THE COLLECTION

The collection is a heavily used resource. In addition to staff and student research, the Division of Herpetology handles approximately 230–250 loan transactions each year (involving about 15,000 specimens in 2009). Specimens in the collection are generally available for loan upon approval by the Curator-in-Charge, Dr. Rafe Brown . Specimens may be loaned to qualified, recognized professionals or their students, at the discretion of the Curator-in-Charge, for a period of 6 months. Graduate and undergraduate students requesting specimens on loan must submit a letter of request co-signed by their advisor. The borrower assumes full and complete responsibility for the material on loan, and agrees to all conditions specimens for the handling and storage of borrowed specimens. The criteria considered in granting a loan request include, but are not limited to, the number of specimens in the request, which specimens are requested, the condition of the specimens, what the borrower plans to do with the specimens, the project design, the previous loan record of the borrower, the location of the borrower, and priority use of the material by another researcher. In some cases, it may be preferable for a researcher to visit the Division of Herpetology instead of borrowing specimens.

SPECIMEN DATA POLICY

The catalog data for the specimens in the collection is available in an electronic database. Although some collection data are not available online, you can access an inventory of the holdings via HerpNet or Specify.

Electronic or hardcopy reports of collection data are available to qualified professional and student researchers. Reports can be generated based on taxonomic or geographic categories. Requests for data on specimens in the collection can be made to the Curator-in-Charge, Dr. Rafe Brown .

COLLECTION FACILITES

Limited visitor space is available for qualified professional and student researchers to work in the Division of Herpetology. Because we host an average of 33 visitors (for 157 visitor days) a year in the division, it is necessary to make arrangements in advance with Curator-in-Charge, Dr. Rafe Brown . The Division of Herpetology Laboratory is designed to provide a clean, safe working environment for specimen processing and research. It is equipped with bench-top fume collectors, a fume hood, and space for visitors to work. All visitors to the lab must follow the laboratory safety rules and regulations.

The collection is housed in a state-of-the-art fluid collection facility, which opened in 1996. The facility has 2,400 sq ft of collection storage space on four floors. The collection storage environment is maintained at 65°F year-round. Specimens are protected by an overhead sprinkler system, an HVAC system with 100% air make-up, and UV-shielded lighting. Tours of the collection storage facility may be arranged by contacting Curator-in-Charge, Dr. Rafe Brown. Contact: Division of Herpetology, Biodiversity Institute, 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard, University of Kansas; Lawrence, Kansas USA 66045-7561; Rafe Brown or Linda Trueb Fax: 785-864-5335.

DESTRUCTIVE SAMPLING POLICY

Techniques for extracting usable DNA from formalin-preserved specimens have advanced to the point that samples from destructive sampling of specimens are increasingly included in systematic studies. KU Herpetology operates under the general philosophy such that destructive sampling should occur only when non-destructive options have been exhausted or do not exist. Requests for such grants from the KU collection will be subject to the criteria listed for standard tissue requests, but will also take into account the following factors. Because destructive sampling requires irreparable damage to the specimen, only small requests will be considered. Destructive sampling should not be considered an alternative to collecting fresh material. Specimens to be destructively sampled should be unobtainable by conventional methods, and usually, sampling will done by Division personnel.

TISSUE "LOAN" (= GIFT) POLICY

Basic principles:

  1. KU Herpetology will grant tissue loans/gifts only for well-founded and well-justified scientific applications.
  2. KU Herpetology expects users of our genetic resources to be contributors to collections of genetic resources. KU preferentially provides access to researchers who contribute to collections worldwide.
  3. Because genetic samples are used in a different manner than traditional museum specimens, a different set of criteria applies to loan requests. In general, we support high-quality research proposals from investigators seeking samples to supplement their own collecting efforts. Samples are loaned to specific investigators only for specific projects. Samples, including their derivatives, cannot be transferred to other researchers without permission from KU Herpetology. If project plans change significantly, approval for modified uses of KU tissues must be obtained from our staff.

Standard tissue "loans":

  1. Tissues are provided as a gift from the KU Herpetology Tissue Collection. They are subsamples and, as such, no tissue remnants or derivatives are to be returned. In rare cases (i.e., extremely rare taxa or small tissue remnants), KU reserves the rights to request the return of extracted genomic DNA after researchers have completed their project.
  2. Tissues are sent in 95% ethanol or RNALater unless otherwise noted on the invoice or unless otherwise requested by the researcher.
  3. One copy of the loan invoice is included with the tissues as a packing slip. An additional copy of the invoice will be sent via email. Please print, sign, and return a copy of this invoice to acknowledge safe receipt of tissues.
  4. Tissues are for research use only and for the express purpose outlined in the tissue request. No tissues or product may be exchanged, loaned or re-gifted to a third party or cataloged into any collection without the express permission of KU Herpetology. No tissue or product may be used for commercial purposes or for financial gain of any kind.
  5. All published sequences generated from tissues must to be registered with Genbank and KU catalog numbers from corresponding voucher specimens must be submitted to Genbank as the official voucher corresponding to gene sequences.
  6. Genbank accession numbers must also be reported directly to KU Herpetology for inclusion in the KU Herpetology database. The "loan" is considered "closed" or "returned" when KU receives this information from the researcher. Unpublished sequences deposited with Genbank should be registered and reported in the same way. Please note the failure to report this information to KU Herpetology may adversely affect the ability the researcher, his/her collaborators, and advisor(s) to secure future loans from KU.
  7. If, after 5 years, the researcher has not submitted gene sequences to GenBank and returned GenBank accession numbers to KU Herpetology, KU reserves the right to obtain sequences from the researcher and submit the data to GenBank on his/her behalf.
  8. One copy of any publication citing KU tissue sequences must be submitted to the KU Herpetology Library, care of the curators.

PROCEDURES FOR REQUESTING TISSUES FROM KU HERPETOLOGY

General
Destructively sampled tissues for DNA extraction in molecular studies are the limiting resource in almost all modern phylogenetic studies. As DNA sequencing has become routine and inexpensive, access to genetic samples has become the most significant challenge to large-scale phylogenetic, phylogeographic, and population genetic studies. It is important for individuals who wish to access genetic resources at KU to understand that the majority of tissues at KU have been collected by KU researchers for their own research. The planning, funding, and implementing each field-collecting expedition has required investment of time, effort, and resources on the part of KU researchers. The Biodiversity Institute will provide access to these resources in the cases of well-qualified investigators conducting well-conceived and properly justified studies. However, our collections are not public resources to be used by wholesale, commercial, or ill-conceived efforts. We consider KU collections to be part of a global network of institutions that house and curate biodiversity data and biological resources.

Tissue request proposals usually proceed in two steps:
First, researchers should examine the specimen holdings on the KU database at one of the follow two sites.

  1. HerpNet
  2. Specify

Because the "prep status" field on these search engines is not always up to date, inquiries as to whether corresponding tissue samples are available can be directed to the Curator-in-Charge Rafe Brown.

Second, once it has been established that KU holds tissues of interest, specific samples are requested in writing on institutional letterhead from the Curator-in-Charge. Graduate students are required to submit a letter co-signed by their advisor, who will assume responsibility for use of the samples. If the tissue request is approved, subsequent communication will be handled via email with curatorial staff.

A tissue request must provide the following information:

  1. A brief outline of the goals, methods, and time frame of the project.
  2. Justification for the use of the samples. What is the scientific merit of the proposed study?
  3. A list of the KU specimens by taxon and catalog number.
  4. The total number of tissues to be used in the project, in addition to KU’s contribution. Please specify the non-KU number of tissues per taxon that will be included in the study.
  5. A statement of reciprocal benefit (can include contributions to other, non-KU collections).
  6. Indicate how you prefer your shipment to be sent and provide the full mailing address and telephone number.
  7. A statement indicating agreement to the KU Loan/Gift policy (below) and an estimated time frame for submission of sequence data to GenBank.

A committee that consists of KU Herpetology curators and curatorial staff will evaluate the tissue request. If the requested tissues have been donated to the collection by a non-KU researcher who wishes to be involved in the granting decision, we will obtain his/her opinion.

Questions about the KU’s tissue-use policy should be directed to the curators.

Key considerations in decisions regarding tissue grants are as follow: