Program/Event
Undergraduate Research Showcase Spring 2024
Abstract
Natural history collections are invaluable resources that document the record of Earth’s biodiversity. Such collections house physical specimens that can often be used in research and education (e.g., teaching tools for classes and public outreach events). The William Clay Ichthyology Collection at the University of Louisville contains thousands of fish specimens collected over the past century from locations in and around Kentucky, North America, Central and South America, and even Lake Malawi in Africa. Despite the incredible assortment of specimens present, this collection fell into disarray as departmental interests shifted over the last twenty-five years. This led to the desiccation of 114 lots, barring these from any research or educational use. We evaluated the rehydration potential of 75 of these lots to both restore the university’s natural collection of fish and build upon past methods of museum specimen preservation. Step-up hydration methods utilizing either ethanol or glycerol as a preservative were used to revive specimen quality. Success was defined as having an overall fleshy appearance and fin pliability. Preliminary results suggest larger specimens correlate to an overall longer rehydration time, and that glycerol as a preservative may be preferable to ethanol. Our findings demonstrate that specimen rehydration is a worthwhile endeavor and can aid collection managers when planning large-scale rehydration efforts.
Recommended Citation
Donohue, Joseph; Kolmann, Matthew; and Delekta, Emmy
(2024)
"Restoring History: Evaluating the rehydration potential of fish specimens from a forgotten ichthyology collection,"
The Cardinal Edge: Vol. 2:
Iss.
2, Article 15.
Available at:
https://ir.library.louisville.edu/tce/vol2/iss2/15
