By Bryana Quintana
This story was originally published in the FALL 2024 edition of SDSU Magazine
SDSU biologists have collected specimens from every corner of the Earth for decades: It’s all in the Biodiversity Museum.
FOLLOWING A PATH outlined by railroad tracks, Marshal Hedin found himself deep inside a dark, cramped tunnel in a remote part of North Carolina. He examined the sides of the tunnel and, with the aid of a headlamp, spotted what he came looking for. Suddenly, he heard a whistle in the distance. The sound echoed through the hollow cavity, a warning that grew louder as the ground began to tremble. In a split second, Hedin pressed himself against the curved wall of the tunnel, motionless as the train barreled by. He clutched a precious vial in his hand.
The veteran field researcher quite often finds himself in precarious situations such as this. He braves each bold adventure with the same seemingly simple goal: to find spiders.
Hedin is a biology professor who joined the faculty of the College of Sciences in 1999. A year ago, he took on the role of director of SDSU’s Biodiversity Museum, a veritable natural history museum that houses more than 100,000 specimens that have been collected and acquired over the past 127 years. While Hedin’s specialty is arachnids, the museum’s shelves, drawers, cabinets and even ultracold freezers are filled with plants, insects, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians from around the world.
“It’s important to preserve these samples because they provide a window into the past,” Hedin says. “I see biologists as stewards of the planet, including biodiversity that has been collected and preserved. It is our job to maintain this diversity, actively using specimens now but also carrying them to the future.”
Read the full article featured in SDSU Magazine.