Northern Arizona University – Arthropod Collection

About the collection

The Northern Arizona University – Arthropod Collection (NAAC), previously the Colorado Plateau Museum of Arthropod Biodiversity (CPMAB), houses ~250,000 specimens primarily from the southwestern United States and Mexico. The collection continues to grow through active research and survey programs of NAU faculty and associates. As a research collection, segments of its holdings are loaned to interested parties or available via a web portal constructed through NSF funding, advancing biodiversity research on a global scale. At NAU, NAAC serves as an important reference collection and repository for research vouchers across departments. Its specimens are also used in teaching Entomology (BIO 322) which is part of the NAU Certificate in Wildlife Management and Ecology. Notably, the collection holds historical material collected during the 1840’s, specimens from important regional National Parks like Grand Canyon N.P., and from over 20 different countries from across the globe.

Research

Individuals interested in using the collection as part of their research should contact Dr. Grey Gustafson (grey.gustafson@nau.edu) in order to gain access to the collection. Loans of material housed at NAAC are available to qualified individuals. Interested parties should send an email explaining the proposed research and indicate the specimens they are interested in loaning. Information about some of the holdings can be found through the Ecdysis database, here.

Location

NAAC is housed on the Northern Arizona University Mountain Campus in the Biological Sciences building (Bldg. #21) at 617 S. Beaver St. This Google map image shows the exact location. Within the building the NAAC is housed on the first floor in room 129.