NSF Award
2403654
The living collections of zoos and aquariums (hereafter “zoos”) are a unique biological resource representing millions of animals across tens of thousands of species. Living collections in zoos hold broad scientific potential that cannot be replicated from traditional natural history collections. Modern zoos are transitioning from primarily entertainment venues to institutions of conservation, science, and education. Consequently, zoos are working to enhance their contribution to the advancement of biological sciences. Information from living animal collections can significantly improve our current knowledge of many vertebrate species. Further, Zoos hold extensive data on basic life history of many species, including data on lifespan and reproduction as well as information on pedigrees, growth, development, behavior, physiology, and immunology. The critical barrier for the advancement of basic science is that from live collections at zoos is that these data and specimens are not available to broader scientific communities – even for non-invasive research. Despite the obvious value of zoo collections for advancing biology, they remain an untapped resource for the larger scientific community. Given the similarities between zoos and museums as collection-based biological institutions, there is broad opportunity for zoos and natural history museum to collaborate more closely. This Research Coordination Network (RCN) will host ten workshops including professionals from zoos, natural history museums, and academia across the US to develop best practices for collaborations, sample sharing and data access, and to identify opportunities for scientific collaborations that are beyond the capacity of a single collection type.<br/> <br/>Biological collections are a crucial part of the global infrastructure for science. Preserved collections in natural history museums have long been recognized as a resource for science and STEM education while the living collections of zoos have not been widely appreciated for their intrinsic scientific value. Museum collections professionals typically have little understanding of the value, purpose, or potential of living collections in zoos. Collections-based collaborations between zoos and museums are rare, and while both zoos and museums hold vast datasets on their specimens, data is not interoperable between zoo and museum collection management systems. The rich data and biological materials collected over the lives of zoo specimens are of high value for basic and applied science, but are not accessible beyond zoos to the broader community of scientists. The RCN: ZooMu Network will build a lasting network of biological collections staff who are equipped to work between collection types, and will open broad new opportunities for biological collections research by linking living and preserved collections, databases, and professionals. Workshops will be held on the topics Physical Collections, Cyberinfrastructure, and Human Capacity. Four regional networks will address the issues pertinent to the institutions in specific regions of the country. By linking collections, staff, and data across collections types, this RCN will expand the national infrastructure for collections-based research. Zoo collections increasingly focus on rare and endangered species, and expanding research capacity into these living collections will open new possibilities for research with direct application for conservation science.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
