GenBank and vouchers

[Tim Lowrey]

I view the lack knowledge about voucher specimens and the subsequent
failure to produce and deposit them to be a major problem in the biological
sciences. I personally can recite several "horror stories" leading to
faulty science that were caused by not properly vouchering specimens. I'm
sure most systematists know of or have encountered similar problems. There
recently have been a number of papers published in various biological
disciplines explaining the need for voucher specimens. These are in
addition to Jim Whitfield's and Peter Goldblatt et al. They are:

The importance of voucher specimens, with practical guidelines for
preserving specimens of the major invertebrate phyla for identification.
 Huber JT 1998
 journal of Natural History , v. 32(#3) pp. 367-385

Martin N.A. 1990  Voucher specimens : a way to protect the value of your
research. Biology and Fertility of Soils , v. 9(#2) pp. 93-94

Voucher specimens and quality control in avian molecular studies
Winker K, Braun MJ, Graves GR 1996
IBIS , v. 138(#2) pp. 345-346

Baker RJ 1994
Some thoughts on conservation, biodiversity, museums, molecular characters,
systematics, and basic research
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY , v. 75(#2) pp. 277-287

Apparently few scientists are reading them.

In response to Jim's request for opinions from museum curators I view
natural history collections/museums as the place for the deposit and
archival of biological voucher specimens. In addition to the vouchering
problems in the molecular biology fields there are also problems in ecology
as have been mentioned. Here at UNM we  have an LTER (Long Term Ecological
Research) site and in the past there have been lapses in vouchering of
research material.  The Museum of Southwestern Biology now acts as the
respository for voucher specimens from the LTER.  We also house vouchers
for molecular study vouchers if the organisms are invertebrates,
vertebrates, or plants (in other words organisms that suit our
collections). We have one of the largest natural history frozen tissue
collections (-80C) in the world and it is fully vouchered and catalogued.
We also constantly remind our colleagues in the Biology Department that
they and their students need to deposit vouchers upon completion of their
research projects.
 I believe that Genbank needs to institute a major education program about
what voucher specimens are and why they are needed. Then they better start
requiring them before acceptance of sequence data. Perhaps the NSF and
NIH(where appropriate) should require proper vouchering protocol in their
grant requirements for the biological sciences.
Tim Lowrey


>        I would be very interested in opinions about the appropriate
>site for molecular vouchers, and whether museum curators want to take
>this on.
>                                        Cheers,  Jim Whitfield
>