Biological Collections at the Museum

Four departments manage the Museum’s biological collections. They oversee an estimated 1.25 million specimens.

• Botany – Extant vascular and nonvascular plants

• Invertebrate Zoology – Extant insects and other arthropods, mollusks

• Ornithology – Birds and their nests and eggs, including skeletal material and frozen tissues

• Vertebrate Zoology – Extant reptiles, amphibians, fish and mammals

How We Use Our Collections

Scientists and students from around the world use these specimens for studies of taxonomy and systematics (naming and clarifying evolutionary relationships among species), ecology and conservation.

During conservation biology studies that support the Museum’s Natural Areas Program, specimens are “vouchered” (physically recorded and placed within the appropriate departments). They are considered scientific records of species in the areas from which they were taken. We can then go back to these data to help justify the formation of a new nature preserve or conservation easement.

Student Training 2006 Many students use the Museum’s biological materials for their undergraduate and graduate projects.

Trish MacKeigan at Scope Investigators use the Museum’s vast collections to study topics including evolution, conservation and ecology.

Why Keep More Than One Specimen?

Many of the species in the collections are represented by more than one specimen. These “series” are accompanied by data that indicate where each specimen was collected, when, how and by whom.

Using these data, we can study change through time. We also can study change geographically and show variation among individuals, since some of our biological specimens date back as far as the 1700s and span the globe.

Having more than one specimen also allows us to undertake studies that require destructive sampling, such as DNA analysis. It can make it easier to decide whether to sacrifice an entire specimen to obtain valuable data.

Because Museum specimens serve educational and exhibitory purposes, we keep multiple specimens of any given species as backups to the one on public exhibit. Scientists can continue their work using the additional specimens while one is available for public viewing.

Table 1

Summary of the Biological Collections at CMNH. The number of specimens under jar and vial columns represent “lots.” One jar may contain anywhere from one to 200 specimens, depending on the type of specimen.