ULM Ichthyology Collection Catalog of 74,441 Specimen Jars

74,441 fish specimen records from the University of Louisiana at Monroe's (ULM) natural history collection. The data, provided as Microsoft Access files, document when and where the specimens were collected and who collected them. The collection represents the life's work of Dr. Neil Douglas and other ULM biologists, with specimens later deposited in other regional collections.

Use Cases

• Analyze historical fish collection patterns based on documented collection dates and locations.
• Study regional biodiversity based on the geographic origins of the 74,441 specimens.
• Trace specimen provenance and collector contributions based on documented collector names.

Strengths

• 74,441 specimen records, representing a substantial historical collection.
• Includes documented collection dates, locations, and collector names.
• Data originates from the life's work of a recognized expert, Dr. Neil Douglas, author of 'Fishes of Louisiana' (1974).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown for the provided Access files, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the original collection's scope.

Provenance

Source

University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM), via Texas Data Repository Harvested Dataverse.

Collection Method

Collection catalog from Microsoft Access files provided as they were received.

Time Range

Collection dates are documented but the overall temporal range is unspecified.

Freshness

Last updated 2024-03-18 11:51:01; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Specimen locations are documented, likely focusing on Louisiana and surrounding regions.