Animal Sound Archives and Zoological Museums

Transcription

1 Animal Sound Archives and Zoological Museums Do they share a common purpose? Can one take on the other s s tasks? Gustav Peters, ZFMK, Bonn, Germany

2 Animal Sound Archives Purpose and Tasks - Collection/acquisition of recordings of animal sounds (= specimens) to document the diversity of animal sounds - Critical expert evaluation and documentation of specimens for their proper incorporation into an organized collection - Curation of collection

3 Zoological Museums Purpose and Tasks - Collection/acquisition of zoological specimens (specimens of diverse nature, e.g. whole animals, their skins, skeletons, tissue samples, etc. including recordings of animal sounds in certain taxa if there is a direct relation to a specimen/specimens of another quality in the collection [for which there is a growing tendency]) to document biodiversity in a historical perspective - Critical expert evaluation and documentation of specimens for their proper incorporation into an organized collection - Curation of collection

4 so there is one purpose Animal Sound Archives and Zoological Museums have in common - the building, keeping and adequate curation of an animal sound collection in those taxa in which the species sounds are/can be important characters for taxonomy and systematics,, e.g. in some vertebrate groups like frogs, birds,, and mammals,, and insect groups like crickets, katydids, grasshoppers,, and cicadas

5 Importance of Bioacoustic Data In view of the growing proportion of species descriptions and taxonomic revisions including/( /(partly) based on vocalization characters this aspect is becoming more and more important in the fields of taxonomy and systematics, the domain of Zoological Museums. At the same time access to highly sophisticated PC-based sound analysis and sound-editing software is increasingly easy and cheap. Yet, that development holds dangers if these tools are applied without the necessary competence in bioacoustics.. A check of an arbitrary selection of relevant publications, especially in herpetology, can easily validate this point.

6 Curation of Animal Sound Archives Curation of Zoological Museum Collections Curation in both types of institutions has technical aspects (1) in respect of proper storage, treatment, and documentation of specimens to ensure - continued existence in adequate condition - continued accessibility and usefulness and scientific aspects (2) founded on the scientific expertise and active relevant research of curators to ensure - continued scientific care, development and updating of the collection as essential prerequisites for its continued usefulness

7 The concept of continued usefulness The continuous growth of taxonomical knowledge (and/or change of taxonomical views) require the constant scientific curation of a Zoological Collection to ensure its continued usefulness. The continued usefulness of an Animal Sound Archive to a certain extent equally depends on the continual incorporation of the current state of taxonomical knowledge.

8 The concept of continued usefulness The continued usefulness of a collection of zoological specimens (of any kind) and that of all information related to each single specimen essentially depend on the correct identification of each specimen in the sense that it bears the correct name, i.e. that - it is not a case of misidentification - it is the relevant name (based on current knowledge) Otherwise every instance of a sensible use of a specimen and any information related to it require the careful examination of the specimen by a zoological expert of the animal group to correctly identifiy it and attach the relevant name to it. For several reasons Animal Sound Archives usually cannot do justice to this requirement.

9 For the one purpose Animal Sound Archives and Zoological Museums have in common - can one take on the other s s tasks? a. can Zoological Museums do the job? b. can Animal Sound Archives do the job?

10 Can Zoological Museums do the job? The one purpose both types of institutions have in common is one of the more peripheral ones in Zoological Museums and relevant material is present in a few of them only. Most Zoological Museums lack facilities and staff with the essential expertise as well as equipment to record, adequately store and curate animal sound recordings in a long-term perspective... therefore very few Zoological Museums could do the job properly!

11 So, can Animal Sound Archives do the job? Because the one purpose both types of institutions have in common is in the domain of Animal Sound Archives it would seem so, but there is one aspect which is seen as a decisive counterargument.

12 The nature of zoological specimens Each zoological specimen is unique in being the carrier and voucher of all its (potential) inherent information contents. A sound recording is not unique in the same way because (ideally) it can be copied and several copies be saved without losing its (potential) inherent information contents. However, if a sound recording is related to a material zoological specimen (e.g. a whole specimen, a blood or tissue sample, etc.) it is unique in this specific relation which is an integral part of the information contents of both the sound recording and the zoological specimen.

13 It is essential that - this information contents of both is documented properly and lastingly and that - both types of specimens together plus this information are curated accordingly. This is mandatory in all studies based on related zoological specimens and sound recordings, especially descriptions of new taxa, taxonomical revisions, biodiversity surveys, etc. As Animal Sound Archives usually don t have the relevant literature and lack the appropriate facilities to store zoological specimens as well as the staff with the necessary zoological (taxonomic) expertise they cannot do this job!

14 To conclude It is obvious in my view that neither can do the other s job fully and with the essential expertise and lasting temporal perspective. Is there a reasonable and practicable procedure to (jointly( jointly) serve the one common purpose nevertheless? I would like to propose a procedure that has a mandatory requirement: If a sound recording and a zoological specimen are related this specific relation and the shared information contents of both types of specimens must be documented exactly and lastingly with both specimens.

15 Proposed Procedure 1. Wherever there is an animal sound recording with a relation to (a) zoological specimen(s) both types of material ought to be given to a Zoological Museum first (ideally at the same time). 2. Zoological Museum takes care of adequate documentation (including taxonomical reference) and scientific evaluation of the material. 3. Transfer of the original sound recordings to an Animal Sound Archive (in both depositories with complete documentation for both types of specimens, their relation and information where related material is).

16 Proposed Procedure, continued 1 4. Return transfer of a high-quality digital copy of the recording to the Zoological Museum where the related zoological specimen is deposited and proper storage and curation of the copy there. 5. Continued specific curation of specimens in both types of institutions with a. special obligation for Zoological Museum to inform Sound Archive about any new information pertaining to the zoological specimen (and thus also to the related sound recording!), like change of scientific name or change of taxonomic status. b. special obligation of Animal Sound Archive to forward any relevant new information on the sound recording to Zoological Museum where the related zoological specimen is deposited, e.g. additional technical details of recording.

17 Proposed Procedure, continued 2 6. Zoological Museums and Animal Sound Archives, at any time of this procedure and the continued curation phase, try to obtain consultation from the other institution in its domain of expertise if this is necessary/advisable, especially if a scientific publication is going to include relevant material. (Be conservative in this assessment!) This is an insistent appeal for extensive and extended cooperation between both types of institutions!

18 Conclusion In view of the continuously increasing importance of sound characters in the taxonomy and systematics of certain animal groups, the major contributions studies of their sounds can make to an understanding of their evolutionary history and adaptation,, and the increasing importance of bioacoustic tools in biodiversity research, a significantly improved close cooperation between both types of institutions and the presence of a basic infrastructure for bioacoustics in major Zoological Museums is needed.

19 Supplementary Perspective There is an enormous wealth of animal sound recordings around in the possession of zoologists (and people with another background) doing/having done any kind of research with a bioacoustic aspect or simply recordings of animal sounds. Therefore all of us ought to address an appeal to these persons and ask them to make sure that all their animal sound recordings (and zoological material related to it) together with their documentation end up in an institution where the material will be stored appropriately with a long-term perspective and where there is staff with the mandatory scientific competence to curate the material properly!