Uncovering Hidden Data in the AMNH Marine Invertebrate Collections

Abstract Average global sea surface temperatures have been consistently higher during the past thirty years than any other time since reliable temperature recordings in 1880. Marine life is sufficiently adaptable to survive in a range of temperatures, but extended periods of temperature extremes can have a profound effect on the biology and behavior of aquatic organisms. Historic baseline data is often critical to understanding these changes in biology, distribution, migration, and population dynamics. Data from museum specimens can provide such baselines, but are often an overlooked resource, in part because museum collection data are not readily available. The American Museum of Natural History’s invertebrate zoology collection is home to an estimated 7.5 million marine specimens dating back to the mid-1800s. Although many of the specimens have been catalogued in a public online database, data from a large number of these specimens are not yet in digital form and are therefore only accessible to staff and researchers visiting or borrowing from the collection. The Museum’s Crustacea collection contains around 19,400 specimen lots which hold significant historic value, including lots from the New York Zoological Society’s Bermuda Oceanographic Expeditions. The Bermuda Oceanographic Expeditions provide a rare opportunity to examine historic abundance and distribution of pelagic crustacea taxa that are currently experiencing extended periods of increased ocean temperatures. We synthesized data from the fluid-preserved specimens and from expedition field logs to compose a depth profile that compared the number of crustacean specimens, identified to family or lower taxonomic level, per depth. The results indicate that crustacean abundance and diversity was highest (4-7 families) between 500-1000 fathoms. Most of the specimens were diel-migratory shrimp from the family Sergestidae. We believe that this study provides a useful basis of historic sergestid distribution data that can be used to contextualize modern research in the warming Sargasso Sea.