UTEP Biodiversity Collections
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The UTEP Biodiversity Collections is comprised of the university’s biological research collections and the Department of Biological Sciences teaching collections and is a resource for collections-related research in the biological sciences. We provide work space, equipment, and other facilities to classes, individual students, staff, and visiting professionals; as well as informational services to the professional and general public.
The unit was founded as a research museum in the Department of Biological Sciences of what was then Texas Western College in 1965 under the name of the Museum of Arid Land Biology (thus the acronym MALB used for many years; the acronym for attribution of published specimens became "UTEP" under the Laboratory for Environmental Biology and is maintained under the new name). It eventually changed its name to the Laboratory for Environmental Biology and, in August of 2012, to the UTEP Biodiversity Collections.
The UTEP Biodiversity Collections is a biological research collection with a focus on research and education. We display our objects through the exhibit cases on the 2nd floor of the Biology Building, but primarily cooperate with the UTEP Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens through a memorandum of understanding to develop and curate exhibitions related to the research being performed in the UTEP Biodiversity Collections, as well as to provide specimens and information for community outreach.
Libraries preserve books, biological research collections preserve organisms in a similar manner. Biological research collections are continuously growing as the result of research by faculty, students, and other professionals and through exchange with similar institutions. These collections increase in value as they grow; providing a rich source of information about natural variation, species occurrence, and climate change through space and over time. Specimens in biological research collections provide context for comparative biology and the study of evolutionary relationships with both morphological and genetic material.
Are you a member of the UTEP-BC? Access the UTEP-BC Curatorial Notion Website after creating an account here or email collections manager for access! Handbook protocols are public, but may link to example files that are private.
UTEP-BC Curatorial
UTEP-BC Curatorial Handbook Protocols
This website was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services - IMLS Award MA-30-1500392-15
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UTEP-BC in the News
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One shot rang out, causing a temporary disruption to the symphony of the marsh. Its echo was preceded by a plop in the open water, spraying the nearby ice rafts in its proclamation. In the red morning light, Massachusetts hunter Mike Wec thought he had shot a hen mallard. But it wasn’t until he waded out to the floating figure that he realized it was...Well, what was it exactly?
Wec carefully examined it further, stretching out its delicate white wings that nearly glowed in the contrast of the dark water. Its contour feathers were composed of various shades of white and blonde—some as dark as the winter cattails beyond his decoy spread. Read More
'Lost' Tropical Bird Not Seen in 20 Years Caught on Camera
A long lost bird species has been captured in photographs for the first time in 20 years.
The yellow-crested helmetshrike, or Prionops alberti, is known to inhabit the Albertine Rift, which is in the eastern mountains of Democratic Republic of the Congo, however it is rarely seen or reported. This is largely due to its remote habitat, and the fact it is situated in an area of ongoing conflict...Read More