OCEANIC AFTERLIFE
Underwater libraries continue to yield scientific discoveries .
BY CHASE MARTIN , MAS ’ 15
FAR FROM the bright San Diego sun , in a windowless room at Scripps Institution of Oceanography , more than two million fish are stacked , suspended in their own little sea of alcohol , a mausoleum of 140,000 jars representing more than 6,000 different marine fish species from all over the world . They are curiosities of the deep , meticulously preserved , labeled and catalogued . And yet , this is not their end . It ’ s only the beginning .
The Marine Vertebrate Collection is one of four that comprise the Oceanographic Collections at Scripps Institution of Oceanography , along with the Benthic and Pelagic Invertebrate Collections — named for the oceanic zones where the specimens were found — as well as the Geological Collections , housing a vast amount of sediment cores , coral specimens and rocks from all kinds of tectonic features .
“ The word ‘ collections ’ sounds old , dusty , static , something shoved away ,” says Mark Ohman , curator of the Pelagic Invertebrate Collection . “ It doesn ’ t show the dynamic side of the collections : the teaching , research , education and marine resource management to which we contribute .”
Scripps ’ Oceanographic Collection is the largest of such to be based at a university , and its presence on campus is a crucial part of its educational mission . Students learn about biodiversity and collection science and use the specimens and samples in their research . “ There ’ s an exciting story to be told ,” says Ohman . “ Not just from times spent collecting the specimens , but what they continue to tell us .”
For instance , specimens can allow researchers to understand how factors of marine population , growth and behavior have changed over time and how they might continue to change in a warming world . By referencing where specimens were collected in the past to where the same species are seen now , scientists can lay the framework for conservation and management amid a changing environment .
The research applications are not limited to our campus , either . These unique collections are truly a library , with specimens often loaned out to other institutions and the overall scientific community .
So while the vast majority might be hidden in refrigerated rooms , behind heavy doors in a basement or on shelves out of sight , the specimens are a vital part of scientific discovery , whether they make their way to classroom desks , laboratory benches or newspaper headlines , or spark wonder in wide-eyed children at Birch Aquarium . “ Collections like these are inspiring ,” says Phil Hastings , curator of the Marine Vertebrate Collection . “ They generate new ideas about species , about ecology . They make you think about evolution and how things have come to be how they are .”
Learn more about the Collections at : scripps . ucsd . edu / collections
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