Presenter(s): Kate Jones
Faculty Mentor(s): Frances White & Alexana Hickmott
Poster 83
Session: Social Sciences & Humanities
Natural history collections allow researchers to answer questions using the large amount of data available from specimens housed in those collections. Bones or osteological specimens allow for investigations of the shape, function and movement of a particular species. With good information or provenance about the lives each specimen, detailed investigations can be undertaken. Collections, such as the Grand Collection housed in the University of Oregon Primate Osteology Lab, offer researchers the ability to study remains of primates after death. The Grand Collection was moved in 2010 and has over 300 specimens allowing for investigations covering a wealth of topics, including the morphology of primate hands and cranial symmetry, all of which were conducted primarily by undergraduate researchers. From the provenance information about each specimens before death, variables of the specimen’s life may be attached to information present in the bones. The natural and biological history collection found in the Grand Collection gives students the opportunity to learn aspects of curatorial maintenance and to prepare, clean, sort, identify, catalogue and measure specimens in the Grand Collection. These opportunities provide students with hands-on experiences in a biological laboratory and skills relevant to collection management, bone identification, and zoological educational experiences, which is invaluable in future scientific and biological pursuits. Overall, osteology laboratories create a safe and research-geared environment for researchers investigating a variety of questions.