From the Field to the Lab, Parasites are Everywhere, But are They in Museums? Vouchering Parasite Specimens: A Path Forward

Museums serve as tangible links to the past, providing the context needed to understand and estimate change over time. In the ever-changing global landscape, documenting the world's parasites, a critical component of biodiversity, has become essential. Parasitism, a lifestyle rather than a taxonomic category, spans a remarkable range of organisms, from protozoans and metazoans to fungi and plants. Although scientists broadly agree on the need to voucher parasites in museums, practical guidance on how to do so across the diversity of parasite taxa remains limited. Voucher specimens are preserved specimens and associated data that are deposited and catalogued in accessible, recognized, permanent museum collections. Vouchers are fundamental for making studies repeatable and verifiable, providing firm reference points for investigations. All parasitological studies can contribute vouchers of parasites and their natural or experimental hosts. Here we review (1) the nature of a voucher and its role within parasitology; (2) the proportion of specimens represented in the Journal of Parasitology (2011–2021) publications that have been vouchered; (3) a survey of the membership of the American Society of Parasitologists for perceived roadblocks to vouchering; (4) suggested practices for increasing specimen vouchering; and (5) a field-to-museum vouchering case study from the Museum of Southwestern Biology, Division of Parasites, Albuquerque, New Mexico.