Biology Collections

The Biology Department at �鶹��Ƶ curates diverse collections of organisms including plants, 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 enter the collection. Collections serve critical roles in fields such as taxonomy, ecology, botany, zoology, conservation biology and evolutionary biology. Several uses include:

• documenting natural morphological variation within a population and changes between 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 and are used in 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.
• The insect collection continues to grow as Entomology (BIO 376) students donate specimens from their collections.
• 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.
• In Aquatic Biology (BIO 385), students 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.

Select any of the following links to learn more about one of our collections: plants, vertebrate animals, and invertebrate animals.