For Some Scientists, The Call To Get Rid Of Natural History Collections Can Be Personal

Published November 13, 2017 at 1:52 PM EST

Catfish that are part of the Tulane fish collection are stored in jars full of alcohol. Tulane is about to receive a large share of the University of Louisiana Monroe fish collection because ULM no longer wants to support it. (Irina Zhorov/The Pulse)

Natural history collections serve as a time capsule of sorts, preserving life on Earth. And these collections — birds, bones, stones — always carry the fingerprints of those who collected the specimens. Their passions, interests and hard work become part of what’s stored in flash display cases or dusty drawers.

So when a collection’s future is threatened, it gets personal.

Irina Zhorov (@zhorovir) of WHYY’s The Pulse looks at one story of what happens when collections bow to other priorities.

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