More than 100,000 preserved crabs, shrimp, lobsters and other crustaceans collected by 小蝌蚪APP researchers over the past four decades are getting new digs: the Smithsonian Institution.
The UL Lafayette Zoological Crustacean Collection is likely the largest archive of gene sequence-quality marine decapod specimens from the Americas.
It will be relocated to the Smithsonian小蝌蚪APP檚 National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., under an agreement signed Friday by Dr. Joseph Savoie, UL Lafayette president, and Carol Butler, the museum小蝌蚪APP檚 assistant director for collections. A formal transfer ceremony was held in James R. Oliver Hall on campus.
worked with graduate students, faculty researchers and other collaborators to build the collection and maintain its specimens, said Dr. Azmy S. Ackleh, dean of the .
小蝌蚪APP淗e is its patriarch,小蝌蚪APP Ackleh said, noting the biology professor continued to curate the collection even after his retirement in 2014.
Decapods are a scientific order of crustaceans that encompasses nearly 15,000 species, including lobsters, crabs, crawfish, prawns and shrimp. Five pairs of thoracic legs, equaling 10 limbs, give the order its name; deca is Greek for 小蝌蚪APP10,小蝌蚪APP while pod means 小蝌蚪APP渇oot.小蝌蚪APP
UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 specimens are preserved in more than 18,000 containers. The collection also includes a comprehensive electronic database, research notes Felder made during expeditions, and more than 50,000 photographs he took of specimens before they were preserved.
Felder said the 小蝌蚪APP had a small number of decapod specimens when he became a faculty member in 1975. Expeditions over the next four decades in the Caribbean Sea, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and the Gulf of Mexico increased the collection小蝌蚪APP檚 size and geographic diversity.
It includes specimens gathered off Cuba, the Bahamas, Mexico, Nicaragua, Belize, Venezuela, Brazil and Colombia, but most are from the Gulf, Felder said.
小蝌蚪APP淪ome nations now restrict access to sites that were sampled years ago. What we gathered can小蝌蚪APP檛 be duplicated, so they are of exceptional value to researchers today.小蝌蚪APP
Much of the collection小蝌蚪APP檚 significance is molecular, but it isn小蝌蚪APP檛 small. Proper preservation in high-grade ethanol has maintained the specimens小蝌蚪APP gene-sequence quality. That means researchers can use the samples小蝌蚪APP DNA to track how different decapod species are related, their geographic origins and historical trends.
小蝌蚪APP淢any specimens gathered decades ago reflect a moment in time that scientists can use as a baseline to examine changes within crustacean populations in the Gulf and other regions,小蝌蚪APP Felder said.
For example, researchers used the specimens to perform before-and-after analyses to determine how the 2010 BP oil spill affected Gulf crab and shrimp.
The National Museum of Natural History has about 11.3 million crustacean specimens, said Dr. Rafael Lemaitre. He is the curator of crustacea in the museum小蝌蚪APP檚 Department of Invertebrate Zoology.
While UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 collection includes specimens from other locations, Lemaitre said its emphasis on the Gulf of Mexico and the genetic quality of the samples 小蝌蚪APP渨ill fill in some critical gaps小蝌蚪APP in the Smithsonian小蝌蚪APP檚 present holdings.
小蝌蚪APP淭his acquisition essentially doubles our holdings from the Gulf. The Smithsonian will now have the most complete representation of decapod species that live there.小蝌蚪APP
Lemaitre has been affiliated with UL Lafayette as an adjunct zoology professor since 1994. He occasionally accompanied Felder during expeditions in the Gulf and Caribbean to gather specimens. He小蝌蚪APP檒l curate them at the Smithsonian once the collections are merged.
小蝌蚪APP淚t小蝌蚪APP檚 very satisfying that everything is going to be in one place. The specimens have been superbly maintained and organized. That will ease the process of incorporating the collection into the museum小蝌蚪APP檚 holdings,小蝌蚪APP Lemaitre said.
Smithsonian technicians arrived on campus earlier this week to begin packing the specimens. Dr. Paul Leberg, head of the , said moving the samples from Billeaud Hall to the Beltway will take about eight months.
小蝌蚪APP淭he Smithsonian would not accept this collection, or any collection, if its researchers and curators did not believe it had substantial scientific value. Their interest and investment shows the 小蝌蚪APP created something pretty special,小蝌蚪APP Leberg said.
Felder and his collaborators secured more than $8 million in federal, state and corporate grants since the early 1980s that funded specimen collection and archival maintenance.
Ackleh said the 小蝌蚪APP demonstrated 小蝌蚪APP渆xceptional stewardship of the collection.小蝌蚪APP
小蝌蚪APP淭his has been Dr. Felder小蝌蚪APP檚 life work, and it小蝌蚪APP檚 a testament to his determination, the quality of the specimens and the care they were given that the Smithsonian has agreed to maintain the 小蝌蚪APP小蝌蚪APP檚 collection in perpetuity.小蝌蚪APP
Main photo: Technicians from the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History pack specimens from the 小蝌蚪APP Zoological Crustacean Collection on Oct. 17, 2018, in Billeaud Hall on the 小蝌蚪APP's campus. From left are Adam Stergis, Karen Reed, Simon Pecnik and Marshall Boyd.
Second photo: Dr. Darryl Felder, a retired professor of biology, stands among specimens that make up the UL Lafayette Zoological Crustacean Collection. He is responsible for the collection's existence.
Third photo: Sicyonia brevirostris, also known as a rock shrimp. Felder photographed this specimen and others before they were preserved. Photo courtesy of Dr. Darryl Felder.
Final photo: A few of the 18,000 containers that hold the collection's more than 100,000 decapod specimens.
Photos by Doug Dugas / 小蝌蚪APP (except where noted).