The use of digitized zoological objects for science - possibilities and limits using the example of the collection of freshwater mussels in the Natural History Museum Berlin

• Applicants: Dr. Thomas von Rintelen; Professorin Dr. Julia Sigwart
• Subject Area: Systematics and Morphology (Zoology)
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 556014078

This project aims to revise the Unionida (large mussels) collection of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (MfN) with significant application of a previously completed digital basic recording using semi-automated scanning stations ("DORA") run at the museum. By comparison with the completed revision of the collection of the Senckenberg Research Institute, possibilities and limitations of a site-independent processing based on digitally available information shall be examined and evaluated. The image material created for the project will be tested for its suitability for further analyses. For taxonomic purposes, geometric morphometric analyses and Fourier shape analyses of the image material are promising approaches to quantify the qualitative statements occurring in descriptions of taxa. Complementary to focus stacking with DORA, the application of photogrammetry methods will be comparatively tested in connection with existing optical equipment (digital camera, photo station, stereo magnifier), which may need to be upgraded. The main question is whether the use of common software allows a representation that further reduces the need to handle the objects themselves. In particular, the conservation of type material is an important consideration here. In addition, the potential benefit of the data generated by digital image capture will be demonstrated. The access to collection data simplified in this way will reinforce the importance of the scientific collections and collection holding institutions. A complete type catalog for the Unionida collection of the MfN is to be compiled and published as a traditional journal publication and also available online through established database projects through both museums and MUSSELp (https://mussel-project.uwsp.edu/).

• DFG Programme: Cataloguing and Digitisation (Scientific Library Services and Information Systems)
• Co-Investigator: Dr. Nora Lentge-Maaß