|
The southern Levant, a continental corridor between Europe, Africa and Asia, is a biodiversity hotspot and an ideal natural laboratory for measuring human evolution and historical evolutionary changes influenced by human civilizations on the biota over time. The National Natural History Collections (NNHC HUJI) makes a vital contribution to the study of taxonomy, systematics, invasive species, biological conservation, land management and biotic responses to climate changes and human rapid alteration of the ecosystems in the region during the last 300 years.
Moreover being situated along one of the focal routes "out of Africa" our Palaeo -collections treasure many of the focal localities along the way. The collections, some of which are the most complete existing collections of their kind for the region of the Middle East – now serve as a safe repository and reliable baseline for the biota of Israel in the wake of unprecedented global environment changes that also impact the Mediterranean basin. These changes are indicative of modifications in environmental processes and in the structure and function of ecosystems. Furthermore, due to the geographic position of Israel at the meeting point of several biogeographic and climatic regions, the biodiversity of Israel has the potential to serve as a sensitive indicator for large-scale regional and global changes.
The National Natural History Collections at the Hebrew University, some of which are the most complete existing collections of their kind for the region of the Middle East – now serve as a safe repository and reliable baseline for the biota of Israel in the wake of unprecedented global environment changes that also impact the Mediterranean basin. These changes are indicative of modifications in environmental processes and in the structure and function of ecosystems. Furthermore, due to the geographic position of Israel at the meeting point of several biogeographicand climatic regions, the biodiversity of Israel has the potential to serve as a sensitive indicator for large-scale regional and global changes.
All biological and geological collections are national assets. They present us with markers and milestones for exploring the continuity of evolutionary biological change and diversity of the biome. Our collections, assembled over a period of more than a hundred years, are particularly suitable for monitoring such changes. The collection serves for research, academic teaching, and assistance to other institutes, public education, and community outreach.
For example, the Herbarium of the Hebrew University (HUJ) has a comprehensive collection of both phanerogamous and cryptogamous plants of the Middle East, including Israel and its neighbors, areas which have been poorly represented in international herbaria. Over 1,000,000 vascular specimens represent 100 years of intense and comprehensive collection of the Middle-East Flora. Moreover, the HUJ Herbarium has a unique and comprehensive collection of mosses and liverworts, fungi, marine algae, plant-derived drugs, and rare, hand-painted botanical illustrations. It is a key infrastructure of European interest since it represents in a very comprehensive way the southeastern margins of the European Flora. The Herbarium is a well-established institution with facilities including professional workspace and optical devices. As evidence to this, over 25 articles citing HUJ material were published during the period of 2016-7, mainly by European colleagues.
The collections of the Marine invertebrates, containing a wealth of regional documentation from the 1920’s, have been gradually enriched with new regional material: from the Israel South Red Sea Expeditions of 1962 and 1965, from scientific sampling cruises in the Eastern Mediterranean and its islands and since 1967 from the Sinai Peninsula, the Suez Canal, and from Mount Hermon. It holds key samples documenting the biotic interchange between the Red Sea (tropical Indo-Pacific) and the Mediterranean Sea (temperate Atlantic) following the opening of the Suez Canal.
These collections also contain rare samples of the fauna of Levantine inland fresh-water bodies that are either gone or inaccessible in the region, following urbanization, aridification and warfare. The collections curate specimens from the Hula Lake before it was drained and from numerous temporary pools and springs that no longer exist, which represent a unique and under-studied fauna.
During the years, the study of the Lessepsian migration continued to be based on macro-algae, fishes, mollusks, Polychaeta and decapod crustaceans, and an additional small diversity of occasionally reported invertebrates belonging to other macrobenthic taxa. The systematically-collected meiobenthos material of our collection contains information about the still unknown number of meiobenthic Lessepsian migrants.
The Mollusc Collection, established in 1932 by Prof. G. Haas, holds a vast collection of Middle Eastern molluscs from all three habitats: marine (the Red and Mediterranean Seas), freshwater and terrestrial (from Turkey in the north to Egypt in the south, including Cyprus). The collection serves as an important database for tracking the Lessepsian Migration of molluscs, species migrating from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea along the Israeli shores and changing the Mediterranean fauna. The mollusc collection is the largest in the Middle East and it is continuously expanding. In addition to local species, the collection also contains material from around the world. These specimens were mainly acquired by donations of entire collections, including the malacological libraries, of G.S. Coen (Venice, Italy), R. Neuville (Jerusalem/Paris, France) and A. Blok (Rottingdean, England). At present the collection houses some 1,000,000 specimens coming from 100,000 samples that represent 20,000 species. Among the specimens ca. 3,000 are type specimens. Most samples consist of shells only, but the collection also contains specimens preserved in alcohol. The collection also includes a library of 1,100 books, 320 volumes of periodicals and 20,000 reprints.
The Terrestrial invertebrate collections include the national arachnid collection that is the most comprehensive arachnid collection in the Middle-East, and a precious resource for arachnologist worldwide, as well as historical parasitological collections and other arthropod collections: animal parasites such as flat worms, round warms, nematodes and ticks, as well as historical collection of agricultural important pest and predatory mites, and arachnid collection representing all arachnid orders found in the region (Amblypygi, Araneae, Opilioacariformes, Opiliones, Palpigradi, Pseudoscorpiones, Scorpiones, Solifugae) with ~ 300 types. Our speleological collections come from dry and wet caves of all climatic zones of the region, as well as from rare underground water systems with unique fauna, including the scorpion Akrav israchanani – a sole representative of a newly described family – and other subterranean arthropods.
The Israeli National Arachnid Collection supports both basic and applied research. The basic research includes taxonomical (including descriptions of species new to science) and phylogenetic study of the arachnid orders found in the region: Acari (mites and ticks), Amblypygi, Araneae) more than 50 families, but especially: Agelenidae, Linyphiidae, Lycosidae, Pholcidae, Theridiidae), Opiliones, Pseudoscorpiones, Scorpiones and Solifugae.The applied research includes monitoring of the arachnid diversity in agroecosystems and in nature reserves, and anthropogenic effects on the local fauna, i.e: monitoring biodiversity in the Avrona nature reserve: the oil leak and its effects on Arachnids; Development of an area-wide management system for effective pest control in sustainable agriculture; Monitoring arachnids in caves - New species and new records to Israel. In addition, the collection staff provides identification services for The Israel Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, The Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection, The Israel Ministry of Health, The Israel Nature Protection Authorities, researchers in universities and Customs offices,
The Amphibians and Reptiles Collection comprises just over 23,000 catalogued specimens of amphibians and reptiles from all over the world. Most specimens are from Israel and Sinai, collected with an effort to record geographical distribution and variation. The collection is considered the most extensive regional record of Middle Eastern taxa. It is the world’s only collection containing all the taxa extant in Israel. The better part of the inventory (ca. 85%) is stored (usually following initial preservation in formalin) in ethanol; the remainder consists of stuffed or dry specimens, i.e. skeletons and skins. Since 1994, tissue samples from fresh specimens have been preserved separately for future DNA analysis (several hundred samples).
The Bird collection of the Hebrew University was founded by Prof. Israel Aharoni (1882 – 1946), who was one of the first researchers of the Hebrew University and who was actively involved in bird collection throughout the Middle East during the first half of the 20th century. The collection is unique in consisting of rare bird species of the Middle East, including species that are now extinct from the area and sub-species that are globally extinct. The collection harbors about 2,000 specimens that were collected primarily during two periods: 1) the beginning of the 20th century, and 2) the end of the 1960’s and the begining of the 1970’s.
The Hebrew University has the oldest and the most comprehensive Fish collection in the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the largest inventory of fish specimens of the Red Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean, as well local freshwater ichthyofauna. The Red Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean are of great importance to ichthyological research. The Red Sea was the first tropical region whose ichthyology was studied; many species were first described for science. The Eastern Mediterranean has become the center of scientific attention due to the colonization of Red Sea species which has substantially altered the marine environment and the biodiversity of the Levant.
The Archaeozoological collections comprise hundreds of sites representing the history of the fauna from the Pliocene to the Holocene of Israel, where major events in the history of human took place, from hunting, gathering, fishing, to domestication and husbandry. The collections are open to students and researchers from all over the world (more than 15 visitors per year) and are the basis for numerous scientific publications, doctoral and master theses. New sites are constantly being explored, while new excavations throughout Israel are taking place and their bone material is being analyzed and added to the collections.
The recent Vertebrates Comparative collection (ca. 10,000 specimens) represents the local fauna of Israel and adjacent regions. It includes specimens of all taxa collected during the past 60 years. This collection represents populations from various regions of the country. Prof. Israel Aharoni started the collection at the beginning of the 20th century, and was in turn followed by researchers and students who collected animals for science and teaching.
Rare species, extinct species, and endangered species, including type specimens, are present in the collection. From the early years, the policy of the curators was to preserve a complete skeleton, thus most specimens represent complete animals. Each specimen has a number that appears on every skeletal element. Rodents (ca. 200) are preserved as stuffed specimens as well as skeletal elements.
The Palaeontology collections hold an impressive body of information on the fossil record of the eastern Mediterranean, its biogeographic origin, its evolution and implicitly, all the available information about the ancient climatic conditions of the area. The collection was started in the late 1920’s by Y.L. Picard, founder of the Department of Geology, Y. Bentor and M. Avnimelech, who collected fossils in Israel and abroad including from “type-localities’. The collection also includes material collected since the end of the 19th century from different sites in the Middle East by Blanckenhorn, Conard and others. Prof. Paul Oppenheim from Berlin donated his collection of specimens from all over Europe in the 1930’s.
The collection contains fossils of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals from all over Israel and adjacent countries, representing the entire record of the area. It was founded by Prof. G. Haas and was later expanded by Prof. E. Tchernov. Fossil material from geological localities has been collected for more than fifty years. Sites with bone bearing beds have been excavated and studied with world specialists. For example, the Maktesh Ramon Negev desert site, dating from the Triassic period, yielded thousands of remains of marine and terrestrial vetebrates.
The Bio-anthropology collection held by the Hebrew University provides a unique insight into past human populations of the Southern Levant, spanning all major phases in the evolution of modern human society. The collection comprises one of the most extensive and well documented regional records in the Near East and provides a rich resource for research in human evolution and diversity that is utilized by local and visiting scholars and students. Areas of research on the collections include evolutionary biology, genetics, biomechanics, growth and development, nutrition and disease, functional anatomy, forensic anthropology and dental anthropology. Much of the research carried out is inter-disciplinary, involving specialists in fields such as anthropology, archaeology, genetics, evolutionary biology and dentistry in the quest to better understand the long-term effects of changing environments and cultures on human biology.
The Wildlife Cryobank, wildlife tissue, blood, feathers and DNA, collection consists of over 15,000 specimens representing the fauna (mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians and fish) of Israel. For most species, a voucher specimen together with additional samples is curated. The samples are cataloged into a database that includes available information on the origin (specific geographical location), sex, age etc. of the specimen and any genetic information obtained. The collection was established by Prof. Kahila Bar-Gal with the support of the Israel Nature and Park Authority (INPA) and the Hebrew University.
Molecular genetics species identification and population characterization is based on comparison of genetic (DNA sequencing and genotyping of mitochondrial and nuclear markers) and genomic data. The advantage of using the DNA for identification is that it can be extracted from highly processed and degraded products, as it is an extremely stable and long-lived biological molecule. The mitochondrial genes were found to be very useful in species identification. Species identification using molecular techniques contributes to the taxonomy research especially where traditional methods have failed to obtain a definite identification, for example in cases of a partial skeleton, immature stages and unrecognized species.
|
