National Museum of Natural Science

Chao, Shyh-Min - Curator

• Biology Department, Invertebrates Division
• chaosm@mail.nmns.edu.tw

Degrees：

SHYH-MIN CHAO PH. D Curator and Section Head of Invertebrate Head of Zoology Department

My Research Page

I entered the Collection and Research Division of this museum in December 1993. My responsibilities include invertebrate animal collection and research. My research interests and areas of expertise are invertebrate animal life characteristics and population dynamics. Over the past few years, my research work has been focus on the taxonomy, population dynamics, and sexual and asexual reproduction of echinoderms, with research locations confines to coral reefs. Over the next few years, I plan to conduct research on echinoderm and shellfish/mollusk taxonomy, life characteristics, and population dynamics. The locations of my research will be extended to include estuaries, sandy coasts and deep sea.
In Taiwan, invertebrate animals research, especially taxonomy, is very limited. Of the more than 30 invertebrate animals phyla, less than half have been studied. Therefore, there is still much to be done in the areas of taxonomy and biological research. With this in mind, the National Museum of Natural Science curators have been increasing their efforts in these areas. Marine invertebrate specimens are harvested both from the tidal zone and during scuba diving expeditions. In addition, in 1993, we began long-term dredging projects to survey and collect the deep-water invertebrate fauna of Taiwan ocean basin. As the habitats have been change radically by human activities, we conduct the terrestrial and freshwater invertebrates collections to preserve the endemic specimens. While specimens of various groups are accumulated to some levels, the experts from the country and overseas will be invited to identify these specimens.
It is my hope that through these projects I can collected and preserve a more complete set of endemic invertebrate animal species, which can be used in the future for advanced research and comparative studies. In addition, with a more complete endemic invertebrate collection, the museum will be able to actively implement domestic and foreign specimen exchange to become an international specimen exchange center.