Vouchering

[Peter Rauch]

Lots of Taxacom comments and examples pro/con saving voucher specimens
used in biological study...

Hasn't it also been the history of many fields of biology, including
environmental/ecological studies, to poorly manage (e.g., never record,
or toss out) the metadata of a study (to say nothing of the immediate
measurement/observational data themselves)?

And, how far does one go in attempting to record/retain/archive metadata?

A recent effort to address this problem is reported by the Ecological
Soc. of Amer. (ad hoc committee on the Future of Long-term Ecological
Data).  URL: http://www.sdsc.edu/1/SDSC/Research/Comp_Bio/ESA/FLED/

Short-term study metadata undoubtedly suffer the same fates.

How should society pay for the curation/storage of voucher specimens?
In these times of difficult financing of the costs of doing (scientific)
business, shall the researcher creating the voucher be expected to
pay the bill (for future cost of curation)? Research costs so much
already-- who would/should seek funding to voucher specimens at the
true cost of operating that vouchering business?

Peter