Location: Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research
Project Number: 2080-30500-001-014-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2023
End Date: Oct 30, 2027
Objective:
Objective 1)Improve management of and access to bee specimens and their associated data (geospatial data, images, DNA
sequences) in the US National Pollinating Insects Collection in Logan, Utah.
Objective 2)Facilitate collaborative research with entities such as Utah State University and the U.S. Geological survey which increasingly ask for access to the database.
Objective 3)Improve the US National Pollinating Insects Collection to enable it to become an official repository for specimens collected on lands of National Park Service and other Dept. of Interior bureaus
Objective 4) Create Standard Operating Procedures to guide the deposition of specimens into NPIC and entry of data into the associated database using Symbiota via ARS.biocollections
Approach:
The U.S. National Pollinating Insects Collection (NPIC) houses over 2 million specimens and is considered to be one of the most important research collections for native bees in the USA. The collection supports research conducted by the Pollinating Insects Research Unit and collaborators and is foundational to the study native bee distribution, systematics, phylogenetics, ecology, genomics, and biology. A core function of the museum is to house voucher specimens for research projects and also type specimens that support taxonomic research. In addition to physical specimens, the collection maintains an electronic specimen database that provides access to bee distributional data and that is used to manage and keep track of specimens. The database also links to associated data like digital images, DNA sequences, and biotic interactions. Managing the collection and its associated database is a major undertaking and assistance is needed to facilitate this work and support the research of PIRU scientists and collaborators. In particular, help is needed to access, analyze, and share data with research collaborators and stakeholders. In cooperation with Utah State University and the U.S. Geological Survey, we will hire a curatorial assistant who will have the following responsibilities: (1) processing and curation of newly collected bee specimens; (2) processing and curation of voucher specimens for molecular and genomics projects; (3) management of the relational database, including training students and technicians in how to use the database; (4) creation of protocols detailing how to use the database and print specimen labels; (5) help with database queries and providing data to collaborators; (6) digitizing new and historical specimens; (7) identifying unsorted material to species and organizing the collection; (8) Organize the NPIC to enable it to meet the criteria to become an official repository for the National Park Service and other Dept of Interior Bureaus; (9) Create SOP for using Symbiota in ARS Biocollections for accessing NPIC data; (10) manage loans and make agreements for new depositions for sharing the associated meta data in database. The curatorial assistant will work closely with USDA and USU researchers to further research and collaboration.