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- The Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ) at the University of California, Berkeley, is a center for research and education in the biology of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Founded in 1908, the Museum's mission is to document and increase understanding of the diversity of terrestrial vertebrates, with particular emphasis on western North America. The superb collections are at the heart of the MVZ program, where methods of field biology are combined with modern laboratory techniques and analytical methods in a comprehensive, synthetic approach. Our goals are to remain at the forefront of international research on evolutionary biology from the perspectives of systematics, ecology, behavior, functional and developmental morphology, population biology, and evolutionary genomics, and to lead the way in developing and using major natural history collections for research, education, and solving problems in biodiversity conservation.
Because the MVZ was founded upon a philosophy that organisms should be studied in relationship to their natural environments, its collections are supplemented by extensive ancillary information (e.g., field notes, habitat photographs, tape-recorded vocalizations) that is connected to specimens and/or tissues and enhances their value to researchers. This concept was pioneered at the MVZ and continues to be the primary focus of current research efforts. To this end, there are strong research links between the Museum and the 2,000 acre MVZ/UC field station at Hastings Natural History Reservation. In addition, the MVZ is actively engaged in developing concepts and tools for Biodiversity Informatics through collaborations across the Berkeley Natural History Museums and international consortia.
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