On Saturday, October 7, Naturalis hosted about fifty people. Not just anyone: snail people, mite people, mushroom people, beetle people, plant people, the flatworm lady who proudly showed off a still-living specimen crawling around and much more. Calling all collectors together! It worked.
For projects arise (All multicellular species in the Netherlands) and BGE (collections of species across Europe), Naturalis searches for specimens of Dutch species to determine their DNA barcodes. The research institute cannot do this alone, it requires a lot of help. This helps science and can contribute to nature conservation. These are noble goals, but much attention has also been paid to the other side of the story:
what’s in it for me?
What does that mean for you as an expert? Well, you access DNA data for your species and the specimens end up in a public collection. This means you can use it to solve taxonomic puzzles and contribute to science. This way, in the future, you will not have to spend weeks choosing an insect trap, for example, but can focus on special cases.
Collection Manager Tim Rietbergen from Naturalis looks back on the day with satisfaction: “We received very good questions, as well as comments that we can act on immediately. We need several thousand samples, and they are already starting to arrive.”
For those who still want to join: you can. Send an email to [email protected] and a free sample pack will be sent to you, so you can try them right away. And for those who want another day of Naturalis with like-minded people: we look forward to seeing you again on National ARISE Day on March 27!
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Text and image: Natural Biodiversity Centre
