Did you know that oceans cover more than 70% of our planet, yet remain the least explored parts of Earth?
Oceans regulate our climate, support countless ecosystems, and biodiversity. They’re sources of curiosity and wonder; connecting us globally from coast to coast, protecting our oceans means protecting our future!
On World Ocean Day, we spoke with Dr. Liz Shea in the Oceans Hall at the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science. She is the Director of Research and Curator of the Mollusk Collection and cares for and grows the museum’s natural history collection, including the 10th largest mollusk collection in North America.
Liz conducts research on specimens within the collection and brings back new discoveries from the field. She specializes in cephalopod biology, with a special focus on the biodiversity of deep-sea canyons and seamounts. Through her research, Dr. Shea helps uncover the beauty of life found in the ocean’s most unexplored environments.
This video is a collaboration between Delaware Museum of Nature and Science and Reich&Petch (R&P). The Oceans Hall is in the Global Journey Gallery, a part of the museum’s metamorphosis and building renovations completed in 2022 by the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science along with Reich&Petch Design International (Exhibit Designer), The Design Foundation (Media Producer), kubik maltbie (Exhibit Fabricator), JacobsWyper Architects (Architect), Bancroft Construction (General Contractor), and Aegis Property Group (Project Manager).
A World of Shells
Hidden right in Wilmington, Delaware, the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science houses a true treasure: one of North America’s largest and most important mollusk collections. What started with the curiosity of founder John E. du Pont and legendary malacologist R. Tucker Abbott has grown into a research powerhouse with more than 2.3 million shells from every corner of the globe. From deep-sea cephalopods to bright, delicate land snails, each specimen tells a story of exploration, discovery, and decades of scientific passion.
Thanks to the dedication of curators, researchers, and volunteers, this collection has become an incredible resource for science. Generous donations, global expeditions, and careful cataloging have brought in treasures from the Indo-Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico, South America, and beyond. Digitization projects supported by the National Science Foundation have made thousands of records searchable online, putting Delaware on the map as a key player in global biodiversity research.
What makes this collection truly extraordinary is its connection to people. Museum staff have shared their love of mollusks through exhibits, programs, shell clubs, and partnerships with students and researchers for decades. From the original “Hall of Shells” to today’s Oceans and Delaware ecosystems galleries, visitors get unforgettable views of the beauty and diversity of mollusks.
Mollusk Curators at the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science. 2. R. Tucker Abbott. 3. Rüdiger Bieler. 4. Paula M. Mikkelsen. 5. Timothy A. Pearce. 6. Kevin J. Roe. 7. Elizabeth K. Shea
Museum scientist Liz Shea, Ph.D. is at sea on the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster on a research trip. We’ll post updates and reports from Liz here and on our social media!
August 30, 2025: And we’re off!
And we’re off! Over the next 13 days, 10 scientists, three ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) Global Explorer engineers, and NOAA crew will be at sea together on the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster looking for and sampling deep-sea corals in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. Follow along as we highlight our work each day!
NOAA Ship Nancy FosterFour scientists finishing up an abandoned ship drill, with full immersion suits on.
August 31, 2025: Rough Weather
Before the sun set on our first full day, rough weather at the seamounts scrambled our plans. After a discussion with the Commanding Officer, the team set off to find a new spot – Jones Canyon, an unexplored canyon just north of Hudson Canyon. To prepare for our first dive, we stopped to practice deploying and recovering the ROV. The test was successful, and the ROV is ready for operations. We will arrive on site tonight and begin sampling the water column for environmental DNA (eDNA), which helps us to understand what species are lurking beneath the waves and beyond our view. Our first dive will be tomorrow morning – all systems go!
NOAA scientists finding and plotting a new dive plan on short notice.The ROV Global Explorer on deck surrounded by engineers and NOAA Ship Nancy Foster crew, ready for testing.
September 1, 2025: Adapt, Adapt, Adapt
At sea, you’ve got to be ready to adapt, adapt, adapt. Before we got to our first station, bad weather offshore caused us to change our original plan, but we adapted and found a new dive site further inshore. When we arrived on site, our water sampling protocol was a challenge at sea, so we adapted again (after 14+ hours of filtering) to streamline our efforts. The ROV was deployed as planned at 0800 this morning, but an unexpected issue brought us to a full stop and recovery of the vehicle. Fair to say it’s been a difficult 24 hours. Happily, our bird survey scientists from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found a bright spot for us to focus on – baby dolphins!
Recovering an array of 12 water samplers, called Niskin bottles. We deployed this array 4 times, so had 48 water samples to filter. It took over 14 hours, and cost one favorite sweatshirt, to see it through to the end.Baby dolphins alongside their moms in a pod, looking happy.
September 3, 2025: Setbacks
After a tough first dive, we’ve spent the last 2 days on the dock at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, MA. The engineering team is repairing the ROV, the eDNA team is streamlining the workflow to filter water, and the planning team is creating new dive plans to maximize our remaining time at sea. There have been a few frustrating setbacks including the unbelievable coincidence that all our replacement parts for the ROV and additional sampling bags for eDNA were on the same delayed flight out of Louisville, KY. Just another reminder that no matter how much planning is done beforehand, there are no guarantees that everything will go without a hitch. We remain optimistic that we will be headed out to the seamounts soon.
The Global Explorer on the back deck waiting to be reassembled.An alternative dive site in Lydonia Canyon is closer to our current position and on the way to the seamounts. The red dots are way points – marking the path the ROV will take during the dive.
September 5, 2025: Bear or Bust!
The parts came for the ROV, and we left Woods Hole Thursday at 2:30 p.m. with all the gear repaired. We stopped near Martha’s Vineyard for a dunk test and a few system adjustments, and then got the all clear to head to Bear Seamount. It will take almost 24 hours to get there, but we are excited to get back to exploring!
Repaired transformer reinstalled and ready to go. With a great squid sticker (of course!)Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. Bear Seamount is the circular, flat top, seamount in the western point of the triangle. Image from oceanexplorer.noaa.gov. Original acknowledgement to James Gardner, The Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping, Joint Hydrographic Center, University of New Hampshire.
September 6, 2025: Exploring Bear Seamount
We arrived at Bear Seamount and the conditions were finally just right for a full ROV dive. The Global Explorer (GEX) was deployed at 8 a.m., and reached bottom two hours later, more than 2000 m beneath the surface. Following the pre-determined waypoints, we surveyed and explored a small part of the eastern side of the seamount. We encountered several different habitat types ranging from steep, rocky slopes, to depressions filled with rubble, coral skeletons, and soft sediments. A few of these even contained skate egg cases! We were excited to see that Bear Seamount is home to such a diverse assemblage of organisms, including hard and soft corals, sponges and a variety of other invertebrates including brittle stars, sea stars, and crinoids (sea lilies).
Close up of the bottom with exposed rock (center top) and a variety of hard and soft corals, and mollusks off to the far right.Skate in the distance.
September 7, 2025: Collecting Specimens
After seven hours exploring Bear Seamount, the ROV was recovered, secured on the back deck, and samples were retrieved from the various collecting containers. During the dive, we collected corals, and other invertebrates including sea stars, brittle stars and crinoids (sea lilies) and any unusual animals we encountered. When an animal is collected, a ‘georeferenced’ record is created so researchers will know the exact location where the organism was found. These data include latitude and longitude, as well as depth and date of collection. In the wet laboratory on the ship, we photograph each specimen and take a tissue sample for genetic barcoding. These specimens are then preserved and will be deposited in the invertebrate collections at the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History.
Recovering samples from the ROV.Close-up of a prickly sea star, Benthopecten sp.Scientists taking a tissue sample of a gastropod (snail) that hitched a ride on a coral colony.
September 8, 2025: Water Sampling
The weather has been relentless – wherever we go, the winds and waves follow. Although conditions were too rough to deploy the ROV, deploying CTDs to collect water for environmental DNA (eDNA) could still be conducted safely. So, we are maximizing our opportunities to collect eDNA samples. Each CTD deployment requires input from multiple scientists and crew members. The spatial ecologist plots the location of the dive, the Survey crew deploys and retrieves the CTD, the eDNA science team identifies the depth at which water samples are taken, and then spends hours (!) filtering the water once it’s recovered from the bottles.
eDNA is a relatively new technology that is used to identify organisms from small pieces of DNA shed into the water column. If these small bits can be amplified and identified, then an entire benthic community can be characterized in a single water sample!
Science and Survey crew lead CTD operations in the dry lab.Scientists filtering the water in the wet lab.
September 9, 2025: Cups for Science
A main adaptation deep-sea creatures must face is increasing pressure with depth. But how do you explain the extreme forces these creatures face? Styrofoam cups! Increasing pressure causes the tiny air pockets within Styrofoam cups to compress – the deeper you go the smaller the cup shrinks. To help explain this process, scientists and crew aboard the Nancy Foster used their artistic skills to design cups using ordinary markers. The designs often mark something important or interesting about the cruise, a favorite sea creature, or holiday themes. Luckily, you don’t have to be terribly artistic to participate – even the simplest design is improved by a trip to the seafloor and back. Check out the before and after photos to see how much our cups shrank after a trip to 2,000 meters!
A large haul of tiny cups drying in a sample tray.Pre (left) and post (right) dive cups with colorful bathymetric maps.Scientists in foul weather gear, observing and photographing fowl.Hudsonian godwits in formation, headed south.
September 10, 2025: One Last Attempt
Thanks to the efforts of NOAA Ship Nancy Foster crew and the ROV team, we rallied for one more dive on our way back to shore. A lot of communication and in-the moment decisions allowed this to happen. We got permission to come in on the second tide of the day instead of the first (buying us 6 hours of potential dive time); due to good weather, we made better time travelling back towards shore than expected (+ 4 hours); we opted out of one last eDNA cast so we could leave our position early (+ 2 hours); and we agreed to start operations 2 hours earlier than normal (+ 2 hours). The ROV will deploy at 0630 at Hydrographer Canyon. We found amazing coral habitat at Hydrographer Canyon last year so we are optimistic. This year, we picked a similar depth on the opposite side of the canyon to increase the likelihood of finding corals.
September 10/11, 2025: Success!
Yesterday’s dive did not disappoint! We were able to spend almost 8 hours on bottom looking at corals and collecting samples. As is true for every dive, we observed some animals, behaviors and amazing habitats that we had not seen before. Once the specimens were back on deck, a tissue sample was taken from each one for genetics work, and then each specimen was photographed before being fixed in preservative for long-term storage at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The imagery and samples collected today provide important information that are critical to better understand the natural resources and ecosystems in and around the Monument and will help us to characterize the biodiversity as well as the type and extent of habitats represented. It is always a great feeling to end a cruise on a high note!
: Chief Scientist looking at the screens with the ROV PilotsScientist annotating the video during the cruise.Screen shot of a prickly deep-sea crab, standing on a coral skeleton, covered in zoanthids, that has a brittle star (orange colored) wrapped around its branches.
September 13, 2025: Wrap up
Fieldwork is never easy and this trip was plagued with weather and equipment problems. Twenty-four hour water filtering sessions, and dawn to dusk battles to stay upright while photographing birds in the wind and rain were brutal. Nevertheless, the science and ship crews proved their mettle and worked hard to maximize the amount and types of information gathered during the cruise. It will likely be a long time until we are back working in the Monument. Until then, we will process these samples, identify organisms, analyze water samples for eDNA, and annotate photographs and video footage. All the data we collected will move us closer to a better understanding of the Monument.
With any luck, we will be back out next year (but hopefully in June)!
Very appropriate word-of-the-day calendar entry for this week.Sunset at Hydrographer Canyon.All packed up and ready to head home.
Explore the Scientific Collections in Our Newest Museum Display
A new exhibit in the Bill & Denise Spence Discovery Gallery features birds and marine mollusks from the museum’s scientific collections, including highlights of the incredible biodiversity of the Philippines as well as research from our scientists. Visitors can discover how natural history collections help scientists study adaptation, biodiversity, and conservation over time.
Interactive questions, specimen tags, and QR codes invite guests of all ages to explore, ask questions, and connect with the science behind the scenes. Whether you are curious about shells, birds, or the work of scientists, this display offers a fascinating glimpse into the natural world and the role museums play in helping us understand it.
In the glass case, birds and mollusks from the Philippines a region made up of more than 7,000 islands and home to countless unique species. Featuring both birds and marine mollusks, the display explores how the islands’ habitats encouraged the evolution of species found nowhere else in the world.
The three drawers each focus on a different story from the collections.
Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis orientalis) DMNH 4276
For a challenge, compare colorful mollusk shells and discover how their shapes and features help them survive in different environments. Scientists digitize each specimen so its image and data can be shared over the internet, and analyzed all around the world.
In spotlighting DNA research led by Research Director & Curator, Bird Collection Matthew Halley, Ph.D., the exhibit explains the recent reclassification of hawks from the Accipiter genus to Astur, showing how genetic tools are changing our understanding of bird relationships.
Visitors can also learn how birds are preserved for research, using techniques such as study skins and skeletons that provide long-lasting scientific value. Preserved specimens help scientists compare past and present, identify new species, and answer questions.
Great Horned Owl(Bubo virginianus) Skeleton DMNH 76500
This exhibit is sponsored by Corteva Agriscience.
Preserving the Past, One Shell at a Time
The Delaware Museum of Nature and Science is partnering with the University of Delaware to begin work on rehousing 2.5 million mollusk specimens with upwards of 30,000 different species into new acid-free, archival boxes. The collection holds valuable information in regard to pollution, growth rates, and maturity of various mollusks. University of Delaware ungraduated students are helping to keep the mollusk collection going for future generations to use for research and educational purposes. The interns help to prevent Byne’s disease, a chemical reaction between storage materials like wood and the calcium carbonate present in mollusks. The chemical reaction is responsible for degrading mollusks, affecting their lifespan in our collection. By adding archival-grade materials to the collection, the interns are able to help preserve the mollusks.
Meet Delaware Museum of Nature and Science’s mollusk collection summer interns, Finn Thornton and Laura Shidle.
Finn is a rising senior at the University of Delaware. They are majoring in art conservation with minors in fine arts and museum studies. Finn has grown up doing various types of art forms, so they knew they wanted to become an art conservation major early on in their life. One of their first real-world experiences in art conservation was volunteering at other museums. Due to their interest in museums and conservation, they decided to become a summer intern at the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science. Finn loves how interning at the museum utilizes their art conservation major with “a really great blend of hands-on work and science.” Outside of interning, Finn is a member of UD’s Lavendar Programming Club and they work on ceramics. In their free time, Finn enjoys the beach, reading, and spending time with friends.
Laura is a rising junior at the University of Delaware in the Honors college. She is majoring in art conservation with minors in advertising, art history, and German. After seeing the mollusk collection for the first time with the museum’s senior mollusk collections manager, Alex Kittle, she decided to intern at the museum. Touring the collections allowed her to become more interested in learning about the various mollusk species and terminology associated with each species. Additionally, this internship allows her to “handle the objects, especially because it’s a stereotype for internships to have more like you get coffee.” Outside of working at the museum, Laura works on the conservation of paintings at a different internship, and she is a member of UD’s water polo club team. Due to her time underwater, she is pretty close to mollusks! In her free time, Laura loves to paint, draw, garden, and spend time with friends.
Article By
Marissa McDine
My name is Marissa McDine and I am the science communication intern at Delaware Museum of Nature and Science funded by Delaware INBRE. I am a student at the University of Delaware majoring in Communications with a concentration in media and a minor in Biology. I previously worked with DelMNS as a Teen Science Café leader and I am excited to help bridge the gap between science and communication. As a Delaware INBRE Science Communication Fellow, I am working on sharing the stories of our scientists, staff, and volunteers while helping to expand community knowledge about the museum’s scientific collections.
Explore the Collections
The Delaware Museum of Nature and Science is an active, growing, mid-Atlantic repository for specimens collected around the world. With over 2.3 million individual shells in the mollusk collection, more than 116,000 birds from around the world, and other invertebrate, vertebrate, and paleontological specimens, the scientific collections preserve an incredible biodiversity record with specimens collected as early as 1859.
Ongoing, ethical scientific collecting is critical to documenting and understanding the Earth’s biodiversity. Morphological and genetic data derived from collections provide a baseline to examine changes in species distributions over time, and to study the effects of invasive species, habitat loss, trophic structure, and climate change. Specimens are also critical resources for basic research on disease vectors and host-parasite relationships.
Search the collections
The collections are publicly accessible online via several data aggregators. Our institution code is DMNH.
Staff and volunteers have georeferenced more than half the collection records. This heat map below provides an estimate of georeferenced records in the DelMNS collection, as retrieved through GBIF.org. Colored hexagons indicate approximately how many specimens were collected in the given region (yellow, n = 100; orange, n = 1,000; red, n = 10,000).
Taxonomic Diversity
Breakout by Major Avian Taxon
The bird collection contains roughly 75% songbirds with sizeable collections representing other major taxa. Only the 10 largest bird orders at DelMNS are included in this figure.
Breakout by Major Mollusca Taxon
The mollusk collection is roughly 75% gastropods and 25% bivalves, with small collections of other major taxa. The 234,000 lots represent more than 18,000 species.
That belongs in a museum!
Does your research or surveys involve collecting? Have you thought of a home for any specimens your work may generate? A museum is the perfect place for the long-term storage of specimens used in scientific research. It ensures that future generations will be able to access the same specimens for verification, reproducibility of experiments, and as a resource to answer any future, unforeseen questions. We are actively adding locally-collected vouchers to the Bird, Mammal, Mollusk, Paleontology, and Entomology collections.
You may be familiar with the Giant Clam (Tridacna gigas) in the lobby of the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science. The species is well known for being the largest living bivalve mollusk, with an impressive lifespan of up to 100 years.
A recent assessment from the University of Colorado explains the vulnerability and major threats to multiple giant clam species, including climate change and over-harvesting. The lead researcher in this assessment, Ruiqi Li, is a colleague of our own Director of Collections and Curator of Mollusks, Dr. Liz Shea. Li’s assessment helped the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to update the status of the giant clam from “vulnerable” to “endangered.”
Here at DelMNS, Dr. Shea shares, “Museum collections are an essential resource for learning more about endangered and threatened species.” As we continue to observe environmental changes, it is vital to recognize new threats to species like the Giant Clam.
Giant Clam (Tridacna gigas) in the lobby of the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science.
Clam shells provide home to algae and other small organisms, which produce nutrients that help feed the clams.
Tridacna gigas in the scientific collectionsOrganisms growing on shell of giant clamHippopus hippopus, another large species of clam
Dr. Liz Shea, Director of Collections and Curator of Mollusks at the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science, spent 14 days aboard the NOAA Ship Henry Bigelow with a team of scientists and engineers to sample deep-sea corals. Below are the daily updates from Dr. Anna Metaxas, professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada.
Watch the video of their dive from 7/30/2024.
30 July 2024
The last dive of the Cross Border Coral Habitat Exploration was in Hydrographer Canyon on 30 July 2024. We saw some spectacular assemblages of bubble gum coral, very abundant carnivorous and other sponges, and the most octopus and squid we have seen on this cruise, including a glass squid. The topography was also impressive, with very steep walls on the east side of the canyon. We now head back to homeport in Newport, Rhode Island, from where we will disperse carrying many samples and much video for further analyses. Thank you all for following our adventure!
Wall of the bubble gum coral Paragorgia at 920 m depth in Hydrographer Canyon.Mix of corals in Hydrographer Canyon at 900 m depthThe next generation in the lab, narrating, logging and taking photos. Cross Border Coral Habitat Exploration parting shot; Hydrographer Canyon
29 July 2024
On 29 July 2024, we were chased by a storm that came up into the Gulf of Maine. After our transboundary dive, the Cross Border Coral Habitat Exploration headed to the Cape Cod Canal and crossed through to Buzzards Bay in Massachussetts. We then headed to Hydrographer Canon for our next dive on 30 July. Our scientists took this opportunity to catch up on their sleep a little to be ready for our last day of diving.
The science team, ROPOS and ROPOS crew on the aft deck.Foggy and drizzly crossing of Cape Cod Canal on our way to Hydrographer Canyon.
28 July 2024
On 28 July 2024, we did a transboundary dive for the Cross Border Coral Habitat Exploration approximately 60 km south of Jordan Basin. We started the dive on the Canadian side of the border and ended it on the US side. On the Canadian side, there has been a lot of fishing activity on the features we were diving on. We say trawl marks and fishing gear. On the US side, we saw lines, a lobster trap and trawl marks. We saw mainly sponges, a lot of brachiopods, many colourful anemones but only a few Paramuricea. Many pollock followed us on the Canadian side of the border and many redfish, including gravid females, were resting on the seabed on the US side. We are expecting a bit of a storm tonight with some seas, so we will head towards Cape Cod Canal and out Hydrographer Canon for our next dive on 30 July.
White sponge on the Canadian side of the borderAnemone, pollock, brachiopods, (white dots on the seabed) and trawl marks on the US side of the border
27 July 2024
We did not dive today, July 26, for our Cross Border Coral Habitat Exploration. But onboard measurements and experiments continue. The samples that have been collected with the remotely operated vehicle ROPOS must be sorted, documented and carefully preserved. Some samples are used to run physiological experiments on board that measure coral respiration under different temperatures. We will be back in the water on July 27, 2024.
: Dave Packer (NOAA) and Javier Murillo-Perez (DFO) retrieving water samples from Niskin bottles that will be used to measure eDNAMartha Nizinski (NOAA) carefully preserving samples collected during the dive that will be used for taxonomic and genetic analyses and eventually safely stored at the Smithsonian Institution for future useMaria Rakka and Meri Bilan (both at Dalhousie) are preparing fragments of coral colonies for physiological experimentsFragments of coral colonies acclimatizing before being used in physiological experiments aboard the ship.
26 July 2024
On July 25, we did our second dive in the Northeast Channel Coral Conservation Area during our Cross Border Coral Habitat Exploration. We visited another location where we have been in 2001, 2006 and 2014 to measure changes in coral density and sizes as an effort to monitor the effectiveness of the closure. We also conducted a survey outside the boundary of the Conservation Area, where we found amazing coral near the boundary but quite a bit of gear line 2 km away.
Corals at one of our monitoring sites, at 470 m depth in the Northeast Channel Coral Conservation AreaOverview of the coral communities just beyond the current eastern boundary of the Northeast Channel Coral Conservation Area, at 560 m depthBoulder with dense coral colonies just beyond the current eastern boundary of the Northeast Channel Coral Conservation Area, at 560 m depthGear line running through coral colonies at 750 m depth, just beyond the current eastern boundary of the Northeast Channel Coral Conservation Area.
25 July 2024
On 25 July 2024, we did our second dive in the Northeast Channel Coral Conservation Area during our Cross Border Coral Habitat Exploration. We visited another location where we have been in 2001, 2006 and 2014 to measure changes in coral density and sizes as an effort to monitor the effectiveness of the closure. We also conducted a survey outside the boundary of the Conservation Area, where we found amazing coral near the boundary but quite a bit of gear line 2 km away.
Corals at one of our monitoring sites, at 470 m depth in the Northeast Channel Coral Conservation AreaOverview of the coral communities just beyond the current eastern boundary of the Northeast Channel Coral Conservation Area, at 560 m depth Boulder with dense coral colonies just beyond the current eastern boundary of the Northeast Channel Coral Conservation Area, at 560 m depth Gear line running through coral colonies at 750 m depth, just beyond the current eastern boundary of the Northeast Channel Coral Conservation Area.
24 July 2024
On 24 July 2024, we dove in the Northeast Channel Coral Conservation Area, a Canadian Marine Refuge during our Cross Border Coral Habitat Exploration. We visited two locations where we have been in 2001, 2006 and 2014 to measure changes in coral density and sizes as an effort to monitor the effectiveness of the closure. We also took video of a rock we have been visiting repeatedly to measure coral growth. We had to fight strong currents, which are typical of this site.
White bubble gum coral, Paragorgia arborea, at 450 m depth in the Northeast Channel Coral Conservation Area Rock covered in coral colonies, at 860 m depth in the Northeast Channel Coral Conservation Area
23 July 2024
On 23 July 2024, we were back in US waters and diving in the Gulf of Maine, at the Border Bumps during our Cross Border Coral Habitat Exploration. The dive was much shallower, 170-220 m depth and over mostly flat seabed with scattered outcrops and boulders. We saw a lot of sponges and sea stars and some beautiful anemones, but no coral. We were followed by a school of pollock for most of our dive.
Sponge at 180 m in the Gulf of MaineAnemone at 180 m in the Gulf of MaineSchool of pollock, which followed us for most of the dive
22 July 2024
For our Cross Border Coral Habitat Exploration, on 22 July 2024, we dove in Corsair Canyon in Canadian waters. We had yet another spectacular dive along the western canyon wall, the densest, most luxuriant forests of the bubblegum coral Paragorgia of all sizes, many of them huge, at around 860 m depth. None of us have ever seen such dense forests before. Corsair Canyon continues to amaze and earn its status as a Marine Refuge in Canada.
Wall of 10s of bubblegum coral Paragorgia in Corsair Canyon at 900 m depthDesmophyllum pertusum in Corsair Canyon at 900 m depthFace of 100s bubblegum coral Paragorgia in Corsair Canyon at 840 m depthSkate at the shallow depths of Corsair Canyon at 530 m depthLobster and redfish in Corsair Canyon at 450 m depth
21 July 2024
As part of our Cross Border Coral Habitat Exploration, on 21 July, we dove in Heezen Canyon. We had a spectacular dive along the canyon walls which had spectacular features such as steep walls with luxuriant, very large colonies of the bubblegum coral Paragorgia, some up to 2 m in width and height. Colonies of such size can be several centuries old. There were also long overhangs teaming with stony and soft corals and sponges of all types. Here, we saw the largest number of squid thus far and quite a few octopus. Heezen Canyon is a spectacular canyon with high diversity and impressive coral. Truly a gem that deserves protection.
Shrimp resting in a spongeField of large bubblegum coral Paragorgia in three different colorsParagorgia and Paramuricea: the types of coral most commonly seen during our dive in Heezen canyon
20 July 2024
As part of our Cross Border Coral Habitat Exploration, on 20 July, we dove in Gilbert Canyon, one of the three canyons that fall within the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Marine Monument. Today our dive was dedicated to Dr. Kim Juniper, a long-standing colleague and friend. We were able to participate with our live feed in Kim’s celebration of life by broadcasting from the deep sea, which he studied during almost his entire amazing research career. We dove following a transect along the canyon walls and discovered extensive fields of the coral Paramuricea and the stony coral Desmophyllum.
Kim’s rock covered in different corals, sponges and tubewormsSkate in a field of the coral ParamuriceaOctopus (Graneledone verrucosa) beneath the mushroom coral Anthomastus
19 July 2024
As part of our Cross Border Coral Habitat Exploration, on 19 July, we dove in Oceanographer Canyon, one of the three canyons that fall within the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Marine Monument. We dove along a transect originally done by the Okeanos Explorer in 2013 to measure any changes in the deep-water coral populations. This is how we can monitor the effectiveness of conservation actions. We found beautiful fields of the corals Paramuricea and Thouarella and a spectacular wall full of the bubble gum coral Paragorgia, with some colonies estimated to be 100s of years old based on their size.
White Paragorgia in a field of ParamuriceaParagorgia wall
18 July 2024
The next 14 days, 9 scientists, 6 ROPOS engineers, and NOAA crew will be at sea together on the NOAA Ship Henry Bigelow looking for and sampling deep-sea corals in the Atlantic Canyons and Gulf of Maine. Follow along as we highlight our work each day. Why do we call ourselves #CROCHET? Not because we are crafty, but because this cruise is part of the Challenger 150 collaboration, and we needed a name! Cross Border Coral Habitat Exploration describes our activities, and we found an acronym buried within to make it work. This is the 4th time US and Canadian scientists led by Martha Nizinski and Anna Metaxas have collaborated on exploring the canyons, channels, gulfs and basins along the northeast continental shelf and shelf break.
Science Crew of CROCHETChief Scientist Martha Nizinski (USA NOAA) and Anna Metaxas (Canada, Dalhousie University)
Conserving the Collections
The extensive scientific collections of the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science are utilized by scientists and researchers all around the world. As catalog databases of the collections and their inventories are constantly being built and updated, they are also made more accessible. Increased use of these collections needs to be balanced with conservation efforts to ensure they exist for future generations. Unfortunately, some materials used to store specimens have become outdated and require replacement to best preserve the museum’s collections.
Rows of metal cabinets house the mollusk and bird collections at the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science.
Current Conservation Methods
In the mollusks collection, specimens are preserved either as the dry animal-made shell, or as the entire body and soft parts of the animal in alcohol. The bird collection specimens are preserved as study skins (a specialized taxidermy for research), but also have preserved tissue samples in alcohol, spread wings, skeletons, and traditional taxidermy.
Currently, the collection is stored in specimen trays that are made of paste board wrapped in paper. Depending on their age, some trays may or may not be made out of archival quality material. However, new archival boxes can still endure changes in chemistry when they come into contact with wooden drawers that exist in many cabinets. These wooden drawers could release harmful acid vapors and change the chemical composition of the storage materials. When these materials touch specimens they can cause the chemicals to breakdown, recrystallize, and destroy the specimens, according to Alex Kittle, Senior Collections Manager of Mollusks.
Archival boxes are often laid with unbuffered paper to help protect specimens
Mollusks in archival boxes are stored in trays
Yellowing spots on this shell indicate Byne’s disease, a decay of calcium carbonate and acidic vapor.
Toucans and hornbills stored with unbuffered paper
Fuzzy coating on the left egg indicates decay from Byne’s disease
Fuzzy coating on the egg indicates decay from Byne’s Disease
Damage to these butterflies are indicative of pests
Plans for Improvements
Improvements needed to the collections have been addressed. The collections would benefit from plastic boxes made of a stable plastic and more archival specimen trays. There are regular updates to materials that contain specimens, but there can only be so much done each year. Changing the cabinets the specimens are currently housed in could also prevent any concern of pest damage, and make a world of difference in improving long term conservation. Fortunately, all of the study skin collections are already in new cabinets with metal drawers and archival materials.
Conservation of data is another important concern of collections management. In certain bird species with a fatty diet, oil can seep onto identification tags, remove ink, and make them impossible to read. Additionally, beetles and other pests will feed on organic materials like feathers and introduce harmful microorganisms to specimens. Having up-to-date powder-coated steel cabinetry with a total seal to keep pests from the collections is vital for conservation, according to Ashley Kempken, Collections Manager of Birds. The collections team has also implemented a freezer treatment protocol to kill potential pests on collections objects after they have been used by researchers or in exhibits.
Mousebird feathers have been eaten by dermestids (skin beetles)Oil from a Pluvialis fulva (Pacific golden plover) has damaged written data
Natural acidity and chemicals can also impact the conservation of specimens. Correct storage of specimens requires using the appropriate archival containers, as chemical reactions from storage materials can easily damage collections over time. Researchers can use methods such as a pH pen to spot check acidity in materials that hold specimens.
Purple indicates a neutral pHYellow indicates acidity
Article by
jacord
Vouchering for Science
A voucher is a specimen that is permanently kept and maintained in a collection and serves as evidence of a species present at a place and time. A voucher can be thought of as a scientific receipt documenting that an organism was found at a particular location on a particular date. Voucher specimens are most often used to verify identifications, but also serve as an invaluable resource for other scientific studies.
Voucher your specimens with us!
Our collections provide a baseline of biodiversity for research projects. Vouchering physical specimens into permanent and managed collections like those at the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science ensures a proper documentation of biodiversity and consistency of research.
To voucher a specimen at the museum, please contact the Collections & Research staff.
For mollusks and other invertebrates:
Elizabeth Shea, Research Director & Curator, Mollusk Collection: eshea@delmns.org,
For birds and mammals:
Matthew Halley, Research Director & Curator, Bird Collection: mhalley@delmns.org,
About the Collections
The collections at the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science consists of over 2.3 million individual mollusk specimens and more than 116,000 bird specimens. Many have been vouchered over the years to help provide a permanent reference of organisms. After they are identified, they are cataloged and given a number for easy access and sharing through virtual databases.
Documenting and digitizing the data enables scientists from all over the world to use our collections for their research. Here are two examples of vouchered specimens:
A search for this osprey skull (Pandion haliaetus) through an online data portal by its catalog number (DMNH 82409) reveals it was collected in 1994 near Bethany Beach, DE, and vouchered to the museum.
The bird skin, skeleton, and tissue collections are fully databased and searchable online through iDigBio, VertNet and GBIF.org.
This ribbed mussel (Geukensia demissa) specimen (DMNH 231836) was collected in the Mispillion Harbor in Milford, DE in 2006.
These Brachioteuthis beanii came from the Gully Marine Protected Area off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. They were part of 44 lots of 245 specimens that were vouchered at the museum in 2007 and continue to be used in research.
