Reply re:collecting dead versus live shells
 
I do this also but by doing so we lose a great deal of ecological and
biological data.  Does the organism live where we found the corpse or was
it thrown up on the shore by the latest storm.  Was the shell transported
there by a preditor, what is the association of the shell with the other
organisms in the are.  Is there sexual dimorphism and can it be discerned
only from the shells without soft tissue?  Though I mainly collect fossils
and do not worry about collecting live specimens, I do realize that there
is great importance that should be attached to live collecting especially
when there are excellent field notes to go with the material.  The shells
in isolation are mere curios, with data they are important scientific
objects.
 
Charlie
**********************************************************************
 
Charlie Sturm, Jr
Clinical Instructor - Family Medicine
  University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Research Associate - Section of Invertebrate Zoology
  Carnegie Museum of Natural History
 
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On Wed, 4 Mar 1998, SeaAllD wrote:
 
> I am an avid collector of shells, but don't pick live ones.  There are many
> beautiful dead ones on the shores.    I'm sure the future collectors of the
> world will do the same.
>