Main description (English)

The CNR-ISMAR DiSSCo WG developed this manual as part of Activity 6.6 “National network of the aquatic science collection” in the Italian Integrated Environmental Research Infrastructures System -ITINERIS Project. This guideline suggests a procedure for managing and harmonising the metadata associated with the physical specimens of the aquatic natural collections preserved at the Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR-ISMAR). Natural collections are archives containing a large amount of data from various research fields, such as zoology, botany, ecology, biogeography, physiology, geology, paleontology, etc. The metadata harmonisation of physical samples, following international reference standards, and creating a digital sample will make them usable for national and international initiatives, also contributing to the increase of the DiSSCo (Distributed System of Scientific Collections, www.dissco.eu) Italian community in the natural science collections management.