2018 SPNHC + TDWG CONFERENCE COLLECTIONS AND DATA IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD 25 AUGUST - 1 SEPTEMBER, DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALAND 2018 SPNHC + TDWG CONFERENCE COLLECTIONS AND DATA IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD Conference Kia ora tātou, Organising Committee The local organising committee is delighted to welcome you to Dunedin and the 1st joint Local Reps: meeting of the Society of the Preservation Robert Morris of Natural History collections (SPNHC) and Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG). Nyssa Mildwaters We are particularly excited to host the 1st Emma Burns annual SPNHC meeting in the Southern Hemisphere and hope that this meeting is an opportunity for members of both SPNHC Rep: organisations to share knowledge Barbara Thiers and expertise. Though the theme of the conference TDWG Reps: ‘Collections and Data in an Unstable World’ Shelley James is particularly relevant to New Zealand, living Gail Kampmeier as we do in the shaky isles, it has a much wider scope in these times of uncertainty. Niels Klazenga We look forward to bringing people and James Macklin ideas together from all around the world who David Shorthouse share a common interest in Natural Science collections and the information generated Stan Blum from them. We believe that in times of William Ulate instability, collaboration is key to ensuring the well-being of our collections and their role in promoting the importance of the natural world. We hope that this meeting will act a catalyst for greater collaboration within the southern hemisphere and of course more widely. We wish to extend sincere thanks to our conference partners whose financial sponsorship has been instrumental in the organisation of this conference as well as to our colleagues on both the TDWG and SPNHC organising committees whose input and assistance has been greatly appreciated. As you will see from the conference programme, this is a particularly busy meeting with lots of concurrent sessions. We hope however that there is something for everyone and that your time with us is both engaging and rewarding Ngā mihi mahana The Local Organising Committee Robert Morris – Chair, Nyssa Mildwaters and Emma Burns. 3 CONFERENCE PARTNERS DIAMOND PARTNERS PLATINUM PARTNERS GOLD PARTNERS SILVER PARTNERS BRONZE PARTNERS 4 CONTENTS 03 LOCAL COMMITTEE WELCOME 04 06 CONFERENCE WELCOME FROM PARTNERS SPNHC & TDWG 08 12 14 TRAVEL GENERAL GETTING GRANTS INFORMATION AROUND 15 22 24 25 AREA OVERVIEW SCHEDULE SCHEDULE MAPS SCHEDULE THURSDAY FRIDAY 23 AUGUST 24 AUGUST 26 27 29 33 SCHEDULE SCHEDULE SCHEDULE SCHEDULE SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 25 AUGUST 26 AUGUST 27 AUGUST 28 AUGUST 39 46 52 54 SCHEDULE SCHEDULE SCHEDULE POSTERS WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY 29 AUGUST 30 AUGUST 31 AUGUST WELCOME FROM SPNHC On behalf of SPNHC Council, it gives me The core of SPNHC’s accomplishments is the great pleasure to welcome all participants to result of the valuable work done by our 33nd Annual Meeting in Dunedin, New the society’s committees. In these Zealand, being hosted by the Otago Museum unstable times, it’s important for museum and the University of Otago. Since this is the professionals to stand together and advocate first SPNHC meeting in this region of the for what we feel is important. I encourage world and the first joint meeting with the everyone to become involved by becoming Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG), engaged with one of our committees, which it’s shaping up to be significant milestone all work towards our unwavering fundamental for our respective organizations and for goal of caring, conserving and promoting our collections worldwide. natural history collections. The conference theme is “Collections and Our annual meeting provides us the Data in an Unstable World.” This timely opportunity to network with professionals, theme reflects the current events as well learn about evolving technologies in as our efforts as museum professionals to collection/data management, highlight our find ways to combat the various waves of accomplishments, and socialize with our instability, ranging from the environment colleagues. This meeting is bound to be a to politics, which affects not only our success in all of these areas, and I’m excited collections, but also our day-to-day practices. to wish all of you a productive and The Local Organizing Committee has fun-filled meeting. done a tremendous job of providing an engaging program of events around this theme including oral and poster sessions, informative workshops and some exciting social events. We thank them for the huge amount of work they have done in making Linda S. Ford this meeting bound for success. President Society for the Preservation of Natural It is rewarding to announce that our SPNHC History Collections (SPNHC) Annual Meeting Travel Grant and Meeting Donation Drive programs have assisted in funding the attendance of 10 members. In addition, I thank the JRS Foundation for granting funds to support the attendance of three colleagues from African countries. All grantees will be mentored by established collections professionals and we thank our mentors for their valuable contributions. Meetings such as these would not be possible without the valued financial backing of our sponsoring partners. We thank them for their continued support and encourage you to do the same by visiting their booths at the vendor show. 6 WELCOME FROM TWDG Dear colleagues, With our brand new website, direct participation to large funding proposals It is with great enthusiasm that I welcome and shared activities with international you, on behalf of the Executive Committee, actors such as RDA and CODATA, we strive to the 2019 annual TDWG meeting. Our 34th to further improve TDWG’s position in annual event is jointly organised with the the global landscape of domain-specific Society for the Preservation of the Natural standards bodies, add value to the work of History Collections (SPNHC). our community, and improve the reach and impact of our products. Since the first meeting (1985, Geneva) TDWG has not only been developing standards In these exciting but also turbulent times, and recommendations for biodiversity TDWG will continue playing a central role in information, it has nurtured a thriving supporting both scientists and infrastructures community of experts and acted as a bottom- to generate, structure, share and re-use data up international focal point for biodiversity of the natural world. data mobilisation and integration. TDWG products, incl. flagship Standards Darwin I would like to close by thanking our local Core and ABCD, are used today for the hosts for the great work in putting this majority of biodiversity data transactions conference together, and wish you the best globally, underpinning platform and software for a really productive meeting in this exciting interoperability needs. part of the world. The unprecedented rate of production of scientifically fit-for-purpose information, along with the urgent need for frontier data-intensive research, highlight the importance of TDWG’s mission. Developing Dimitris Koureas the right strategic partnerships, providing Chair, Executive Committee appropriate community services, and further Biodiversity Information Standards - TDWG professionalising the organisation are instrumental priorities, which ensure TDWG continues its important mission and remains relevant. In this context, joint conferences are a key part of our strategy to enhance the interplay between TDWG and relevant communities of practice, such as the natural science collections. Our 2019 meeting (to be held in the Netherlands between 21 and 25 October 2019) will also be a joint meeting with global and regional infrastructures. In our approach to link out and improve our operational capacity, TDWG also introduced the all new Biodiversity Information Science & Standards (BISS) open access journal. BISS enters the complex ecosystem of academic journals to provide better visibility to community outputs (incl. Standards and recommendations) and act as a scholarly communication platform for biodiversity informaticians and data practitioners. The abstracts of this joint conference are also published in BISS. 7 TRAVEL GRANTS 2018 SPNHC ANNUAL MEETING TRAVEL GRANT RECIPIENTS Fitzgerald Travel Grant Recipients Christina Byrd Sternberg Museum of Natural History SPNHC ANNUAL MEETING TRAVEL GRANTS Thomas McElrath Illinois Natural History Survey The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) has a Travel Jess Miller-Camp Grant program designed to assist members Department of Earth Sciences, University of with the costs of attending the Society’s California - Riverside annual meetings. This year the SPNHC Annual Meeting Christine Allen Travel Grant Recipients Travel Grant program consisted of four different grants- The Fitzgerald Travel Vanessa Delnavaz Grant, the Christine Allen Travel Grant, the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Jean DeMouthe Travel Grant, and the New Natural History Museum Zealand Travel Grant. Ben Frable Due to the generosity of donors, including Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University Products, Gaylord Brothers, University of California – San Diego Hollinger Metal Edge (the Christine Allen Travel Grant), and several anonymous Tiana Rehman donations (one for the Jean DeMouthe Botanical Research Institute of Texas Travel Grant), the Committee was able to award ten grants. Jean DeMouthe Travel Grant Recipients Anthony Adu-Gyamfi University of Ghana Department of Plant and Environmental Biology Julie McIntosh Shapiro