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Grant brings Concordia science and research data to the public

A stuffed leopard stalking its prey through tall grass, a glittering assortment of iridescent green beetles, and a scientific treasure trove of meticulously collected plant and animal specimens lie tucked away in the Elsie Welter Natural History Museum, located in the basement of the Integrated Science Center at Concordia College.

Soon, the wealth of scientific data in the museum will be made available to the public, thanks to a grant from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, the Bell Museum of the University of Minnesota, and the hard work of Concordia scientists — both students and instructors.

Concordia is one of 10 organizations involved in the third phase of the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas project, which seeks to expand the online natural resource management tool to include 2.5 million records. Its contribution will be the complete records and scans of the 5,500 plants, 36,000 insects, 1,000 birds, and 2,000 mammals housed in the Welter Museum.

“The material was largely collected as part of classes and/or for education. Institutions originally collected for education and research regularly,” said Dr. Joseph C. Whittaker, associate professor of biology and environmental and sustainability studies at Concordia.

Data for the public, by the public

Records about the plants and animals of Minnesota are abundant — starting with a Public Land Survey in 1848 — but often difficult to obtain and use, as they’re scattered across the state in many institutions and organizations.

As a publicly accessible web application, the Atlas brings records together, allowing people to map species distributions, create lists of species in a given area, use digital images for identification, and search for historical records — information that serves as the basis for natural resource decision-making, according to the grant proposal.

“The end goal is to provide digital access of these specimens to the public,” Whittaker said. “Ultimately it will allow the public to explore and learn about a wide range of plants and animals from different regions. It also plays a role in conservation efforts.”

Concordia’s portion of the funding will go toward specialized equipment designed for photographing scientific specimens consistently and thoroughly so that they are useful for research. Funds will also be used to pay the students completing the work.

The photography rig and computer arrived this summer, along with Tim Whitfeld, collections manager for the herbarium at the Bell Museum, and Anna Fowler, data manager at the Bell Museum, who set it up in the Welter Museum.

A small crowd of Concordia faculty and staff gathered earlier this summer to watch Whitfeld demonstrate how to arrange specimens so they could be imaged clearly, including a color and measurement reference for each. Fowler explained how the data would be stored and maintained for the Atlas, with Concordia retaining its own archive of images as well.

Since then, Whittaker and Dr. D. Bryan Bishop, another Concordia biology professor, have been working on the project, with more set to join the effort when the academic year begins.

Students have also begun their vital work, learning how to handle and document specimens according to scientific and museum standards, Whittaker said. The project will also reinforce the importance of specimens for research and engage people outside the project in the museum.

“This is also a great educational tool,” Whittaker said. “It not only benefits students by expanding their knowledge of different plants and animals, but also educates the public on plant and animal identification which will hopefully prompt more beneficial engagement with the natural world.”

A phased approach

The first two phases of the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas brought more than 1.7 million biodiversity records and more than 400,000 high-resolution digital images of museum specimens into Atlas.

The third phase includes three pieces: 

  • The publishing and digitizing of records from Concordia, Minnesota State University Moorhead, the Science Museum of Minnesota, the University of Minnesota – Duluth, the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union, and integration of historic datasets from the University of Minnesota with surveys by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
  • The digitization of the University of Minnesota Insect Collection, prioritizing mosquitos, which serve as a disease vector; weevils, a timber and grain pest; and stink bugs, a household nuisance and source of invasive species.
  • The publishing of Minnesota biodiversity records from out of state, including data from the U.S. Geological Survey’s North American Breeding Bird Survey and the Department of Agriculture’s survey of 500 Minnesota lakes.

Concordia became involved with the project when Dr. Donna Stockrahm, then a biology professor at MSUM, recommended its inclusion, giving the Bell Museum Whittaker’s contact information.

Once the work is complete, Concordia gets to keep its imaging equipment and use it for documenting new specimens and research projects that require imaging, Whittaker said.

Fewer specimens are collected now than in the past, making preservation especially critical.

“There are more ethical concerns now, particularly with vertebrates, like birds and mammals,” Whittaker explained. “So rather than going out specifically to collect specimens, now we salvage animals that die accidentally — for example, from road kills.”

In the Media

MPR: From a basement lab to computers worldwide, Concordia College digitizes thousands of species

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