The project illustrator is pursuing an M.A. in art education while handling illustration responsibilities for the project. Over 20 students have been trained in databasing, and we have begun an internship program to train scientists in countries with severely threatened biota. Because the scope and breadth in science and professional development are stressed, we have invested heavily in fieldwork to instill graduate students with a foundation to interpret morphological, ecological, and behavioral characteristics of organisms in their environments. Specimens are tagged with unique numbers and identified by taxon name, which includes the history of the name, its use in the literature, misuse or changes, hierarchical classification, location of holotype, valid name, and synonomies. Also attached to specimen records is information about collecting locality, including latitude and longitude for use in biogeographic studies, conditions surrounding the collecting event, floral and faunal associations, collectors, determinations, illustrations, and the collection location where the specimen is and has been housed.
Specimens are the basic building blocks for monographs.
Collections have been visited to study primary types and unsorted material.