Importance and Use of Natural History Collections – European and Global Perspective Fredrik Ronquist Swedish Museum of Natural History Stockholm

Natural History Collections Research – collections – exhibits Large collections (millions of biological and geological specimens), rapidly growing Invaluable archive: diversity and evolution of life on earth, geological history, environmental changes Strong research tradition: cradle of natural science Much of research still tied to collections Outreach, play major role in promoting public understanding of science

Modern collections … Observation databases Image databases DNA Archives …

The Species Gateway ( Web Repository for Observational Data Used by amateur and professional biologists Developed and hosted by Swedish Species Information Centre and Swedish Environmental Protection Agency Collaboration with Amateur Societies 14 M observations in total (1.4 M digitized museum specimens) 4.5 M observations 2008

Do we still need collections of biological and geological specimens?

Wood WhiteRéal’s Wood White

Dept. Contaminant Research 1960s: bird and seal populations decreasing; egg-shell thinning Baltic Sea and feeding rivers: among the world’s most polluted waters Existing collections of eggs, bones and skin allowed tracing of historical trends and identification of contaminant sources (chlorinated toxins and heavy metals) Started systematic collection of frozen tissue samples Environmental Specimen Bank now holds about 260,000 samples The world’s longest time series of biological samples of this kind Guillemot eggs Harbour seal Sampling eggs

Current Trends The biodiversity revolution: Charting and monitoring changes in biological diversity on the planet The cyber-revolution: information technology transforming the way we work with natural history collections

Charting Biological Diversity Only % of species of life on earth described 50 % of species extinct or critically endangered by 2100 due to human impact Climate change alone estimated to cause extinction of 25 % of species in the next 50 years Few species known well enough to judge whether they are threatened by extinction (15 % US, 33 % Sweden) 2010 biodiversity target (significant reduction in loss) difficult to reach Loss of diversity and ecosystem services threat to the survival of humankind Completing the inventory of life on earth should be a top scientific and societal priority With extra funding and technology advances could be done in years

National Science Foundation Focus on World fauna of individual groups Partnerships for Enhancing Expertise in Taxonomy (PEET) Assembling the Tree of Life (AToL) Revisionary Synthesis in Systematics (REVSYS) Planetary Biodiversity Inventories (PBI)

Swedish Taxonomy Initiative All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) Within 20 years, all Swedish multicellular species will be scientifically described and documented All species that can be identified without advanced technical methodology (appr. 35,000) will be presented in Swedish in a well-illustrated Swedish Flora and Fauna Encyclopaedia There will be keys to all species and the distribution, biology, and conservation of each species will be summarized A collaborative project coordinated by the Swedish Species Information Centre (ArtDatabanken)

Swedish Taxonomy Initiative 3.0 M Euro/year for the core activities, Biodiversity Encyclopedia, inventories, etc. 1.5 M Euro/year to support taxonomic research on poorly known organisms 2.0 M Euro/year to support natural history museums 130 M Euro over 20 years (LHC 3,200 – 6,400 M Euro) To date about 2,000 new species recorded, about 600 new to science

Other Nordic Countries The Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre awarded 2.3 M Euro to launch Norwegian Taxonomy Initiative in 2009 Finnish PUTTE project finished in 2008; continued as Taxonomy Initiative? Nordic Taxonomic Research Council? Amateur biologists are crucial in inventorying and monitoring

Information Technology Specimen-based research is becoming an e-science Rational collection management relies more and more on information technology Virtual experience crucial part of exhibits

Information Technology Major push to digitize museum specimens (NHRS 15 years) Development of novel, partly automated digitization techniques (robots, image-based, OCR, web annotation) Specimen data through common data portal (GBIF, > 150 M specimens) High-resolution images (Morphbank; Digitization of older literature (Biodiversity Heritage Library; Publishing of hyperlinked species descriptions online (ZooTaxa; Mandatory registration of new species names in open web repositories (ZooBank;

Information Technology cont’d Scratchpads – collaborative tools for building web sites Encyclopedia of Life – aggregating information for all known species Vince Smith E O Wilson

The European Scene Research: –EU funding gradually becomes more important –Competition among institutions across Europe for best scientists and for EU funding –Biodiversity invontories and monitoring –Programmes for integrating amateur biologists –E-science Collections: –Standardization across Europe of storage – More cost-effective –Avoidance of pesticides – New & better storage facilities –Aggregation of collections – More cost-effective –Information technology for collection management Exhibits: –Local presence more important than ever –Virtual museums –Exhibits on tour

Major Research Infrastructures Natural History Collections are MRIs (cf. Large Hadron Collider; EMBL) Collections: storage facilities, pest management, personnel, information technology Labs: DNA labs, geological analysis European competition will result in fewer top research institutions Well coordinated, distributed set of collections: (The Netherlands) Centralized: UK (The Natural History Museum), Denmark (Statens Naturhistoriske Museer), Sweden (Naturhistoriska riksmuseet)

Synthesys I and II: Synthesis of Systematic Resources (EU 6 th and 7 th framework programme; , , –Transnational access to CETAF facilities –Networking activities –Joint research EDIT: Towards a European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy (Centre of Excellence, EU 6 th Framework Programme, , –Integrate taxonomic effort within Europe –Build world-leading capacity –Create virtual centre of excellence (EDIT) –Increase scientific basis and capacity for conservation Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities

CETAF-related projects or initiatives: ENBI: European Network for Biodiversity Information ENHSIN: European Natural History Specimen Information Network BioCASE: A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe Fauna Europaea: Database of the names of all known European animal species Euro + Med PlantBase: Database of vascular plants of Europe and the Mediterranean region LifeWatch: e-science and technology infrastructure for biodiversity data and observatories Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities

Good Advice (?) Coordinate or centralize the resources Think long-term ( years) Cut corners by using emerging information technology Specialize; aim to be best in Europe in some areas Be a good European and international player: participate in joint projects, cut out a role for yourselves as leaders of some initiatives Join CETAF, EDIT Prepare for major biodiversity inventorying and monitoring initiatives Contribute to development of information technology? Build collaborations with amateur biologists