Collection Objects and Preparations

One of the most important aspects of the data structure in Specify is the concept of a Collection Object and how it relates to Preparations.

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Collection Objects

Definition (ideal): A genetically distinct individual, sampled at a point in time and place and including all sample elements held in the Herbarium or created by the Herbarium.

Definition (practical): All the material collected from a single organism (or population) on a single date, usually defined by the collector and collector number.

Note: where a single herbarium sheet contains material from the same genetic individual collected on more than one date, there is an argument for treating these as two distinct Collection Objects.

  • All the information that is shared by all the material collected is recorded in the Collection Object record

Preparations

Definition: One element of a Collection Object that may be stored or loaned separately.

  • Only the information unique to each of these specimens (or which may differ) is recorded in the Preparation record.