Small Collections Grant
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Macro Photography as a Useful Tool to Monitor Diversity from Phycological Herbaria
Spain
Database, Digitally image, Other
Cost (USD):
2000
FCO
University of Oviedo
Objective:
Herbarium specimens are certainly fundamental for taxonomic studies. However, it should be noted that many researchers in trait-based disciplines remain unaware of this powerful use of herbaria. Digitization makes specimens more findable and high-resolution images further facilitate access to physical specimens and capture not only traits about the organism itself but also their interactions with other species. This project will study in detail the morphological and reproductive characteristics of marine macroalgae in the north of the Iberian Peninsula using the Macro Photography technique.
Timetable:
Materials are collected in boxes and deposited in compact mobile metal cabinets inside a cold chamber at 4-5ºC. Currently, the macroalgae collection has 1100 sheets. Below, activity and timetable for the coming years 24-25:
1. Increase macroalgae collection by 40-50% with field sampling (2 yrs–24/25)
2. Digitization and inclusion in the virtual herbarium FCO (1.5 yrs–24/25)
3. Macro Photography technique, tuning and development (2 yrs–24/25). To obtain magnifications (1x-2x), different techniques, equipment and types of macro lenses will be used:
• Use extension tubes or bellows on a wide or normal lens
• Reverse a wide or normal lens
• Macro lenses/microscopy techniques
• Lighting equipment: ring light, flash head, diffusers
• Other useful accessories: tripod, macro rails, software for stacking process
4. Descriptive information for each taxon (1 yr–24)
5. Updating and reviewing information (1 yr–25)
6. Web maintenance and data management plan (1 yr–25)
Scoring Rubric
Reviewer's name:
Collection Improvement (max. 120 points)
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Facilitating access to the physical collections by digitization (e.g., data entry, setting up database structure with an outline of the platform to be used, purchasing equipment, and imaging specimens) – up to 30 points.
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Enhancing physical collections by improving the conservation status of specimens in the herbarium (e.g., better folders, protecting covers, mounting paper, labeling, etc.) – up to 30 points.
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Curating specimens (e.g., updating families, species identification, identifying types) – up to 20 points.
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Increasing our understanding of the flora or funga by making new herbarium specimens available, such as processing of backlog or collecting and mounting of new specimens from understudied sites – up to 20 points.
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Securing collections by distribution of duplicates (or orphan collections) to other regional or international herbaria or shipping endangered collections to another herbarium – up to 20 points.
This proposal scores:
/120
Methods & Funding (max. 40 points)
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Match between the proposed budget and methods for the aims described – up to 10 points.
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Perceived need, the extent to which the project will benefit from IAPT funding: e.g., due to active floristic work or contribution to poorly collected sites, due to threatened conditions of collections, and for the degree of involvement of others (outreach and education). We give more points for herbaria in low- and middle-income countries – up to 20 points.
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Sharing duplicate specimens with other herbaria – up to 10 points.
This proposal scores:
/40
Broader Impacts (max. 40 points)
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Degree of regional importance of the collection or the taxonomic importance of the targeted collection – up to 10 points.
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The project will yield durable benefits (specimens, digitized metadata, databases, websites) – up to 15 points.
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The project involves outreach/mentoring and broad dissemination – up to 15 points.
This proposal scores:
/40
Year of last successful SCG application:
Has applicant applied for SCG before?:
Plan:
More than 3,000 active herbaria located across the world collectively serve as enormous, shared, and increasingly connected scientific resources that document botanical diversity through time and across space (Thiers 2021). Understandably, collections-based research still emphasizes descriptive biodiversity: describing new species, resolving taxonomic relationships, and compiling species checklists. It has also been shown that small herbaria, despite containing fewer specimens than herbaria with a national or global scope, contribute unique information for research, so we must prioritize digitization and data sharing from any sized herbaria. Therefore, the present project focuses on the study of marine algae from the north of the Iberian Peninsula, a group underrepresented in Spanish herbaria when compared to vascular plants.
The main goals of the projects are:
• Increase the digitization of small and rarely visited herbaria, such as FCO Herbarium (https://herbario.uniovi.es/), especially from underrepresented groups such as marine macroalgae.
• Generate a virtual learning tool for researchers, students of Botany, and related sciences.
• Improve the resources of a herbarium and establish a guidebook for developing macro photography in other herbaria. In macro photography, it is important to know how large or small your subject appears on your camera sensor. Comparing this number versus your subject’s size in the real world gives you a value, known as magnification.
Institution:
IH Code:
Country:
Target areas:
Applicant First Name/s:
email:
Other: Macro Photography
"Other" target:
Eduardo Cires Rodríguez
Applicant Last Name/s: