Скачать или смотреть The colonial legacies of natural history collections: specimens from the Caribbean as a case study

NatSCA Conference 2025 - Making a Difference
8th - 9th May 2025, Manchester Museum

The colonial legacies of natural history collections: specimens
from the Caribbean as a case study. Patricia Torres-Pineda: Museo de Historia Natural "Eugenio de Jesús Marcano" & University of Michigan Museum of Zoology

It has been estimated that at least 1.1 billion zoological specimens are housed in natural history museums and collections around the world. These specimens comprise the foundation of a plethora of biological and environmental research, including studies on wildlife biology, ecology and conservation, habitat restoration, predictive investigations related to climate change and public health as well as education and public engagement.
In the last decades, museum and collections professionals have started important conversations regarding the colonial legacies that have shaped and, in many cases, still inform the practices, access and use (or lack thereof) of collections.

Regrettably, these debates are still not as prevalent in the field of natural history collections and museums. Despite the Caribbean being one of the top
Biodiversity hotspots of the planet (geographic areas that concentrate a large number of unique species), this diversity is not being fairly represented in Caribbean-based museums and collections.

Here, I present preliminary results of an exploratory study on the geopolitical
distribution patterns of zoological natural history specimens from the Caribbean in collections around the world, where striking disparities in quantity and quality of collections housed locally, in comparison with those in Global North institutions become evident. In order to address the causes and implications of these biases and open a dialogue that move us towards more inclusive and fairer practices in zoological collecting and curating practices, we must understand the extent and magnitude of the disparities.