
NSF Org: |
DBI Division of Biological Infrastructure |
Recipient: |
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Initial Amendment Date: | July 23, 2019 |
Latest Amendment Date: | July 23, 2019 |
Award Number: | 1901889 |
Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
Program Manager: |
Reed Beaman
rsbeaman@nsf.gov (703)292-7163 DBI Division of Biological Infrastructure BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences |
Start Date: | September 15, 2019 |
End Date: | January 31, 2023 (Estimated) |
Total Intended Award Amount: | $149,828.00 |
Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $149,828.00 |
Funds Obligated to Date: |
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History of Investigator: |
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Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1500 N COLLEGE AVE CLAREMONT CA US 91711-3157 (909)625-8767 |
Sponsor Congressional District: |
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Primary Place of Performance: |
CA US 91711-3157 |
Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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Parent UEI: |
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NSF Program(s): | Digitization |
Primary Program Source: |
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Program Reference Code(s): |
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Program Element Code(s): |
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Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.074 |
ABSTRACT
The Southern Rocky Mountain Region (SoRo) supports a rich and fragile flora of diverse habitats and narrow ecological niches derived from unique geographic origins and evolutionary histories. The Herbarium at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (RSABG) has a unique, data-rich, and curated but currently inaccessible collection of 60,700 vascular plant specimens from the SoRo region, the digitization of which will tailor seamlessly with the ongoing Digitization Thematic Collections Network (TCN) "Using Herbarium Data to Document Plant Niches in the High Peaks and High Plains of the Southern Rockies - Past, Present, and Future." Timely digitization of RSABG's significant collections will be instrumental to enhancing the TCN and enable researchers to examine contemporary patterns of distribution, identify signatures of diversification, predict future environmental change, and help to mitigate negative impacts of climate change and habitat alteration. Digitization includes 30,960 specimens especially noteworthy for their relevance to science, collector, and taxonomy. Integral to the project are the activities that involve graduate students and undergraduate interns. Students will be trained in all aspects of collections management and digitization. Undergraduate interns will participate in four workshops that will serve to connect students to collections, biodiversity, and conservation of the SoRo region. Additionally, through coordinated efforts with California Polytechnic University, Pomona (CPP; a Hispanic Serving Institution), undergraduate students in CPP's Form & Function in Plants class will barcode 50% of the project specimens as partial fulfillment of their course objectives. An exhibit at RSABG will highlight the activities and student participation in the project.
The flora of the Southern Rocky Mountain region (SoRo) is composed of plants with unique evolutionary histories driven by orogenic factors and long- and short-term climatic shifts associated with continental glaciations. Such abiotic factors have greatly influenced elevational changes in community structure, large-scale geographic range shifts, patterns of rapid diversification, and ecological niche evolution. These histories and dynamic abiotic phenomena have yielded varied ecosystems and geological substrates that support numerous endemics and/or narrowly adapted species. The uniqueness of the SoRo region provides an excellent model area in which to examine patterns of diversification, niche evolution, and endemism. As part of the SoRo Thematic Collections Network (TCN), the Herbarium at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (RSABG) aims to digitize and mobilize data from 60,700 herbarium specimens relevant to the SoRo region and contribute to the larger goals of the project and strengthen the TCN. Specimens targeted for this project include 30,960 especially noteworthy specimens based on their relevance to science, collector, and taxonomy, and are emblematic of the unique strengths of the RSABG Herbarium. A large cadre of students at different levels in their academic career will participate in all aspects of the project, including databasing, imaging, and georeferencing. All data resulting from this project will be shared with iDigBio (idigbio.org) and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility through SoRo's Symbiota portal as well as RSABG's Herbarium web portal. Additional information about RSABG, its outreach activities, and the results of this project is available online (www.rsabg.org).
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Montane regions play important roles in the diversification of plant life and have been implicated in shaping distribution patterns and regional diversity in western North America. The Southern Rocky Mountain Region is one such mountain range that supports a rich and fragile flora of diverse habitats and narrow ecological niches derived from unique geographic origins and evolutionary histories. Species richness and high levels of endemism in montane regions, notably in the Southern Rocky Mountains, have often been ascribed to a complex topography, diverse soils, and heterogeneous habitats. This Partnership with an Existing Network (PEN) aimed to enhance the Southern Rocky Mountain Thematic Collections Network (SoRo TCN) in building digital resources to document plant diversity and ecological niches and to promote scientific investigation and public understanding of this ecologically important yet imperiled region through the digitization of unique specimens held at the Herbarium of California Botanic Garden. Over 60,000 specimens of historic, taxonomic, and geographic significance were targeted for digitization. Notable collections included: 1) the Cactus family (Cactaceae), with emphasis on the collections of Lyman D. Benson, a world-renowned cactus specialist; 2) the Marcus E Jones collection, a well-known botanist at the turn of the 20th century whose remarkable career spanned more than 50 years and covered half of the western United States; 3) the Milkvetch (Astragalus, family Fabaceae) collection, with emphasis on the collections of Rupert C. Barneby, a specialist of the group; and 4) the Beardtongue (Penstemon, family Plantaginaceae) collection, a genus of approximately 280 species, 65 species of which occur in the Southern Rocky Mountain region. The data and images produced by this project permit us to generate a broader picture of the relationship between species diversity and ecological niches, and how a changing climate may impact this relationship.
The Herbarium at California Botanic Garden barcoded 67,970 specimens (112% of total goal), imaged 50,480 specimens (99.6% of total goal), databased 50,217 specimens (83% of total goal), and georeferenced 33,828 specimens (56% of total goal). Integral to the project were the activities that involve student and early career participation, which formed about 90% of the workforce. The project provided training for a total of two graduate students and six undergraduate and early career interns. Four herbarium curatorial assistants, all recent college graduates with degrees in biology and related fields, also participated in digitization efforts. All participants learned various aspects of herbarium collections management and digitization techniques, as well as opportunities to participate in six presentation-style workshops geared towards connecting students and early career professionals to collections, digitization, and the plant sciences.
The California Botanic Garden Herbarium routinely provides tours to the public and notably to students from academic institutions in the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan area. California Botanic Garden permits classes to waive their tour fee in exchange for volunteering a small amount of their time to barcode specimens, the first step in the digitization process. This approach provides students with a hands-on experience in a natural history collection setting and an opportunity for active learning rather than a passive tour. The pandemic limited this opportunity for students; however, we were able to host one barcoding event before the pandemic through coordinated efforts with faculty at California Polytechnic University, Pomona. Undergraduate students enrolled in plant biology courses barcoded over 700 project specimens as partial fulfillment of their course objectives. By September 2022 we were able to resume our full tour schedule to classes with the option of barcoding specimens to waive their tour fee. The RSA Herbarium hosted two classes from Mt. San Antonio College, Botany & Ecology and Field Ecology for a tour of the collection and opportunity to barcode specimens in exchange of waiving the tour fee. Thirty-three students in total attended these tours and barcoded over 1,000 specimens. Over the life of the grant project we provided a total of 46 tours to 290 individuals; 16 tours represented classes from academic institutions in the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan area and 90% of those institutions represented Hispanic Serving Institutions.
To inform the broader community of the Southern Rocky Mountain project and significant results, dissemination included announcements on social media tracking our progress and the people involved; publication in the California Botanic Garden volunteer?s newsletter, Oak Notes; and a zoom presentation to the California Native Plant Society, Orange County Chapter. An online exhibit highlighted project goals, aspects of the collections digitized, as well as the participants involved in the 3.5 year duration of the project. The online exhibit has been shared via social media outlets as well as our own Collections Connection webpage (https://www.calbg.org/collections/collections-connection).
Last Modified: 04/19/2023
Modified by: Mare Nazaire
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