The Macroalgal
Herbarium Consortium
Accessing 150 Years of Specimen Data
to Understand Changes in the
Marine/Aquatic Environment
Janet Sullivan and Chris Neefus
University of New Hampshire
Consortium of Northeastern Herbaria meeting
Montréal, June 2014
What are Macroalgae?
four divisions in two kingdoms
Eukaryota Tree of Life (Bauldauf 2003)
What are Macroalgae?
Rhodophyta (Red Algae) - 6,300 species in 10 orders
Chlorophyta (Green Algae) - 4,300 species in 15 orders
Charophyta - 3,500 species in 8 orders
Phaeophyta (Brown Algae) - 2,000 species in 18 orders
How are they important?
• Foundation of aquatic ecosystems – provide food, shelter and
substrate for other organisms
• Maintain nutrient balance in aquatic ecosystem and produce oxygen
• $7.4 billion industry as human food, phycocolloids, pharmaceuticals
• Sensitive indicator of environmental changes in aquatic ecosystems
Photographs by Robert Lücking
What is the Macroalgal Herbarium Consortium?
• 49 institutions in 26 states and
U.S. possessions
• 1.2 million specimens in
collections ranging from
100 to 200,000
• Project goal is to digitize (image,
database, georeference)
all of them
Macroalgal Consortium Herbaria
Red = 6 PDCs
Yellow = 12 DCs
Blue = 31 CIs
Step 1 – Any
predigitization
curation
accomplished
Step 2 –
Specimen is
barcoded and
skeletal label
data captured
in an Excel file
(or .csv)
Step 3 - High
resolution
image
captured
Step 4 - Image
and label data
uploaded to
MHC Portal
Step 5 –
Additional
label data
transcribed
from within
the portal
Step 6 –
Specimens
georeferenced
from within
the portal
Workflow – Step 1
• Any pre-digitization curation
• Barcode placement
Workflow – Step 2
Skeletal label data captured in Excel or .csv file
Workflow – Step 3
High-Resolution Image Captured
• Lightbox/copystand
• 21 to 36 megapixel camera
• Camera Control Software
• Adobe Lightroom (white balance, tone
curve adjustment, .jpg & .dng export)
http://macroalgae.unh.edu
Workflow – Step 4
Image and label data uploaded to portal (http://macroalgae.org)
Family classifications
and authors from
AlgaeBase via WoRMS
Workflow – Step 5
Additional label data transcribed from within the portal
Workflow – Step 6
Specimens are georeferenced from within the portal
Information Sharing
1.
2.
Data portal – http://macroalgae.org
Consortium Website – http://macroalgae.unh.edu
Broader Impacts of the Project
1.
2.
3.
Undergraduate and Graduate Student Participation
• Training in Imaging, Data Transcription, Georeferencing
• Research Opportunities
Internships at NY Botanical Garden and Field Museum
Exhibits and Programs
• Field Museum (650,000 visitors)
• Bishop Museum (450,000 visitors)
Broader Impacts of the Project
4. Research Applications
• Systematics
• Floristic Diversity and Biogeography
• Historical Comparisons
 Assessing human impact on coastal environments
 Assessing the impact of climate change on species distribution
 Tracking introduced and invasive species
Acknowledgments
and Ed Gilbert, lead developer of Symbiota
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number (NSF Grant Number:1304924)
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.