Specimen collection is essential for modern science
by Michael W. Nachman, Elizabeth J. Beckman, Rauri CK Bowie, Carla Cicero, Chris J. Conroy, Robert Dudley, Tyrone B. Hayes, Michelle S. Koo, Eileen A. Lacey, Christopher H. Martin, Jimmy A. McGuire, James L. Patton, Carol L. Spencer, Rebecca D. Tarvin, Marvalee H. Wake, Ian J. Wang, Anang Achmadi, Sergio Ticul Álvarez-Castañeda, Michael J. Andersen, Jairo Arroyave, Christopher C. Austin, F Keith Barker, Lisa N. Barrow, George F. Barrowclough, John Bates, Aaron M. Bauer, Kayce C. Bell, Rayna C. Bell, Allison W. Bronson, Rafe M. Brown, Frank T. Burbrink, Kevin J. Burns, Carlos Daniel Cadena, David C. Cannatella, Todd A. Castoe, Prosanta Chakrabarty, Jocelyn P. Colella, Joseph A. Cook, Joel L. Cracraft, Drew R. Davis, Alison R. Davis Rabosky, Guillermo D’Elía, John P. Dumbacher, Jonathan L. Dunnum, Scott V. Edwards, Jacob A. Esselstyn, Julián Faivovich, Jon Fjeldså, Oscar A. Flores-Villela, Kassandra Ford, Jérôme Fuchs, Matthew K. Fujita, Jeffrey M. Good, Eli Greenbaum, Harry W. Greene, Shannon Hackett, Amir Hamidy, James Hanken, Tri Haryoko, Melissa TR Hawkins, Lawrence R. Heaney, David M. Hillis, Bradford D. Hollingsworth, Angela D. Hornsby, Peter A. Hosner, Mohammad Irham, Sharon Jansa, Rosa Alicia Jiménez, Leo Joseph, Jeremy J. Kirchman, Travis J. LaDuc, Adam D. Leaché, Enrique P. Lessa, Hernán López-Fernández, Nicholas A. Mason, John E. McCormack, Caleb D. McMahan, Robert G. Moyle, Ricardo A. Ojeda, Link E. Olson, Chan Kin Onn, Lynne R. Parenti, Gabriela Parra-Olea, Bruce D. Patterson, Gregory B. Pauly, Silvia E. Pavan, A Townsend Peterson, Steven Poe, Daniel L. Rabosky, Christopher J. Raxworthy, Sushma Reddy, Alejandro Rico-Guevara, Awal Riyanto, Luiz A. Rocha, Santiago R. Ron, Sean M. Rovito, Kevin C. Rowe, Jodi Rowley, Sara Ruane, David Salazar-Valenzuela, Allison J. Shultz, Brian Sidlauskas, Derek S. Sikes, Nancy B. Simmons, Melanie L. J. Stiassny, Jeffrey W. Streicher, Bryan L. Stuart, Adam P. Summers, Jose Tavera, Pablo Teta, Cody W. Thompson, Robert M. Timm, Omar Torres-Carvajal, Gary Voelker, Robert S. Voss, Kevin Winker, Christopher Witt, Elizabeth A. Wommack, Robert M. Zink
Natural history museums are vital repositories of specimens, samples and data that inform about the natural world; this Formal Comment revisits a Perspective that advocated for the adoption of compassionate collection practices, querying whether it will ever be possible to completely do away with whole animal specimen collection.