AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM
foundation
INSECT SOUP
anyone?
A PROTOTYPE CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT PROMISES TO UNLOCK VALUABLE INFORMATION FROM MUSEUM COLLECTIONS.
Now, thanks to a grant from the Australian Museum Foundation, the Museum is creating a searchable library of tagged insect images so that anyone can access such collections online via the internet.
Many natural history museums hold unsorted jars of insects collected incidentally during field work and stored for future reference.
Paul Flemons, Manager of Collection Informatics at the Museum, believes that, once developed, this technique will be a model for other museums.
These bulk collections, known as insect soups, form a snapshot of biodiversity at a given time and place. They form a valuable resource for researchers, such as the ecologist who needs to know how diversity has changed over time at a location or the entomologist looking for specimens of one group of insects from several locations.
‘In this prototype project, we’re looking at how best to make these collections widely available and accessible’, Paul said.
Traditionally, a researcher would need to come to the Museum and sort through each jar to see if it holds what they’re looking for.
‘The aim is to help more researchers make better use of these largely untapped samples.’
Right A typical insect soup with its label. Volunteers photograph and ‘tag’ the images so that researchers can more readily locate the specimens they seek. Photo by Paul Flemons.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Explore 35(3) Summer 2013
Page 22
‘It has the potential to become a terrific citizen science project, like the DigiVol project where onsite volunteers take and upload photos of specimens and labels for transcription by online virtual volunteers.
JULIET GAUCHAT DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
Make a donation to the Australian Museum Foundation and you’ll be directly supporting the Museum’s science and cultural programs. For further information, please contact the Development Branch, phone 02 9320 6216 or email development@austmus.gov.au.
