Museum Techniques in the 21st Century

Welcome to the 6th edition of an intensive course on innovative uses of museum’s resources for vertebrate’s research. By the end of this course students will have an updated overview of the potential of museum collections for biodiversity research. The host instructors, from cE3c-FCUL, CIBIO-InBIO and the Museum of Natural History and Science of the University of Porto (MHNC-UP) and invited instructors from the National Museum of Natural History and Science of the University of Lisbon (MUHNAC) and from Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates (CUMV), will share their knowledge and experience on preparing, curating, and using museum specimens. This will be complemented by presential/online lectures of several invited researchers. In addition, students will practice on several techniques, from 3D photogrammetry to reflectance spectrophotometry. They will learn how to prepare bird and mammal specimens and how tissues can be obtained and preserved for a variety of uses, including genomics, toxicology and chemical analysis.

More specifically we aim to:

1)present an updated overview on the value of museums and the use of collections and specimens in the 21st century, using new technologies and analytical methods, following the principle of the "extended specimen”. These include, among others:

a)discuss state-of-the-art ‘whole specimen’ techniques including CT scanning, 3D modelling and printing;

b)consider how museum specimens provide genetic and genomic resources and how to retrieve genomic data from historical specimens;

c)present other non-genetic molecular methods (e.g., stable isotopes, toxicology and quantification of coloration);

d)understand the potential of the spatial and temporal data gathered along with the specimen, especially when made available in global repositories, such as GBIF.

2)practice the ways that ‘voucher specimens’ and tissues of vertebrates can be prepared, to ensure that quality data is available for generations to come.

Value of museums in the 21st century - the use of Biological Collections and the principle of the "extended specimen”.

| 10:30-12:45

Practical session - preparing voucher specimens (birds)

Museum specimens as a resource for non-genetic molecular analysis - present other non-genetic molecular methods, such as stable isotopes, toxicology, and quantification of coloration

| 10:30-12:45

Practical session - preparing voucher specimens (mammals).

Invited lectures - examples on the use of museum data for biodiversity analysis

| 14:15-17:30

| 9:00-10:15

Ricardo Jorge Lopes | FCUL & CE3C & MHNC-UP (Portugal)
Paulo Célio Alves | FCUP &  BIOPOLIS/CIBIO
Pedro Andrade | National Museum of Natural History and Science of the University of Lisbon (MUHNAC)

Mary Margaret Ferraro | Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates (CUMV)

Ana Leitão | BIOPOLIS/CIBIO

Diana Lobo | BIOPOLIS/CIBIO

The course will be open to a maximum number of 15 participants.

Registration Deadline: Monday, July 01, 2024

All applicants will be notified about whether they are accepted until Friday, July 05, 2024

95€ (students) | 200€ (other participants). BIOPOLIS-CIBIO members will have an additional discount of 20%.

Participation is free of charge for BIODIV Students MBGE 1st year Students & CIBIO's TwinLabs 

Registration fees do not include accommodation, meals and transportation to the Museum

No ECTS credits are awarded for attending the course. Participants receive a certificate of attendance without quantitative evaluation.