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Specimen collection is essential for modern science
PLoS Biology2023
60 citations
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Score: 55
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Prosanta Chakrabarty,
Michael W. Nachman,
Caleb D. McMahan,
Elizabeth J. Beckman,
Gregory B. Pauly,
Rauri C. K. Bowie,
Carla Cicero,
Chris J. Conroy,
Scott V. Edwards,
Robert Dudley,
Tyrone B. Hayes,
Tyrone B. Hayes,
Michelle S. Koo,
Eileen A. Lacey,
Christopher H. Martin,
Jimmy A. McGuire,
James L. Patton,
Carol Spencer,
Carol Spencer,
Rebecca D. Tarvin,
Marvalee H. Wake,
Ian Wang,
Anang S. Achmadi,
Sergio Ticul Álvarez-Castañeda,
Michael J. Andersen,
Jairo Arroyave,
Christopher C. Austin,
F. Keith Barker,
Lisa N. Barrow,
George F. Barrowclough,
John M. Bates,
Aaron M. Bauer,
Kayce C. Bell,
Rayna C. Bell,
Allison W. Bronson,
Rafe M. Brown,
Frank T. Burbrink,
Kevin J. Burns,
Carlos Daniel Cadena,
David C. Cannatella,
Todd A. Castoe,
Prosanta Chakrabarty,
Jocelyn P. Colella,
Joseph A. Cook,
Joël Cracraft,
Drew R. Davis,
Alison R. Davis Rabosky,
Guillermo D’Elía,
John P. Dumbacher,
Jonathan L. Dunnum,
Scott V. Edwards,
Jacob A. Esselstyn,
Julián Faivovich,
Jon Fjeldså,
Oscar Flores‐Villela,
Kassandra Ford,
Jérôme Fuchs,
Matthew K. Fujita,
Jeffrey M. Good,
Eli Greenbaum,
Harry W. Greene,
Shannon J. Hackett,
Amir Hamidy,
James Hanken,
Tri Haryoko,
Melissa T. R. Hawkins,
Lawrence R. Heaney,
David M. Hillis,
Bradford D. Hollingsworth,
Angela D. Hornsby,
Peter A. Hosner,
Mohammad Irham,
Sharon A. Jansa,
Rosa Alicia Jiménez,
Leo Joseph,
Jeremy J. Kirchman,
Travis J. LaDuc,
Adam D. Leaché,
Enrique P. Lessa,
Hernán López‐Fernández,
Nicholas A. Mason,
John E. McCormack,
Caleb D. McMahan,
Robert G. Moyle,
Ricardo A. Ojeda,
Link E. Olson,
Kin Onn Chan,
Lynne R. Parenti,
Gabriela Parra‐Olea,
Bruce D. Patterson,
Gregory B. Pauly,
Silvia Pavan,
A. Townsend Peterson,
Steven Poe,
Daniel L. Rabosky,
Christopher J. Raxworthy,
Sushma Reddy,
Alejandro Rico‐Guevara,
Awal Riyanto,
Luiz A. Rocha,
Santiago R. Ron,
Sean M. Rovito,
Kevin C. Rowe,
Jodi J. L. Rowley,
Sara Ruane,
David Salazar‐Valenzuela
Summary
This commentary argues that collecting physical specimens of animals and plants remains essential for scientific research, despite growing interest in non-lethal alternatives like photography and DNA sampling. Researchers highlight that preserved specimens provide irreplaceable data for taxonomy, evolutionary studies, and environmental monitoring, including tracking chemical contaminant levels over time. The piece emphasizes that responsible specimen collection is a cornerstone of natural history research.
Natural history museums are vital repositories of specimens, samples and data that inform about the natural world; this Formal Comment revisits a Perspective that advocated for the adoption of compassionate collection practices, querying whether it will ever be possible to completely do away with whole animal specimen collection.