![Newspaper clipping from February 25, 1970 in the Daily Barometer showing an article written by Bob Allen, past Barometer Editor. This article was written to spotlight both the student body’s lack of participation with student government at the time in conjunction with their class representatives response. [It’s important to note ASOSU was not structured identically to today’s standards, likely having a president on behalf of each class work together as one entity as opposed to one president representing all classes.]](https://dailybaro.orangemedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-12-1.00.42-PM-e1741811160853.png)
Oregon State University hosts a variety of specimen collections run by faculty in topics that explore ecological biodiversity.
Assisting researchers nationally, contributions from faculty members and students support current and past findings. These discoveries allow researchers to predict future outcomes of species and their environments.
While no current aspects of these collections are affected by the policies passed by the current administration from January through now, policies such as the Office of Management and Budget’s memorandum m-25-13 and executive orders 14173, 14235, 14242 and 14282 froze or threatened federal funding that would impact public universities.
Researchers in these repositories are creating plans and solutions if this changes in the future.
“Any potential changes would most likely involve permitting, federal research funding, or conservation guidelines in the future,” said Alvaro Cortes, the ichthyology and vertebrate collections manager.
An ichthyology collection — pertaining to the study of fish — has a place on the Corvallis campus. Specimens and an online database are available for research on various species found and contributed by faculty members and students.
“(Oregon State Ichthyology Collection) supports research in taxonomy, biogeography, genetics, biodiversity, evolution, conservation, anatomy and ecology. It also facilitates education and outreach through teaching collections and hands-on activities with students and school groups,” said Cortes.
Angie Vityukov and other undergraduates at OSU are currently investigating the impacts of anchorworm parasites on native fishes in the Willamette River Basin. Currently, they have examined 3,600 preserved fish specimens in OSIC.
“This study will provide important baseline data to track changes in parasite prevalence over time and showcases the strength of collections with historical specimens, like the OSIC,” said Cortes in an email.
Cortes himself is researching Sculpins, an ocean and freshwater fish most abundant in the North Pacific region.
“I use tools … to analyze skull and body shape to better understand species boundaries, evolutionary relationships, biogeography and more. Through this work, I aim to contribute to our understanding of biodiversity, systematics, and biogeography in freshwater fishes of the Pacific Northwest and their conservation,” Cortes said.
OSU is also home to an ice core lab, furthering research in paleoclimatology.
“We study the history of Earth’s climate and environmental systems by collecting and analyzing ice cores from polar and mountain regions. We are interested in the mechanisms of past climate change, changes in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and how these are related to future change,” said Edward Brook, director of the lab’s Center for Oldest Ice Exploration.
Oregon State offers introductory and upper-division courses for students interested in learning more about ichthyology and paleoclimatology through the College of Agricultural Sciences and the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences.
Other collections include the Herbarium, the Arthropod Collection and the Marine and Geology Repository (MGR).
The Herbarium is a place that “supports learning, discovery and engagement by obtaining and curating our state’s most comprehensive collection of plants, fungi, lichens and algae from around the world, with a geographic emphasis on Oregon and the Pacific Northwest,” according to their website.
The MGR site showcases their mission “to facilitate research, education and the advancement of scientific knowledge through access and preservation of our diverse collection of rock, lake and marine sediment samples from around the world and pole to pole.”
The Oregon State Arthropod Collection is “devoted to the documentation, archiving and sharing of specimen-based biodiversity data for insects, spiders, mites, and the rest of the members of the diverse group known as the Arthropoda,” as stated on their website.
There are student research opportunities in each of these collections as well.
“Curation and research in the collection fosters leadership and science-based expertise in our students, preparing them for service in natural resource and data management positions worldwide,” states the Herbarium’s website.
The MGR covers time periods spanning from a few years ago to millions of years, which gives “students the opportunity to learn about ocean processes occurring in different places and over multiple time scales.”
According to OSAC’s website, “The specimens we care for and the data associated with them are part of a global network of biodiversity research repositories that together form the foundations of how scientists empirically document, describe, and test our growing knowledge of Earth’s biodiversity.”
