Plant Collection

2008-09-04T13:51:00Z

Cjgroh: New page: The Herbarium is in Nobel 333. *The oldest specimen is 1881. *The most recent acquisition is 2008 *You might be surprised to know that we have several specimens from Sweden. *Local ...

The Herbarium is in Nobel 333.

*The oldest specimen is 1881.

*The most recent acquisition is 2008

*You might be surprised to know that we have several specimens from Sweden.

*Local specimens include species found in the Saint Peter Area.

*We have many collections from John Sandberg a well-known collector, who collected throughout Minnesota and the Western United States.

Biology Collections

2008-09-04T13:48:35Z

Cjgroh:

The Biology Department at �鶹��Ƶ curates diverse collections of organisms including plants (herbarium), vertebrate animals and invertebrate animals.

Collections are assemblages of species of a particular type of organism (e.g. fireflies, fish, ferns, etc.). They are dynamic and grow as newly-collected and donated specimens are acquired. Collections serve critical roles in fields such as taxonomy, ecology, botany, zoology, conservation biology and evolutionary biology. Several uses include:
* documenting morphological variation within and among populations,
* describing population range sizes,
* demonstrating a species’ presence in a particular environment, and
* assisting in species identification.

The Biology Department collections have been integral to both student learning and scholarship for decades. Currently, the collections are used in some of the following ways:

*Students in '''Fish & Fisheries''' (BIO 100) use the fish collection to explore relationships between fish size and age ultimately estimating the age structure of a fish population.
* In '''Ecology, Evolution & Behavior''' (BIO 202), students use herbarium specimens to learn about sun and shade type leaves.
* Before conducting independent research projects, students in '''Vertebrate Zoology''' (BIO 242) use the collections to identify and learn about local fish, amphibians, birds and mammals.
*Students in '''Conservation Biology''' (BIO 245) use the herbarium to identify plants.
* Students in '''Horticulture''' and '''Ecology''' (BIO 370) use the herbarium to identify specific species of plants.
* The insect collection continues to grow as '''Entomology''' (BIO 376) students donate specimens from their collections. Students also use the collection to learn about insect form & function.
* Students in '''Plant Systematics''' (BIO 377) use the herbarium to identify species, compare morphological traits and learn herbarium curation techniques.
* In '''Plant Physiology''' (BIO 378), herbarium specimens are used to show variation within a species.
* Students in '''Aquatic Biology''' (BIO 385) use the fish collection to identify local fish and understand natural morphological variation in local populations.
On-line presentation of our collections will extend the value of these resources to lay and scientific communities.

Systematics - User contributions [en]

Plant Collection

Biology Collections