A history of pest control measures in the anthropology collections, national museum of natural history, smithsonian institution
01 Jan 1996-Journal of The American Institute for Conservation (Routledge)-Vol. 35, Iss: 1, pp 23-43
TL;DR: Since the mid-19th century, various pest eradication techniques have been employed on the anthropology collections at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution as mentioned in this paper, and these techniques are reviewed, and pesticide and fumigant use by early collectors and later collections management staff is documented.
Abstract: Since the mid-19th century, various pest eradication techniques have been employed on the anthropology collections at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. These techniques are reviewed, and pesticide and fumigant use by early collectors and later collections management staff is documented. Also chronicled are the ways in which the choice of chemicals has changed over the years and the decisions that led to those changes. The effects of pest eradication techniques on the collections are discussed, and the author's findings are offered as the basis for further research.
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30 Mar 2009
111 citations
Cites background from "A history of pest control measures ..."
...Museum‐pest research is now focusing largely on preventive conservation (Goldberg 1996)....
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TL;DR: Data show that remote seabird colonies in the Pacific basin exhibit temporal changes in methylmercury levels consistent with historical global and recent regional increases in anthropogenic emissions.
Abstract: Methylmercury cycling in the Pacific Ocean has garnered significant attention in recent years, especially with regard to rising mercury emissions from Asia. Uncertainty exists concerning whether increases in anthropogenic emissions over time may have caused increased mercury bioaccumulation in the biota. To address this, we measured total mercury and, for a subset of samples, methylmercury (the bioaccumulated form of mercury) in museum feathers from an endangered seabird, the black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), spanning a 120-y period. We analyzed stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C) to control for temporal changes in trophic structure and diet. In post-1940 and -1990 feathers, we detected significantly higher mean methylmercury concentrations and higher proportions of samples exhibiting above deleterious threshold levels (∼40,000 ng·g−1) of methylmercury relative to prior time points, suggesting that mercury toxicity may undermine reproductive effort in the species. We also found higher levels of (presumably curator-mediated) inorganic mercury in older specimens of albatross as well as two nonpelagic species lacking historical exposure to bioavailable mercury, patterns suggesting that studies on bioaccumulation should measure methylmercury rather than total mercury when using museum collections. δ15N contributed substantially to models explaining the observed methylmercury variation. After simultaneously controlling for significant trends in δ13C over time and δ15N with methylmercury exposure, year remained a significant independent covariate with feather methylmercury levels among the albatrosses. These data show that remote seabird colonies in the Pacific basin exhibit temporal changes in methylmercury levels consistent with historical global and recent regional increases in anthropogenic emissions.
95 citations
Cites background from "A history of pest control measures ..."
...However, the observed decrease in IHg over time for all three study species occurs after the time frame (late 1800s through 1930s) of widespreadmercuric chloride (HgCl2) use in the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) (44) and thus, may reflect a similar history of preservative application among several museum collections in the United States....
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TL;DR: Findings depict genotoxic potential of these metal compounds even in sublethal concentrations, as well as the order of induction of micronuclei frequency and toxicity was As>Hg>Cu.
79 citations
01 Jan 2007
47 citations
References
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Book•
01 Jan 1956
TL;DR: Inorganic spot test analysis has been extensively studied in the literature, see as discussed by the authors for a survey of the current state and prospects of inorganic inorganic spot-test analysis, including preliminary orientational tests for the elements, their ions and compounds.
Abstract: Development, present state and prospects of inorganic spot test analysis. Methodology of spot test analysis (completely revised and enlarged by Dr. G. Skalos). Preliminary orientational tests. Tests for the elements, their ions and compounds. Application of spot reactions in tests of purity, examination of technical materials, studies of minerals. Tabular summary.
1,663 citations
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01 Jan 1957
TL;DR: In this paper, hazard analysis information for nearly 13,000 common industrial and laboratory materials is provided in a single source and hazard analysis is performed for each of these materials using hazard analysis tools.
Abstract: The book provides, in a single source, hazard-analysis information for nearly 13,000 common industrial and laboratory materials. New sections have been added to this edition to refiect the increased interest in pollution and health hazards. For public, academic and special libraries. -- AATA
1,441 citations
TL;DR: The History of Science Society (HSS) as discussed by the authors has published a history of science articles and a collection of their publications, including the final pdf of this article, which can be found at: http://www.hssonline.org/
Abstract: This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by The History of Science Society and can be found at: http://www.hssonline.org/.
59 citations