Small Collections Grant
This page is used to provide assessment scores for each grant application assigned to you. Please use the rubric below the grant details to enter your assessment scores and any notes you wish to include.
Please note that all scores entered must be whole numbers (no decimals), or you will be unable to save this form.
Implementation of improvements in the collection of fungi of the Mycological Herbarium of University of Parakou (UNIPAR)
Benin
Database, Conserve
Cost (USD):
2000
UNIPAR
Tropical Mycology and Plant-Soil Fungi Interactions, Faculty of Agronomy, University of Parakou
Objective:
In the mycological herbarium of Parakou University (UNIPAR), many samples are attacked by pests which reduce them to powder and unusable. Through this project, we will promote good conservation techniques and regular monitoring of UNIPAR by these objectives :
O1: Strengthening capacity building of bachelor students on the process of botanizing and conservation of fungal collections.
O2: Improve the state of conservation of the collections in UNIPAR by cleaning and eliminating rotten specimens.
O3: Avoid the destruction of specimens by the pests by improving the storage conditions.
Timetable:
Fungal collections kept in UNIPAR serve to basic biological materials allowing researchers to describe new species and study their relationships and evolution. To maintain this role of the herbarium, we plan to do different activities following this timetable:
June-September 2023: Four field visits for fungal data collection and works on drying and botanizing
and conservation of the specimens;
October 2023: Freeze all dried specimens of UNIPAR;
November 2023 - January 2024: Training of the herbarium manager on the characteristics of different pests and their controls;
February - May 2024: Regular monitoring of UNIPAR and writing up final report submission to "Iapt".
Scoring Rubric
Reviewer's name:
Collection Improvement (max. 120 points)
-
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.
-
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.
-
Curating specimens (e.g., updating families, species identification, identifying types) – up to 20 points.
-
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.
-
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)
-
Match between the proposed budget and methods for the aims described – up to 10 points.
-
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.
-
Sharing duplicate specimens with other herbaria – up to 10 points.
This proposal scores:
/40
Broader Impacts (max. 40 points)
-
Degree of regional importance of the collection or the taxonomic importance of the targeted collection – up to 10 points.
-
The project will yield durable benefits (specimens, digitized metadata, databases, websites) – up to 15 points.
-
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:
O1: We will initiate the students on fungal data collection in Okpara forest reserve. In laboratory all sampled material will be described using Color codes of Kornerup and Wanscher (1978). The dimensions of the pileus and the stipe will be measured and all sample will be dried at 60⁰ using electronic dryers (type Stöckli Dörrex) and placed directly in the plastic bags and sealed tightly.
O2: We will develop some good conservation state strategies for the sample in UNIPAR by checking the state of conservation of all collections, highlighting and correcting badly annotated specimens, ridding the herbarium of rotten specimens or reducing them to powder and correcting the names of the species whose nomenclature changed in literature using http://www.indexfungorum.org/. To facilitate the search of the specimens for research work, we will compile herbarium data, take into account date and collection number, habitat, coordinates, collector, host and image of each specimen.
O3: To avoid the destruction of the specimens by pests, we will freeze the dried specimens for 2 weeks at -25°C to kill all insects and their eggs, as well as the training of the manager of UNIPAR on the characteristics of different pests as Cigarette beetles, dermestids, psocids, silverfish and their allies and different pest control methods such as the use of fumigation; silica airgel insecticidal dust; spray incoming fresh material with pyrethrin aerosol.
Institution:
IH Code:
Country:
Target areas:
Applicant First Name/s:
email:
"Other" target:
Hyppolite Lougbégnon AIGNON
Applicant Last Name/s: