Collection Policies

Destructive Sampling Policy

Destructive sample loans are considered, and may include skin samples taken from preserved scientific skins as well as subsamples of tissue specimens.

Such requests should include all the information detailed for standard specimen loans and must also include the researcher's experience working with avian tissues. Additional information should include a detailed summary of other sources of avian tissue that were considered or used by the requestor and a justification of the material requested from the MCZ. Evidence of support of museum activities such as contribution of modern material from the field to natural history museums should also be included.

The following rules must also be followed in all cases:

1. Grantees must return unused tissues to the MCZ Ornithology Department.
2. Grantees are requested to return a portion of the extract derived from granted samples (e.g., DNA). This is intended to maximize use of the tissue loan and increase availability of information to the research community. Extracts or original tissue cannot be distributed to other researchers without MCZ permission.
3. Grantees must acknowledge the “Ornithology Department, Museum of Comparative Zoology” in all publications that use data generated from MCZ samples. Publications should include a table that lists voucher numbers of all samples used.
4. Grantees must send a reprint of any publications benefiting from any MCZ Ornithology tissue grant. It would be helpful if the grantee emailed the publication citation to the Curatorial Associate, Jeremiah Trimble.