Samantha Winder, project coordinator, shows an algal specimen. Photo courtesy of the University of Michigan Herbarium.

A third article was recently published by the University of Michigan in their series on the University of Michigan Herbarium's [1] digitization efforts.

This installment focused on the herbarium’s participation in the TCN the Macroalgal Herbarium Consortium: Accessing 150 Years of Specimen Data to Understand Changes in the Marine/Aquatic Environment [2]which represents a consortium of 49 herbaria from across the country that have come together to digitize more than 1 million algal specimen records. This digitization initiative is important because macroalgae serve as the foundation for many aquatic ecosystems and are a valuable economic resource. Many species are also sensitive to environmental change so have the potential to serve as indicator organisms.

Read the original press release [3] to learn more about the University of Michigan Herbarium’s contributions to the macroalgal TCN.