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| Australian National Wildlife Collection | |
|---|---|
| Name | Australian National Wildlife Collection |
| Established | 1965 |
| Location | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory |
| Type | Natural history collection |
| Owner | Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation |
Australian National Wildlife Collection
The Australian National Wildlife Collection is a major Australian repository of vertebrate specimens held in Canberra, providing reference material for taxonomic, ecological and conservation sciences. It supports national and international research networks including Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australian National University, Museum of Victoria, Australian Museum, and Queensland Museum and works with agencies such as Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Australian Antarctic Division, Parks Australia and IUCN. The collection underpins policy and operational work by bodies like Australian Bureau of Statistics, Geoscience Australia, CSIRO Land and Water, and collaborates with universities including University of Sydney, University of Melbourne, Monash University, University of Queensland and Australian National University.
The collection comprises voucher specimens, frozen tissue banks, skeletons, skins and associated metadata used by taxonomists, systematists and conservation biologists from institutions such as Smithsonian Institution, Natural History Museum, London, Museum of Comparative Zoology, American Museum of Natural History and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It serves national needs in biosecurity coordination with Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service and international conventions like Convention on Biological Diversity and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The collection supports projects funded by bodies including Australian Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, and international grants from National Science Foundation, European Research Council and Wellcome Trust.
Origins trace to mid-20th-century accumulation of specimens from expeditions and surveys led by figures and programs associated with CSIRO and university fieldwork, with links to collectors who worked with Ernst Mayr, David Attenborough, Tim Flannery, Ronald Strahan and institutions such as Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme and Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union. The repository developed alongside national museums including National Museum of Australia and regional collections like Western Australian Museum and South Australian Museum. Milestones include integration of frozen tissue libraries modeled on methods from Molecular Systematics Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution and adoption of databasing standards influenced by Global Biodiversity Information Facility and Atlas of Living Australia.
Holdings encompass large series of bat, marsupial, monotreme, rodent, avian and reptile material with representative specimens from bioregions such as Great Dividing Range, Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, Mallee, Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land and Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The collection contains type specimens referenced in taxonomic works published in journals like Australian Journal of Zoology, Zootaxa, Journal of Biogeography, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution and Conservation Biology. It includes frozen tissue linked to genetic datasets deposited in repositories associated with GenBank, European Nucleotide Archive and Barcode of Life Data Systems. Collaborations involve specimen exchange networks with Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History and Field Museum of Natural History.
Scientists using the collection contribute to phylogenetics, population genetics, disease ecology and climate change studies with partners such as CSIRO Land and Water, Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Fenner School of Environment and Society and international groups like BirdLife International and Global Environment Facility. Research outputs appear in outlets including Nature, Science, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, PNAS, Ecology Letters and feed into assessments by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IUCN Red List and national recovery plans prepared by Threatened Species Scientific Committee. The collection aids forensic identification in cases handled with Australian Federal Police and biosecurity responses coordinated with Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.
The repository supports conservation translocations, captive-breeding genetics and disease surveillance for taxa covered by conventions and listings such as EPBC Act (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act) decisions, and recovery programs for species like those managed by Recovery Plan for the Greater Bilby, Australian Sea Lion Recovery Program and initiatives linked to World Wildlife Fund Australia. It provides baseline data for invasive species management coordinated with Invasive Species Council and joint operations with Parks Victoria, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. The collection informs pest/pathogen tracing used during responses to incursions involving agencies such as Biosecurity Australia.
Housed in Canberra research precincts alongside institutions including Australian National University and CSIRO divisions, the facility maintains cold storage, specimen preparation labs and digital curation systems meeting standards set by bodies like International Council of Museums and data exchange frameworks such as Darwin Core. Governance and funding involve partnerships among CSIRO, federal departments and grant agencies like Australian Research Council, with professional staff drawn from networks including Australian Mammal Society, Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union and Herpetologists’ League.
Specimens are available by loan to accredited organizations such as Natural History Museum, London, Smithsonian Institution, Museum Victoria and university research groups under material transfer agreements conforming to Nagoya Protocol provisions where applicable. The collection contributes occurrence data to platforms like Atlas of Living Australia and engages the public via exhibitions with National Museum of Australia, outreach programs alongside Royal Botanic Gardens Canberra and citizen science initiatives operated with iNaturalist and Bush Blitz. Educational collaborations include partnerships with universities such as University of Tasmania, Flinders University and schools through programs coordinated by Australian Academy of Science.
Category:Natural history collections in Australia