investigations by insuring that consideration be given to the 

 collection of environmental data. During the past 10 years, over 40 

 million specimens have been processed by the Smithsonian's two 

 centers, which provide international leadership in this field. 



The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) of the 

 Smithsonian Institution maintains the world's largest collection of 

 biological specimens and geological samples. These collections 

 constitute an important resource for studies on current and 

 historical environmental conditions and are actively being studied 

 by scientists from the Museum and elsewhere. In most cases, 

 collections such as these are the only biological and geological record 

 of past environmental conditions for a large part of the marine 

 environment. 



In addition to serving as baseline information on the distribution 

 and abundance of biological populations and geological strata, 

 museum specimens are used to determine the historical condition of 

 certain environmental parameters. For example, general environ- 

 mental conditions such as temperature and salinity frequently affect 

 the growth patterns of certain organisms. Selected marine 

 specimens can therefore be examined to determine existing 

 conditions at the time and place of collection. In addition, marine 

 organisms often accumulate in their internal structures dissolved 

 inorganic and organic chemicals from the surrounding waters. 

 Under a grant from the IDOE, an exploratory program has been 

 initiated by the NMNH for analyses of toxic heavy metals (Hg, Cd, 

 As, Zr, Cu, and Pb) in museum-preserved specimens. The use of 

 museum collections for baseline studies of trace elements in the 

 marine environment increases their inherent value as indicators of 

 past environmental conditions. 



Other relevant information is obtained from museum collections 

 in the determination of the trophic composition of "communities" of 

 organisms. Biotic indices such as "species diversity" give useful 

 information regarding short-term environmental stresses and long- 

 term ecosystem stability. In this way, biological samples that are 

 collected at a certain specified time and place serve as "time- 

 capsules" of ecological information. This information attains 

 maximum usefulness when accompanied by other environmental 

 measurements taken concurrently with the biological samples. 



The use of museum collections for marine environmental baseline 

 purposes depends in large part on the rapid retrieval of information 

 relative to taxonomic categories, time and place of collection, and 

 associated chemical and physical environmental data. Through 

 continuing and expanding use of automatic data processing (ADP), 

 the routine chores associated with cataloging collections are 

 becoming less of a burden, and ADP is being used to a greater degree 

 as a research tool in the museum. At present, ADP techniques are 

 being applied to crustaceans, echinoderms, and several groups of 



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