Pub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.87
M. Sablier, C. Davron, M. Herbin
Over the centuries, the composition of jar sealants in natural history museum fluid collections has changed but has not been the subject of extensive documentation. Consequently, it is of paramount interest to increase our knowledge of sealant composition as well as to correlate this information with the date of manufacture and type of preparation. As an initial step towards achieving this goal, an analytical protocol was developed to characterize the composition of sealants encountered in fluid collections of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN) in Paris. Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) were used to investigate the nature of selected jar sealants, and these techniques proved to be efficient for the identification and characterization of waxes and resin additives in sealing samples. First results are very promising; similar examinations should be continued on a large scale for an exhaustive analysis of the MNHN fluid collections.
{"title":"Characterization of the JAR Sealants in the Fluid Collections of the Muséum National D'histoire Naturelle","authors":"M. Sablier, C. Davron, M. Herbin","doi":"10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.87","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.87","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Over the centuries, the composition of jar sealants in natural history museum fluid collections has changed but has not been the subject of extensive documentation. Consequently, it is of paramount interest to increase our knowledge of sealant composition as well as to correlate this information with the date of manufacture and type of preparation. As an initial step towards achieving this goal, an analytical protocol was developed to characterize the composition of sealants encountered in fluid collections of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN) in Paris. Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) were used to investigate the nature of selected jar sealants, and these techniques proved to be efficient for the identification and characterization of waxes and resin additives in sealing samples. First results are very promising; similar examinations should be continued on a large scale for an exhaustive analysis of the MNHN fluid collections.","PeriodicalId":10705,"journal":{"name":"Collection Forum","volume":"52 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84564577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.1
S. Cersoy, John Simmons, J. Carter, D. Neumann, M. Herbin, V. Rouchon
{"title":"Preservation of Natural History Wet Collections: Feedback and Prospects: Proceedings of a Conference at the French Natural History Museum, 5–7 December 2018","authors":"S. Cersoy, John Simmons, J. Carter, D. Neumann, M. Herbin, V. Rouchon","doi":"10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":10705,"journal":{"name":"Collection Forum","volume":"49 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81013249","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.11
I. Finkelde, G., Asher Newsome
This paper details the salting-out method, which uses the salts potassium carbonate and sodium chloride to distinguish between the three most commonly used fluid preservatives: ethanol, isopropanol, and formalin. A summary of other methods to identify fluid preservative type and a review of the salting-out method published by Mayfield (2013, Distinguishing between ethanol and isopropanol in natural history collection fluid storage, Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, https://spnhc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Mayfieldfinalwithtablechanges.pdf) are provided. A new salting-out method is presented, which requires a small fluid sample (2–4 ml). It is simple, quick, and relatively inexpensive to implement, making it a viable method to distinguish between common fluid preservatives. The materials and equipment for the salting-out test cost just over $100 US, and tests take approximately 3 minutes per container. Results of testing on known concentrations and combinations of ethanol, isopropanol, and formalin (a solution of formaldehyde in water) and on samples of fluid preservatives from specimen containers in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum collections are presented. The results of salting-out tests have been verified by direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) (Cody et al., 2005, Versatile new ion source for the analysis of materials in open air under ambient conditions, Analytical Chemistry 77(8):2297–302), which confirmed the results of salting-out tests but also highlighted some limitations, particularly when combinations of fluid preservative are encountered.
{"title":"Salting Out: A Simple and Reliable Method to Distinguish Between Common Fluid Preservatives and Estimate Alcohol Concentration","authors":"I. Finkelde, G., Asher Newsome","doi":"10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.11","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.11","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This paper details the salting-out method, which uses the salts potassium carbonate and sodium chloride to distinguish between the three most commonly used fluid preservatives: ethanol, isopropanol, and formalin.\u0000 A summary of other methods to identify fluid preservative type and a review of the salting-out method published by Mayfield (2013, Distinguishing between ethanol and isopropanol in natural history collection fluid storage, Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, https://spnhc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Mayfieldfinalwithtablechanges.pdf) are provided. A new salting-out method is presented, which requires a small fluid sample (2–4 ml). It is simple, quick, and relatively inexpensive to implement, making it a viable method to distinguish between common fluid preservatives. The materials and equipment for the salting-out test cost just over $100 US, and tests take approximately 3 minutes per container.\u0000 Results of testing on known concentrations and combinations of ethanol, isopropanol, and formalin (a solution of formaldehyde in water) and on samples of fluid preservatives from specimen containers in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum collections are presented. The results of salting-out tests have been verified by direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) (Cody et al., 2005, Versatile new ion source for the analysis of materials in open air under ambient conditions, Analytical Chemistry 77(8):2297–302), which confirmed the results of salting-out tests but also highlighted some limitations, particularly when combinations of fluid preservative are encountered.","PeriodicalId":10705,"journal":{"name":"Collection Forum","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86450372","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.143
M. Dangeon, E. Cornet, L. Brambilla
The collection of the Botanical Museum of the University of Zürich is an academic collection assembled from 1891 to the end of the 20th century (1992 for the last inventoried item). Preserved plants come from all over the world (40 countries) and include all categories of existing Plantae (algae, lichens, fungi, higher plants, bacteriae). The fluid collection, largely neglected since 1976, shows significant degradation. The main problem is loss of preservative fluid due to leakage of the jars and aging of the seals. Another issue is the discoloration of the specimen fluids. These issues led to a research project titled FLUIDIS, which aimed to explore different preservative solutions and their impact on the discoloration of plant specimens. Conservation-restoration work was carried out on the jars of the “Professor Ernst Collection.” Topping up of was necessary for the entire collection. Restoration was performed after opening the containers and identifying the fluid. The specimens were consolidated, repaired, and mounted when necessary, then gradually put back into alcoholic solutions and finally sealed. An overall intervention protocol was established for the treatment of the entire botanical fluid collection. Its application, however, requires a careful study of each specimen.
{"title":"Conservation-Restoration of a Botanical Museum Fluid Collection: Practice and Research","authors":"M. Dangeon, E. Cornet, L. Brambilla","doi":"10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.143","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.143","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The collection of the Botanical Museum of the University of Zürich is an academic collection assembled from 1891 to the end of the 20th century (1992 for the last inventoried item). Preserved plants come from all over the world (40 countries) and include all categories of existing Plantae (algae, lichens, fungi, higher plants, bacteriae). The fluid collection, largely neglected since 1976, shows significant degradation. The main problem is loss of preservative fluid due to leakage of the jars and aging of the seals. Another issue is the discoloration of the specimen fluids. These issues led to a research project titled FLUIDIS, which aimed to explore different preservative solutions and their impact on the discoloration of plant specimens. Conservation-restoration work was carried out on the jars of the “Professor Ernst Collection.” Topping up of was necessary for the entire collection. Restoration was performed after opening the containers and identifying the fluid. The specimens were consolidated, repaired, and mounted when necessary, then gradually put back into alcoholic solutions and finally sealed. An overall intervention protocol was established for the treatment of the entire botanical fluid collection. Its application, however, requires a careful study of each specimen.","PeriodicalId":10705,"journal":{"name":"Collection Forum","volume":"53 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82305664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.32
I. Finkelde, R. Waller
Formalin (3.7% weight/weight [w/w], 4% weight/volume [w/v] aqueous formaldehyde) is commonly used as a fixative to prevent postmortem changes in the tissues of a specimen. The specimen is then either maintained in formalin or transferred to another fluid preservative, such as ethanol or isopropanol, for long-term preservation. Residual formalin often remains in the preservation fluid. As formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, it is important to know the concentration present in preservation fluids. A titration method has been developed to determine formalin concentration in fluid preservatives. It utilizes sodium sulfite to react with formaldehyde in solution. An adjustable, repeating pipette and a digital titrator allow for the rapid determination of formalin concentrations in small samples (<1 ml). This method of titration is compared with three commercially available methods of determining formaldehyde and formalin concentration: two brands of formaldehyde test strips, Quantofix® (Machery-Nagel GmbH) and MQuant® (EMD Millipore Corp), and a drop count titration test kit (Hach® formaldehyde test kit, model FM-1). A comparison and evaluation are made on the effectiveness of each method in determining the concentration of formalin in preservation fluids.
{"title":"Comparing Methods of Determining Formalin Concentration in Fluid Preservatives","authors":"I. Finkelde, R. Waller","doi":"10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.32","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.32","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Formalin (3.7% weight/weight [w/w], 4% weight/volume [w/v] aqueous formaldehyde) is commonly used as a fixative to prevent postmortem changes in the tissues of a specimen. The specimen is then either maintained in formalin or transferred to another fluid preservative, such as ethanol or isopropanol, for long-term preservation. Residual formalin often remains in the preservation fluid. As formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, it is important to know the concentration present in preservation fluids.\u0000 A titration method has been developed to determine formalin concentration in fluid preservatives. It utilizes sodium sulfite to react with formaldehyde in solution. An adjustable, repeating pipette and a digital titrator allow for the rapid determination of formalin concentrations in small samples (<1 ml). This method of titration is compared with three commercially available methods of determining formaldehyde and formalin concentration: two brands of formaldehyde test strips, Quantofix® (Machery-Nagel GmbH) and MQuant® (EMD Millipore Corp), and a drop count titration test kit (Hach® formaldehyde test kit, model FM-1). A comparison and evaluation are made on the effectiveness of each method in determining the concentration of formalin in preservation fluids.","PeriodicalId":10705,"journal":{"name":"Collection Forum","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80102078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.130
T. Deroin, S. Lacoste
During the completion of the 2006–2013 renovation project of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle herbarium in Paris, all fluid-preserved specimens were transferred to three storage areas on the fourth floor of the botany building in the Jardin des Plantes. This fluid-preserved spirit collection includes ca. 15,000 jars containing vascular plants, mainly angiosperms collected since 1900, many of which are linked to additional specimens and preparations (herbarium sheets, wood samples, and DNA samples) stored elsewhere, such as in the actual herbarium. These fluid-preserved specimens are essential for thoroughly studying and illustrating succulents and pulpy fruits as well as for the floral morphology of some families (e.g., Orchidaceae or Zingiberaceae) and are thus often sampled and sometimes further processed by visiting specialists. They are also primary sources for other collections, such as the anatomical microslide library (“Histothèque”) for examining cytological details and the pollen slide library (“Palynothèque”). Maintenance and safety of the fluid collections were greatly improved by the addition of an extractor hood that made the practical work of fixation, preservation, rehydration, bottling, and rebottling of specimens easier. The use of effective fluids, such as the fixative FAA (formaldehyde 2%, acetic acid 5%, ethanol 67%, methanol 0.4%, water 25.6%) and the glycerol/ethanol/water mixture, along with standardized glass jars, greatly improved the storage and preservation of the specimens. While it is difficult to dispense with formaldehyde due to its good fixative properties (Buesa 2008) and its accordance with classical histological methods, it needs to be removed for health and safety reasons (e.g., it is carcinogenic and affects the lungs; see Goris et al. 1998) and to avoid long-term consequences, such as decalcification or pollen exine deterioration in preserved material. The use of any alternative to formaldehyde as a preservative fluid (Carter 2012) is a priority in collection areas such as algae but not necessarily for vascular plants and mushrooms. Histological studies may be carried out on dry samples after careful rehydration with dilute ammonia (5–10% aq.) or after heating at 60°C in heavily dehydrated tissues (Espinosa and Pinedo Castro 2018), recovering their original volume and outline but usually with clearing due to loss of tannins (Deroin 1994). Retrieval of preserved material in a continuously ventilated room (70 m3) is made easier by using three kinds of arrangements: unsorted field collections in stacking tanks, easily ordered arrays in chemical safety cupboards, and reference collections on shelves, free or in glass cupboards or drawers. The reference collections fulfill different aims. Some of the specimens in this collection are reserve vouchers for phytogeographical and ethnographic exploration, such as Léon Diguet’s samples of the useful Cactaceae fromMexico gathered in 1902–1904 (Fig. 1A–C). A book
{"title":"A Spirit Collection of Vascular Plants at the Muséum National D'histoire Naturelle Herbarium","authors":"T. Deroin, S. Lacoste","doi":"10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.130","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.130","url":null,"abstract":"During the completion of the 2006–2013 renovation project of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle herbarium in Paris, all fluid-preserved specimens were transferred to three storage areas on the fourth floor of the botany building in the Jardin des Plantes. This fluid-preserved spirit collection includes ca. 15,000 jars containing vascular plants, mainly angiosperms collected since 1900, many of which are linked to additional specimens and preparations (herbarium sheets, wood samples, and DNA samples) stored elsewhere, such as in the actual herbarium. These fluid-preserved specimens are essential for thoroughly studying and illustrating succulents and pulpy fruits as well as for the floral morphology of some families (e.g., Orchidaceae or Zingiberaceae) and are thus often sampled and sometimes further processed by visiting specialists. They are also primary sources for other collections, such as the anatomical microslide library (“Histothèque”) for examining cytological details and the pollen slide library (“Palynothèque”). Maintenance and safety of the fluid collections were greatly improved by the addition of an extractor hood that made the practical work of fixation, preservation, rehydration, bottling, and rebottling of specimens easier. The use of effective fluids, such as the fixative FAA (formaldehyde 2%, acetic acid 5%, ethanol 67%, methanol 0.4%, water 25.6%) and the glycerol/ethanol/water mixture, along with standardized glass jars, greatly improved the storage and preservation of the specimens. While it is difficult to dispense with formaldehyde due to its good fixative properties (Buesa 2008) and its accordance with classical histological methods, it needs to be removed for health and safety reasons (e.g., it is carcinogenic and affects the lungs; see Goris et al. 1998) and to avoid long-term consequences, such as decalcification or pollen exine deterioration in preserved material. The use of any alternative to formaldehyde as a preservative fluid (Carter 2012) is a priority in collection areas such as algae but not necessarily for vascular plants and mushrooms. Histological studies may be carried out on dry samples after careful rehydration with dilute ammonia (5–10% aq.) or after heating at 60°C in heavily dehydrated tissues (Espinosa and Pinedo Castro 2018), recovering their original volume and outline but usually with clearing due to loss of tannins (Deroin 1994). Retrieval of preserved material in a continuously ventilated room (70 m3) is made easier by using three kinds of arrangements: unsorted field collections in stacking tanks, easily ordered arrays in chemical safety cupboards, and reference collections on shelves, free or in glass cupboards or drawers. The reference collections fulfill different aims. Some of the specimens in this collection are reserve vouchers for phytogeographical and ethnographic exploration, such as Léon Diguet’s samples of the useful Cactaceae fromMexico gathered in 1902–1904 (Fig. 1A–C). A book ","PeriodicalId":10705,"journal":{"name":"Collection Forum","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74594400","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.139
P.A. Martin-Lefèvre, N. Mollaret
The Invertébrés Marins (Marine Invertebrates) collections of the Museum national d’Histoire naturelle (the French National Museum of Natural History; MNHN) are composed of about 1.5 million lots (containers of one or more specimens of the same taxonomic level) of at least 5 million specimens. The collections include a significant number of species from numerous geographical locations. Approximately 50,000 lots are types (sensu lato) with significant heritage value and covering the principal phyla and subphyla of marine invertebrates. Though the collections are mainly from marine environments, they also contain specimens from freshwater and terrestrial habitats. These organisms might be freeliving, parasitic, vagile, or sessile, and might live individually or form colonies; they display a great diversity of morphologies and sizes (Castro and Huber 2008). Collection management is carried out by a team of eight conservation technicians, assisted by four imaging and databasing technicians and several volunteers. The work is done in collaboration with fifteen scientific curators. The history of the MNHN began with the Jardin royal des plantes médicinales (Royal Garden of Medicinal Plants) created in 1635 by order of the King Louis XIII. In 1729, the pharmacy officially become the Cabinet d’histoire naturelle (Natural History Cabinet) (Laissus 1995). During the French Revolution, the National Convention reorganized the RoyalGarden (including theNatural History Cabinet) and transformed it into theMuseum of Natural History. In 1793, 12 chairs were established, including the “Lower Animals” (Animaux inférieurs) chair, assigned to Lamarck, who organized the first collections of marine invertebrates (Fischer-Piette 1944). From that time onward, the collections of marine invertebrates at the MNHN have been enhanced with specimens collected all over the world during oceanographic expeditions. The French tradition of marine scientific exploration started in the 18th century with several circumnavigation voyages (Bauchot et al. 1997) and continues today with diverse marine expedition programs led by MNHN research teams (MNHN website 2019). These programs, such as Tropical Deep-Sea Benthos (formerly MUSORSTOM), Our Planet Reviewed, and the Antarctic expeditions, cover a large part of the planet, aimed at exploring marine biodiversity (MNHN website 2021a, 2021b, 2021c). Current collection growth is from recent expeditions, but there are also noteworthy one-time contributions, including individual collecting events, donations, exchanges, and purchases. The Marine Invertebrate collections are housed in different locations at MNHN. Ninety percent of the collections are stored in the Zootheque (an underground building), under
法国国家自然历史博物馆(法国国家自然历史博物馆)的海洋无脊椎动物收藏;MNHN由至少500万个标本组成的约150万个批次(同一分类水平的一个或多个标本的容器)。这些藏品包括来自许多地理位置的大量物种。约有50,000件是具有重要遗产价值的类型(感知)，涵盖了海洋无脊椎动物的主要门和亚门。虽然藏品主要来自海洋环境，但也包括淡水和陆地栖息地的标本。这些生物可能是自由生活的，寄生的，游动的，或无根的，可能单独生活或形成菌落;它们在形态和大小上表现出极大的多样性(Castro and Huber 2008)。藏品管理工作由一个由八名文物保护技术人员组成的小组进行，由四名成像和数据库技术人员以及几名志愿者协助。这项工作是与15位科学策展人合作完成的。MNHN的历史始于1635年根据路易十三国王的命令创建的皇家药用植物花园。1729年，药房正式成为自然历史柜(Cabinet d’histoire naturelle) (Laissus 1995)。在法国大革命期间，国民公会重组了皇家花园(包括自然历史柜)，并将其改造成自然历史博物馆。1793年，设立了12个主席，其中“低等动物”主席被分配给拉马克，他组织了第一次海洋无脊椎动物的收集(Fischer-Piette 1944)。从那时起，MNHN收集的海洋无脊椎动物标本在世界各地的海洋考察中得到了加强。法国的海洋科学探索传统始于18世纪的几次环游航行(Bauchot et al. 1997)，并在今天继续由MNHN研究团队领导的各种海洋探险项目(MNHN网站2019)。这些项目，如热带深海底栖生物(原MUSORSTOM)、我们的星球回顾和南极考察，覆盖了地球的大部分地区，旨在探索海洋生物多样性(MNHN网站2021a, 2021b, 2021c)。当前的收集增长来自最近的探险，但也有值得注意的一次性贡献，包括个人收集事件、捐赠、交换和购买。海洋无脊椎动物收藏被安置在MNHN的不同地点。百分之九十的藏品都存放在动物馆(地下建筑)
{"title":"Feedback on Preservation in Fluids: the Experience of the Marine Invertebrate Collection at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle","authors":"P.A. Martin-Lefèvre, N. Mollaret","doi":"10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.139","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.139","url":null,"abstract":"The Invertébrés Marins (Marine Invertebrates) collections of the Museum national d’Histoire naturelle (the French National Museum of Natural History; MNHN) are composed of about 1.5 million lots (containers of one or more specimens of the same taxonomic level) of at least 5 million specimens. The collections include a significant number of species from numerous geographical locations. Approximately 50,000 lots are types (sensu lato) with significant heritage value and covering the principal phyla and subphyla of marine invertebrates. Though the collections are mainly from marine environments, they also contain specimens from freshwater and terrestrial habitats. These organisms might be freeliving, parasitic, vagile, or sessile, and might live individually or form colonies; they display a great diversity of morphologies and sizes (Castro and Huber 2008). Collection management is carried out by a team of eight conservation technicians, assisted by four imaging and databasing technicians and several volunteers. The work is done in collaboration with fifteen scientific curators. The history of the MNHN began with the Jardin royal des plantes médicinales (Royal Garden of Medicinal Plants) created in 1635 by order of the King Louis XIII. In 1729, the pharmacy officially become the Cabinet d’histoire naturelle (Natural History Cabinet) (Laissus 1995). During the French Revolution, the National Convention reorganized the RoyalGarden (including theNatural History Cabinet) and transformed it into theMuseum of Natural History. In 1793, 12 chairs were established, including the “Lower Animals” (Animaux inférieurs) chair, assigned to Lamarck, who organized the first collections of marine invertebrates (Fischer-Piette 1944). From that time onward, the collections of marine invertebrates at the MNHN have been enhanced with specimens collected all over the world during oceanographic expeditions. The French tradition of marine scientific exploration started in the 18th century with several circumnavigation voyages (Bauchot et al. 1997) and continues today with diverse marine expedition programs led by MNHN research teams (MNHN website 2019). These programs, such as Tropical Deep-Sea Benthos (formerly MUSORSTOM), Our Planet Reviewed, and the Antarctic expeditions, cover a large part of the planet, aimed at exploring marine biodiversity (MNHN website 2021a, 2021b, 2021c). Current collection growth is from recent expeditions, but there are also noteworthy one-time contributions, including individual collecting events, donations, exchanges, and purchases. The Marine Invertebrate collections are housed in different locations at MNHN. Ninety percent of the collections are stored in the Zootheque (an underground building), under","PeriodicalId":10705,"journal":{"name":"Collection Forum","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87122813","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.73
F. Neisskenwirth
Different procedures are proposed in the literature for the rehydration of dried-out specimens. These procedures vary greatly in their efficiency and application. This work describes a new procedure that is inspired by the literature but that avoids heating the specimens. This method was applied to reconditioning dried-out specimens from a historical collection (Swiss freshwater fishes, bird brains, and bird eyes), stored at the Naturhistorisches Museum Bern in Switzerland. The procedure consists of five steps. The first step is the softening of hardened soft tissue with benzaldehyde and demineralized water. The second step is an indirect rehydration with water vapor. The third step is a chemically induced direct hydration using a trisodium phosphate solution that allows the specimen to swell in size before being washed with water to remove all additives. Finally, the rehydrated specimen is transferred into new preserving fluid. Because the dehydrating properties of ethanol as a preservative are problematic, this paper presents the results of an experimental case study using a glycerol solution as a preservation fluid.
{"title":"Rehydration of Dried-Out Specimens: a New Approach","authors":"F. Neisskenwirth","doi":"10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.73","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.73","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Different procedures are proposed in the literature for the rehydration of dried-out specimens. These procedures vary greatly in their efficiency and application. This work describes a new procedure that is inspired by the literature but that avoids heating the specimens. This method was applied to reconditioning dried-out specimens from a historical collection (Swiss freshwater fishes, bird brains, and bird eyes), stored at the Naturhistorisches Museum Bern in Switzerland. The procedure consists of five steps. The first step is the softening of hardened soft tissue with benzaldehyde and demineralized water. The second step is an indirect rehydration with water vapor. The third step is a chemically induced direct hydration using a trisodium phosphate solution that allows the specimen to swell in size before being washed with water to remove all additives. Finally, the rehydrated specimen is transferred into new preserving fluid. Because the dehydrating properties of ethanol as a preservative are problematic, this paper presents the results of an experimental case study using a glycerol solution as a preservation fluid.","PeriodicalId":10705,"journal":{"name":"Collection Forum","volume":"430 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77807589","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.157
M. Herbin, M.D. Santin, R. Toro, K. Heuer, J. Cuisin, C. Martín, L. Raveendran, C. François, R. Debruyne
The use of specific preservative solutions by museum professionals to maintain fluid-preserved specimens has fluctuated over the years with advances in chemistry. The determining factors for the original choice of solution closely correlate with the historical parameters and original usage of the collections. Consequently, for any given collection, changes and substitutions over time in the types of preservative fluids used have likely occurred. The present comparative analysis of the state of brain preservation, carried out at macroscopic, microscopic, and molecular levels, allowed us to evaluate the effect of the different treatments applied over time to fluid-preserved collections. Our results confirm that the duration of formaldehyde exposure of the tissues clearly has an effect on their long-term preservation. Despite the controversies associated with the quality or use of some historic fixatives, modern analytical methods such as medical imagery reveal the preservation quality in historic specimens and their potential for future research use. However, the choice of fixatives and storage fluids to preserve the specimens is of critical importance because today's choices will influence the use of the specimen for advanced analytical methods in the future.
{"title":"Do not Dispose of Historic Fluid Collections: Evaluating Research Potential and Range of Use","authors":"M. Herbin, M.D. Santin, R. Toro, K. Heuer, J. Cuisin, C. Martín, L. Raveendran, C. François, R. Debruyne","doi":"10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.157","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.157","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The use of specific preservative solutions by museum professionals to maintain fluid-preserved specimens has fluctuated over the years with advances in chemistry. The determining factors for the original choice of solution closely correlate with the historical parameters and original usage of the collections. Consequently, for any given collection, changes and substitutions over time in the types of preservative fluids used have likely occurred. The present comparative analysis of the state of brain preservation, carried out at macroscopic, microscopic, and molecular levels, allowed us to evaluate the effect of the different treatments applied over time to fluid-preserved collections. Our results confirm that the duration of formaldehyde exposure of the tissues clearly has an effect on their long-term preservation. Despite the controversies associated with the quality or use of some historic fixatives, modern analytical methods such as medical imagery reveal the preservation quality in historic specimens and their potential for future research use. However, the choice of fixatives and storage fluids to preserve the specimens is of critical importance because today's choices will influence the use of the specimen for advanced analytical methods in the future.","PeriodicalId":10705,"journal":{"name":"Collection Forum","volume":"88 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77950211","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.124
É. Quetel
{"title":"The Dupuytren Anatomical and Pathological Collections: History and Complexity of the Wet Collections","authors":"É. Quetel","doi":"10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.124","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14351/0831-4985-34.1.124","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":10705,"journal":{"name":"Collection Forum","volume":"24 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91495860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：