Week 2: What's in the box?

By Lindsay Walker

This year the micropaleontology interns will dedicate most of their time to cleaning up unfinished projects from the previous two summers, working through the remaining quota of images and CT scans, and, finally, wrapping up with quality control checks. At the AMNH, each microfossil collection typically corresponds to a paper (published or unpublished), usually written in the mid-20th century or earlier. Part of what makes our work interesting is that every collection is different and, consequently, presents its own curation challenges. Below are descriptions of some of the projects we’ve been working on during our first two week at the museum.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dorr? (Year?)

No publication

Collection of foraminifera similar to those gathered by the H.M.S. Challenger Expedition (1873-1876)

Not every microfossil collection can be clearly associated with a publication, and sometimes specimen slides contain misleading information. For example, this week Brittney was assigned a collection that appeared to have been collected by the famous H.M.S. Challenger expedition, which led one of the earliest attempts to document marine life across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. The resulting monograph was authored by Henry Brady (1884), a pioneer in the study of foraminifera, and is still widely used today for its high-quality illustrations. Needless to say, this collection was a potentially exciting find. Only after consulting our resident foram expert was it determined that the collection was actually made by an unknown collector--possibly "Dorr"--who may have revisited some of the Challenger's original collecting localities. Brittney has been matching specimens from this collection to their locality information, including forams from Fiji and Tonga (27 slides) and Sable Island (unquantified # of slides).

Route of the H.M.S. Challenger Expedition

Brady’s monograph contains detailed illustrations relative to most other publications the interns are working with (compare to Diamond 1928, shown below).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coryell & Cuskley (1934)

Some ostracodes from the “White Mound” section of the Haragan Shale, 

Murray County, Oklahoma

Description of lower Devonian ostracods published in American Museum Novitates 

Morgan’s first collection did not contain foraminifera, but was a large collection of ostracods collected by H. N. Coryell of Columbia University. The collection was partially completed by a former intern, but 40 slides remained to be curated, rehoused, and databased. Morgan was responsible for completing these tasks, as well as imaging one paratype to compliment the 16 previously imaged holotypes.

Paratype specimen Condacypris bindoa (AMNH-FI 103075)

Image by Morgan Black

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Diamond (1928)

Oligocene Foraminifera from Palma Real, Vera Cruz, Mexico

Unpublished thesis by Columbia University master’s student

The Diamond collection was Lindsay’s first project. It contains 45 slides of foraminifera, several of which may contain new species. This collection was completely uncurated when Lindsay received it, meaning she had to catalog, database, and rehouse every specimen present, as well as document any missing slides or lost specimens. All potential new species were imaged, and one of these specimens, Gaudryina n. sp., was added to the CT scanning queue. Because the results of this master’s thesis were unpublished, it is likely that these specimens have remained untouched in the museum’s cabinets for nearly a century.

Comparison of hand-illustrated specimens and a digitally imaged specimen from the Diamond thesis

Image at right by Lindsay Walker

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kling (1960)
Permian fusilinids from Guatemala

Analysis of fusilinid foraminifera published in Journal of Paleontology

As the invert paleo interns learned from Ellen Thomas this week, fusilinids comprise a group of foraminifera that disappeared along with >90% of other marine species during the end-Permian mass extinction event (~250 Ma). These forams differ from other foraminifera in that they are much larger (visible to the unaided eye) and their tests (shells) are structurally more complex. This week Sam imaged and databased 40 petrographic thin sections from this collection of fusilinid foraminifera. That this collection contains only thin sections is unusual; most of the other AMNH microfossil collections consist of specimens glued to cardboard slides. This meant Sam had to image every slide in this collection as opposed to type specimens only, as is the standard protocol for collections mounted on cardboard slides.

Thin sections showing the cross-sectional views of fusilinid foraminifera

Images by Sam Martin

Week 4

Locating Publications in the Research Library

Many of the projects we have worked on are associated with at least one published paper (or in some cases Columbia University masters thesis papers). It is our to job to locate additional publications that use our specimens and make note of them in the database.
Most times we can find  publications online using the electronic resources that are available to us, but sometimes the publications are only available in print at the research library. Luckily for us the library is just downstairs from our lab.

Large collaborative effort ahead

This week we wrapped up some of our smaller projects and are moving on to one larger task.

Courtney worked on the project on her own last summer and cataloged over 500 specimens. At the end of the summer it was assumed that the project was completed, but we have located 8(!) more original storage boxes that are directly related to a publication by A.S. Warthin (1930). Each of the original boxes can hold up to 100 vertical slides.

original condition of the Warthin collection

In addition to the sheer number of slides, each slide holds an unknown number of specimens. Many of the slides are missing their specimens because they were housed without cover-slips. We need to properly store the slides to prevent further deterioration of the specimens and to assign catalog numbers so that they can be added to the fossil invertebrates database. Some of the specimens are types and will need to be photographed. We have our work cut out for us next week but we are up to the challenge.

Ostracods of the Week

We proudly present to you the ostracods of the week.

Cavellina fittsi paratypes from a 1929 Columbia Masters' Thesis

Rebecca takes full credit for the superior aesthetics of this image, which required extensive rearranging in Photoshop. You can see a wide variety in the size of specimens here. Ostracods are arthropods (like lobsters and ants), so they grow in a fixed number of growth stages, or instars. This can make it difficult to classify ostracods, because different instars of the same species can be mistaken for separate species. 

Collections tour

 This week we had a tour of the ornithology department's collection.

 Nicollette even got to hold a bald eagle.

We have reached the halfway point of this project. It seems as though we started just a few days ago and we still have much to learn about updating collections.

Until next time,
The IP-microfossils team.

Interlude: Why are microfossils important? What are these things?

Most people think of huge dinosaurs and mammoths when they think of paleontology, not tiny one-celled organisms with a calcite "test" (like a shell), or miniature crustaceans that can only be seen under a microscope. While these microscopic fossils may seem less exciting than a dinosaur or an ancient fish, they actually are in many ways more important to the paleontologist's quest to chronicle the history of life on earth. These tiny animals incorporate carbon in their tests and inadvertently preserve information about a host of environmental conditions while they are alive. When interpreted by paleogeochemists, the tests of foraminifers can be used to extract information about temperature, salinity, and facies changes. Their tests, while beautiful, are also quite useful in informing us of change on geological time scales. Similarly, the shells of ostracods are used in paleoclimate studies.

In addition to being useful for paleoclimate reconstruction, microfossils have been useful in industrial settings as indicator fossils. Because many species are short lived and environment specific, paleontologists use them to determine the geological age and environment in which the foram was deposited. Oil companies often employ paleontologists to determine when an oil bearing rock layer has been reached. Because of this industrial use for forams, many of the collections we are working with were collected as part of oil drilling operations. More about forams from UCMP

Extant analogs

Some of the organisms we encounter in the invertebrate paleontology lab have extant analogs that are studied by ecologists. Knowledge of habitats and behavior of certain genera in modern settings can help us to interpret the fossil record. Here are some videos that show some of the animals that are in the invertebrate fossil collections .

Live Ostracods

Video credit: nymdevente (youtube user)

Live Foram feeding

Video credit: foraminiferal (youtube user)

What are we contributing?

This conservation and rehousing project will make the microfossil collections of the American Museum of Natural History more easily accessible to researchers and the general public. Of over 7,000 specimen lots in the AMNH microfossil collections, most specimens are types. By photographing type specimens, we are making it possible for researchers to see images of specimens before they decide to come to the museum in person.

Before this project started, many specimens were difficult to locate in their storage spaces at the museum. We are ensuring that specimens are correctly associated with the publications that describe them, and that their storage location and other important data are entered in an electronic database.

Another important part of this project is rehousing the specimens. Many older slides were housed vertically, allowing for fossils to fall out of the slides when the adhesive holding them in place decayed. We are rehousing slides in metal holders with glass cover slips. The slides are then stored horizontally in boxes according to the publication they are associated with.

Work desk. At left is an original wooden slide box.

Specimens in their new home.

Hopefully, our efforts will contribute to the creation of an accessible collection for the use of researchers and microfossil enthusiasts around the world.

We hope this interlude helped you understand the fossils we work with and the importance of this project. Look forward to our next weekly update: The Adventures of Week 4.

A Warm Welcome to the Wonderful World of Microfossils! Week 1

Hello, blogosphere!


This year's crew of NSF-funded microfossil collections interns would like to take a minute to introduce ourselves before diving into the nitty-gritty of our first week on the job. We will regularly update this blog throughout the summer, as we work our way through revitalizing AMNH's long-neglected microfossil collections.


Now, meet the team:

Courtney is a graduate student at Western Illinois University pursuing a degree in museum studies. This is her second summer working on the Invertebrate Paleontology rehousing project and is excited to be back. She will be returning to the Midwest after this summer to start an internship at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, NE. After graduating she is hoping to work in natural history collections and is looking forward to what the future holds.

Nicollette is a Bronx native who is no stranger to invertebrate life forms.  While she studied geology at Oberlin College, she had the fortune of studying bivalves, gastropods, and even fire ants. Becuase she has never studied invertbrates that can't be seen with the naked eye, Nicollette looks forward to working in the microfossil lab this summer. Nicollette is especially interested in applying the fossil record to the study of paleoclimate and change over time. She loves the intersection of science and society and hopes to be a part of the discussion of climate change in the future. This fall, she will begin her Masters in geoscience at the University of Arizona (Bear down!).

Katherine (Kat) is a rising senior at Mount Holyoke College, currently studying Geology and English, as well as performing with the Mount Holyoke Symphony orchestra as principal cellist. She is from Laguna Niguel, California - a small town in Orange County - and is excited to get the feel of living in a real city. From the age of 5, she has wanted to be a paleontologist, and her passion for fossils hasn't wavered since. She hopes that the AMNH microfossil internship will bring her one step closer to her goal of being part of a vertebrate fossil prep team.

Shaun recently graduated with a B.S. in Geology from University of Houston and has a strong passion for geology and computers. He has also been working on georeferencing collection data to modernize the museum's databases. He is originally from Houston, TX.

Farallon is very happy to be a part of the microfossil intern team. Next fall she will be going into her third year in the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara, where she also does research on apicomplexan octopus parasites in the Kuris Lab. She is from New York City, where she lives with her family and four cats.

Rebecca just graduated from Oberlin College, where she studied geology (officially) and a smattering of other subjects, including Javanese music. Originally from Downingtown, PA, Rebecca is excited to explore the "real world". This summer of microfossil curation is actually her second position at AMNH. She's glad to be back. Future plans may include a stint in the National Parks, a fellowship in Indonesia, or anything else that comes her way.

The interns are supervised by the wonderful Bushra Hussaini, whose knowledge of the collections makes this enormous project much more manageable. We also are grateful to Lindsay Jurgielewicz for her help in coordinating the internship, Linda Scalbom for direction in the collections management process, and Ellen Thomas for her microfossil expertise.

After going through the inevitable paperwork that comes with a new job, Bushra gave us a tour of the invertebrate paleontology collections, which include the subset of ostracods and forams that we are working with. We were then each given our own projects. These were overwhelming at first, but we soon settled into a rhythm of writing out new labels, cleaning off dusty old slides, databasing, photographing, and cataloging specimens.

The picture below shows the sorry state some of these slides were in after almost a century of storage. The cardboard of the slide decays and falls into the well with the specimen, and must be cleaned out very carefully with a small paintbrush. The ostracod pictured below is about half a millimeter in length.

Also in our first week, we went on tours of the vertebrate paleontology and anthropology collections. We were able to see some of what goes on behind the scenes at the museum. Preserving collections as extensive as those of AMNH is no small feat; we were able to see the care and thought that goes into collections management (not to mention the shelves full of triceratops skulls, a dinosaur brooding a nest of eggs, an incredibly well-preserved 2,000-year-old Andean carpet, and countless shelves full of incredible anthropological artifacts).

.