Division
of Mammals
About
the Division of MAMMALS -
Research
in the Division of Mammals is primarily concerned
with systematic revisions, distribution and
ecology, natural history, and functional anatomy.
Staff research interests are concentrated on
the mammals of Africa and the Western Hemisphere.
Studies of the systematics and ecology of marine
mammals, especially whales and porpoises, of
rodents, of bats, and of primates are being
actively pursued.
Mammals Collection Profile
- Specimen Count: 590,000
- Types: 3,150
- New Acquisitions: 1,200
|
Collections:
With roughly 590,000 voucher specimens, the
Division of Mammals maintains, by far, the world's
largest - nearly twice the size of the next
largest - and one of the most important collections
of mammals. The standard preparation is the
skin and skull of which there are over 350,000
specimens. Other major holdings include 28,000
skeletons, 100,000 fluid-stored specimens, and
3,000 tanned skins. The collection includes
3,150 primary type specimens and many historically
important specimens. The collections include
several special subsets, among these are mammalian
brains (857 specimens), male genitalia (1,700
specimens), fluid-preserved hearts (373), cleared-and-stained
specimens (400) as well as karyotype slides
(2,000), hair slides and baculae. Frozen tissue
samples of vouchered specimens number about
with 4,000 with an additional 3,000 samples
without vouchers.
The
oldest specimens originated from the activities
of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, dating from
1838-1842, and the personal collection of Spencer
Fullerton Baird. A significant portion of the
collection's North American specimens resulted
from the Biological Survey program, initiated
by C. Hart Merriam and conducted by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, in the 1890s-1930s.
The Mammal collection includes specimens from
William L. Abbott who made large collections
of mammals from Central and Southeast Asia.
The Smithsonian African Expedition acquired
many specimens from east Africa (1909-1911),
some of which were collected by former President
Theodore Roosevelt, and during the 1960s, large
field programs surveying mammals as disease
vectors, such as the Smithsonian Venezuelan
Project and the African Mammal Project, added
more than 100,000 specimens to the collection.
Each
year 1,500 specimens are loaned to qualified
researchers. Data for over 535,000 specimens
are electronically available through a searchable
database. The taxonomic and geographic scope
of the USNM mammal collection spans the globe,
with especially strong representation from North
America, Central America, northern South America,
Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Facilities:
Specialized facilities including radiographic
and light photography systems (both digital
and film in each case), darkroom, digital imaging
and histological facilities, and sound analysis
equipment are available. A separate osteopreparatory
and marine mammal necropsy laboratory is located
at the Museum Support Center. These are supplemented
by discipline specific libraries and archives
of original illustrations, maps, and sound recordings.
Field
Work:
Staff in the Department of Vertebrate Zoology
has conducted field research on all continents
with particular emphasis throughout the Americas,
portions of Africa and Southeast Asia and adjoining
regions and across many portions of the World
Ocean. In recent years traditional forms of
specimen preparation have been supplemented
by photographic documentation of life coloration,
more encompassing anatomical preparations, and
preservation of materials for molecular studies.
Education
and Outreach:
Graduate Programs are available in conjunction
with University of Maryland and George Washington
University including formal affiliations through
the Robert
Weintraub Program in Systematics and Evolution.
Through this program GWU faculty and graduate
students work on a variety of organisms including
bacteria, protists, angiosperms, cnidarians,
mollusks, polychaete worms, arthropods, echinoderms,
dinosaurs, fish, mammals and lizards.
Staffs
in the Department of Vertebrate Zoology and
Affiliated Agencies are also active as advisors
to students throughout North America and in
some countries in Central and South America
and Europe. Students and researchers are welcome
to conduct scientific investigations using the
collections and facilities within the Department
and may borrow certain materials for loan through
their academic advisors and institutions.
Libraries:
The library holdings in Vertebrate Zoology are
divided among the four divisional libraries
with references focusing on systematics, taxonomy,
anatomy and physiology, ecology and distribution,
and evolution of their respective subject groups.
The Mammals collection contains about 4,500
volumes, including 40 journal subscriptions.
Programs
& Affiliates
Genetics
Program: The Genetics Program, currently
housed at the National Zoological Park, uses
molecular genetic methods in support of studies
in systematics, population and conservation
genetics, and molecular ecology. Much of the
research in this lab is directly applicable
to concerns of conservation biology, and relevant
to endangered species and biodiversity issues.
The lab has specializations in the analysis
of ancient DNA, often from extinct birds and
mammals; the genetics of host vector parasite
interactions; and DNA typing to determine identity
and relatedness of individuals, often using
sub-optimal materials such as scats or hair
samples. Contact: Robert C. Fleischer.
Marine
Mammal Program: Established in 1972, the
Marine Mammal Program, which focuses on whales,
dolphins, porpoises, sea cows, seals, and sea
lions, is a cooperative research program whose
principal goal is to extract all biological
data possible from stranded and incidentally
taken animals. Through a thorough examination
of stranded and incidentally taken animals,
valuable data is gained on many aspects of the
normal life history of cetaceans. Scientists
routinely collect data and specimens that relate
to stomach contents, relative organ weights,
parasite burden, reproductive condition and
stage of physical maturity. Staff members also
take external morphometrics and photographs
of the external pigmentation pattern. The collection
of marine mammals is the largest in the world,
consisting of more than 6,500 specimens of cetaceans,
3,100 specimens of pinnipeds and 380 specimens
of sirenians. Most of these are represented
by osteological material although the collection
also includes fluid and frozen specimens. Contact:
James G. Mead.
Biological
Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey:
Staff scientists of the Biological Resources
Division of the U.S. Geological Survey (Patuxent
Wildlife Research Center) are presently based
at the National Museum of Natural History in
the Divisions of Amphibians and Reptiles, Birds
and Mammals under terms of an interagency Memorandum
of Understanding. A major role of the USGS scientists
in each Division is to serve as collection curators
alongside SI staff. A separately managed staff
of curatorial technicians and museum specialists
is deployed among the Divisions to assist curators
in both routine and special curatorial projects
as needed. The scientists conduct a wide variety
of both basic and applied (and largely collections-based)
research projects and technical assistance,
including original taxonomic descriptions and
analyses, major taxonomic treatises, biogeographic
and ecological research, and production of manuals
on standard methods of biodiversity inventory
and monitoring. Contact: Robert P. Reynolds.
For
more information about the NMNH Division of
Mammals, including a complete staff listing
and research initiatives, visit the Vertebrate Zoology website.
|
|
