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244 Most professional herpetologists have had a course in college or graduate school that required some form of field collection. Perhaps it was a class in vertebrate natural history, where we were expected to collect, preserve, document, and catalog one or more specimens from each of the major vertebrate classes. These specimens were often expected to be of “museum quality ” and handed in to the professor as part of our evaluation for the course. The resulting collections were then routinely retained at the institution (or in some cases in the personal collection of the professor) as a teaching resource and record of the vertebrate fauna of the region. This tradition of the past century has resulted in hundreds of smaller collections at institutions of higher education and regional museums around the United States. When combined with the vertebrate collections at our major research museums, the specimens held in these repositories provide an extremely important resource for teaching and research in vertebrate and conservation biology. Here we review the relationship of museum collections (and those of amphibians in particular) to the study of current conservation issues; we look at both the benefits and costs of collections to scientific institutions and society, and then attempt to suggest future directions for these efforts. Benefits of Collections While the value of scientific collections seems obvious to those using specimens on a daily basis, it is important that all members of the scientific community, as well as those in disciplines such as land management and conservation biology, understand and respect the benefits of this natural history resource. The museum literature provides good examples of why we maintain collections. Barr’s (1974) early review of the importance of systematic collections to environmental assessment remains relevant today. Reasons for maintaining collections include documenting the past and biogeography, supporting the study of the relationships among organisms (systematics), and hands-on education (Allmon, 1994). In the following sections, we elaborate on some of the most compelling arguments for preserving, maintaining, and continuing to build museum collections of amphibians. Voucher and Research Specimens Many specimens are collected in order to describe variation within a population, reproductive condition, a new geographic location, or a new species. These voucher specimens are deposited in museums to provide verification of the initial observation and to be available for further research. It is important that these specimens have accurate and sufficient associated data to make them useful as vouchers, as well as to provide information that will assist future research projects. For example, if a frog is collected and the date is simply given as “summer 1945,” this information would be too imprecise for someone studying the details of seasonal changes in the reproductive anatomy of that species. The value of the specimen is directly proportional to the precision of the data provided in the field notes. Although specimens with no data may still be used in teaching collections, for skeletal preparations, or for more general studies, by no means should anyone be encouraged to collect a specimen without gathering complete data. In some limited cases, photographic records are now considered to be an acceptable means to document geographic distributions ; these photographs are also deposited in museum collections and catalogued as vouchers. Photographic records need to be of high quality, and they should often provide more than one view. An ideal series of photographs would record dorsal, lateral, and ventral views, and also include diagnostic features such as those noted in field guides (Conant and Collins, 1991). If a specimen is released after being photographed , there is always the risk that the images will not be adequate for later identification. Therefore, when photographing specimens of significance, we recommend holding the animal in captivity (if allowable under the collecting permit) until the film can be developed and the quality of the documentation verified. Professional herpetologists and naturalists are familiar with the distribution maps published in field guides, such as Conant and Collins (1991). These maps are constructed from data for museum voucher specimens. On a more restricted (but more precise) scale, books about the statewide distribution of particular taxonomic groups, such as Casper’s (1996) distribution maps of Wisconsin herpetofauna, are of equal importance. Every dot, triangle, or other figure on these maps represents TH I RTY-FO U R Museum Collections JOHN W. FERNER, JEFFREY G. DAVIS, AND PAUL J. KRUSLING not just a locality, but a voucher specimen as well. To see an extensive museum collection makes one appreciate the collective efforts of the...

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