is a world leader in the museum community and has curated and housed collections from NOAA Fisheries, NOAA Ocean Exploration and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) missions. In support of MDBC activities, NMNH scientists are tasked with assisting in biological specimen collection and curating these specimens so they can be used in current and future science.

Ship-based fieldwork in the Gulf of Mexico is a major component of the MDBC projects and requires a variety of specialized tools and expertise, so MDBC personnel from NOAA, U.S. Geological Survey, NMNH, and other partners collaboratively participate in multiple at-sea expeditions each field season. Scientific activities conducted at sea include sea floor mapping, sediment and water sampling, benthic surveys, and specimen sampling, all of which are facilitated using AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) and ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles) (learn more about these vehicles here).

The NMNH-MDBC partnership ensures that new material collected from the mesophotic and deep Gulf of Mexico is deposited within the NMNH National Collection, so that specimens are permanently housed, cared for, and made available as a national resource to the public. NMNH personnel joining expeditions in the Gulf may assist in all scientific tasks but play a critical role in helping to determine what organisms to collect (see Biodiversity Characterization) and properly documenting, preserving, and safely transporting these specimens back to NMNH for curation.

This process involves:

• Specimen sorting: Whether in the field or in the laboratory at NMNH, specimens are identified and sorted to their lowest taxonomic level. Whenever possible specimens are assigned to a particular species. However, some may be difficult to identify without additional study, or may be new to science. Organizing these to the lowest taxonomic level (e.g. family or genus) allows scientists to compare and house them with similar creatures.

• Image capture: Once specimens are placed in preservative some features such as color can be lost, so newly collected material must be thoroughly documented soon after collection. While at sea NMNH-MDBC scientists must painstakingly capture the details of each newly collected specimen which includes taking high quality live specimen photographs critical for species identification. Beyond field photos many specimens require further imaging back at NMNH for identification which can include microscopy or even 3D scanning to produce detailed models.  

• Preservation: NMNH scientists ensure the quality, utility and longevity of biological samples by correctly fixing, preserving, and storing specimens and associated genetic resources (i.e., tissue samples or DNA).  DNA is sequenced to produce genetic data for MDBC partners and the public (see eDNA Reference Library). Specimen information is logged in a field metadata database (GEOME) that contains detailed information such as where, when, and for what purpose each sample was collected to ensure critical metadata remains attached to genetic information.

• Cataloging: Specimens are incorporated into NMNH’s permanent collection in a process known as cataloging. All specimen information (e.g., taxonomic identification, date and location collected, depth, etc.) is databased and unique numbers are assigned to all collection materials. As part of the NMNH collections database (EMu), MDBC specimen and collecting records will be permanently recorded and publicly searchable.

• Data improvement: A critical component of restoring mesophotic and deep habitats in the Gulf of Mexico is understanding what these habitats looked like before the spill. NMNH contributes data on Gulf of Mexico invertebrate biodiversity through time via its large legacy collection of Gulf specimens. NMNH-MDBC staff are filling knowledge gaps and improving species occurrence records by reviewing its collections of mesophotic and deep Gulf of Mexico material. Historic specimens that presently lack precise location data in EMu will be georeferenced, and taxonomic assignments will be reviewed and/or improved.