Systematic Parasitology 6, 241-255.

0 1984. Dr W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht. Printed in the Netherlands.

Technology as applied to museum collections: the collection, fixation and

conservation of helminths*

David I. GIBSON (Chairman)

Department of Zoology, British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK

Introduction lands fluid or glacial acetic acid, or hot conven-

The second Museums Group workshop took place
at ICOPA V in Toronto during August, 1982. The
subject of this workshop was techniques involved
in the collection, fixation and long-term storage of
helminth parasites. Such techniques are not only
vital to taxonomists and curators of collections, but
also to scientists of other disciplines, such as ecol-
ogy, where it is useful to maintain material in good
condition over a period of years.
The wide variety of treatments used in the past
have caused numerous taxonomic problems, be-
cause the treatment of material before fixation, the
fixative used and the treatment of material during
fixation and processing can all affect the morphol-
ogy of the parasite. Similarly, inadequate con-
servation techniques have also resulted in the
damage or loss of valuable specimens. Many cur-
rent techniques have been handed down over the
years and have not been subjected to comparative
research, either quantitive or qualitative. Al-
though curators of archival material must be con-
servative, it is essential that such research is carried
out.
This well attended meeting was the first oppor-
tunity for interested parties to get together and
discuss these matters, pass on useful techniques,
expose bad practices and try to obtain a greater
degree of standardization. Although it was clear
from the meeting that most workers are tending to
adopt the use of modern fixatives, such as Ber-
tional fixatives, there are differences of opinion on
certain other techniques; e.g. the use of glycerol
(glycerine) in conservation media (for Berland,
Lichtenfels, Pritchard & Kruse; against Durette-
Desset, Bray), the use of synthetic mountants @Y
Berland; againsf Bray, Pritchard & Kruse)* and
the use of flattening of platyhelminths during fixa-
tion (for Berland; against Bray). It is to be hoped
that the contributions to this meeting* act as a
stimulus for further trials and comparative inves-
tigations into the various techniques dealt with.
During the course of the meeting, a Resolution
to the World Federation of Parasitologists was pro-
posed by Drs. Lichtenfels and Pritchard and passed
to the effect that parasitologists should be encour-
aged to deposit voucher specimens in public insti-
tutions whenever possible and to include accession
numbers in publications: such specimensare inval-
uable for documenting experimental, ecological
and population studies which might otherwise be-
come discredited if the identity of the material
under study subsequently falls into question. Re-
sulting from the first Museums Group workshop
meeting at ICOPA IV, a guide to the parasite
collections of the world is now available (Lichten-
fels & Pritchard. 1982). The third Museums Group
workshop, to take place at ICOPA VI,will be
organized by Dr. M.H. Pritchard (University of
Nebraska).
* See following papers

* Papers presented at ICOPA V, Toronto. Canada, August 1982. For combined references to these 8 papers see p. 255