Biodiversity Data at National Museums Scotland
How National Museums Scotland are working to improve access to the biodiversity data they hold
Digitising collections and archives
National Museums Scotland's recent digitisation efforts have including mobilising records locked up in both specimens and field diaries, with a focus on specific collectors.
Edward Charles Pelham-Clinton (1920-1988), a former curator at National Museums Scotland, made substantial contributions to British Entomology during his lifetime. With a focus on Lepidoptera, he devoted 53 years to collecting and recording, compiling one of the most comprehensive collections of British moths.
Pelham-Clinton digitisation
Pelham-Clinton's collection is frequently consulted by researchers and the recording community, particularly his extensive archive, as it contains additional records.
Due to the significance of his collection and archive, a digitisation project was initiated during the pandemic.
Mobilising information
To date, National Museums Scotland have carried out the following activities to mobilise the biodiversity data held in the Pelham-Clinton collection:
- Diaries were scanned, totalling 17,000 pages
- Scans were imported to a FileMaker database, and transcription undertaken by a combination of staff and volunteers
- Extracted: 160,000 records covering 2,169 species & 1,518 localities
- Drawer-level imaging of his collection: comprising 200 drawers (35,600 specimens)
Working with recorders
National Museums Scotland's relationship with the local recording community shapes the collection. Although the way people record wildlife has changed a lot in recent decades, there is still a need to collect voucher specimens for many taxa, to enable accurate identification.
National Museums Scotland sometimes receive donations of large collections, that encompass a lifetime of dedicated recording, but they also take reciept of individual specimens of particular significance (such as species new to Scotland or even new to science).
The network that National Museums Scotland works with includes a broad mix of recorders, societies and conservation charities who deposit material with the collection. Museum staff are working to digitise these incoming records, so that the data and location of the specimens is shared beyond their walls.
Boosting Biodiversity on site
A few years ago, the grass cutting regime at the National Museums Collection Centre (NMCC) was redesigned to maintain a mixture of vegetation heights.
Margins are kept short to ensure good access and security compliance across the site, with signage added to notify visitors to NMCC of the reason for the more natural appearance.
Some areas are left uncut over winter, to provide cover and hibernation sites in the cold months and Yellow Rattle has been introduced to encourage a greater diversity of wildflowers.
National Museums Scotland have boosted their own recording effort on site. Regular insect and plant surveys are conducted by staff and several dedicated entomology volunteers, with occasional visits from local naturalist groups.
The NMCC site hosts a BIOSCAN malaise trap, specifically for monitoring flying insects. Camera traps and audio recorders have also been installed to capture records of the more elusive bird and mammal visitors.
As part of the on-site surveys, National Museums Scotland staff collect and preserve some species via traditional methods.
Observational records for the site are also shared via an iRecord activity .
The project can be followed on social media under the hashtag #NMCCbiodiversity
