Primary scope:

COREO Region (if known):
SEEON - Southeast Ecological Observatory

Owner of the site:
University of Alabama

Primary collection type:
Taxonomic

Description:
The University of Alabama Ichthyological Collection (UAIC) contains over one million preserved, frozen, and skeletal specimens, some dating back to the mid-1900s. UAIC has one of the largest and most diverse frozen tissue collections in the world and has been designated a permanent repository by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for all endangered sturgeon specimens and tissues. It is the best single resource documenting past and present abundances and distributions of fishes in Alabama, the state that contains the most diverse fish fauna in North America. A significant number of fish species inhabiting aquatic ecosystems from other areas in North America are represented in the collection, as well as collections from Central and South America, Europe, and Asia. The UAIC is housed in the state-of-the art Scientific Collections Facility (now Mary Harmon Bryant Hall) where a new laboratory complex fosters education and research in ichthyology and biodiversity associated with the collection. This facility also contains the Steven Johnson Molecular Systematics Laboratory for faculty and graduate students interested in conducting molecular systematic research with museum collections.

Contact name:
Amelia K. Ward

Contact title:
Director, Center for Freshwater Studies

Contact email:
award@biology.as.ua.edu

Contact phone number:
205 348 1796

Contributor name:
Phillip M. Harris

Contributor relationship to location:
Faculty curator

Contributor email:
pharris@biology.as.ua.edu

Contributor phone number:
205 348 1831