. Annual report. Harvard University. Museum of Comparative Zoology. Over the years the MCZ has received more than 800,000 fishes from Woods Hole Oceanogi aphic histitution cruises. Jim Craddock, a former MCZ associate, removed the otoliths—ear bones—fi om many of those specimens to use in the study of the food habits of marine mammals. After his death in 2009, his wife Thelma Fenster donated 3,000 sets of fish otoliths from about 450 individual species, many from \'oucher specimens already housed at the MCZ. The collection has been completely inventoried and organized, and Curatorial Assistant
. Annual report. Harvard University. Museum of Comparative Zoology. Over the years the MCZ has received more than 800,000 fishes from Woods Hole Oceanogi aphic histitution cruises. Jim Craddock, a former MCZ associate, removed the otoliths—ear bones—fi om many of those specimens to use in the study of the food habits of marine mammals. After his death in 2009, his wife Thelma Fenster donated 3,000 sets of fish otoliths from about 450 individual species, many from \'oucher specimens already housed at the MCZ. The collection has been completely inventoried and organized, and Curatorial Assistant Andrew Williston is entering collection data, including the original locality data, into MCZbase. Ichthyology intern Rex Passion completed the collection inventory and collection data review. "Otolidis are a valtiable resource in defining fish species and studying fish ecology," says Williston. "Growtli rings in otoliths can be sttidied for aging indiridual fish. They can be tised to identify fish remains in the stomach contents of marine predators like dolphins, and fish diets can be studied using stable isotope analysis of otoliths. And since otoliths ai e often fossilized, they can be compai ed to modern otolidis to better understand the diversity of fossil ;. Penny Benson (right) and Beryl Crinoid Collection Upgrades The recent work of Curatorial Assistant Penny Benson and temporal y emploxee Beryl Lipton has brotight specific parts of the MC'Z Department of Marine Invertebrates (ollcclion up to and beyond modern clay best-practice standards. This past vear the ctiratorial upgi ades were focused on the crinoid (sea lily and Iculu i star) and holothuroid (sea c ucumber) collections and included confii niation of specimen collection data, taxonomy and t\pe stiilus utilizing MCZbase, and rehousing specimens into new jars and trays along with updated archival labels. " I lie history, species diversity and number of types represented
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