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  1. Resources
  2. Research Support and Assignable Assets
  3. Excess Samples

Excess Samples

Three photos of archived samples

During the course of NEON sampling, more samples or greater volumes of samples are sometimes collected than are needed for downstream lab analyses or archiving in the NEON Biorepository. These excess samples can be requested by researchers through the NEON Assignable Assets program. In some cases, excess samples are housed for a limited time and can be retroactively requested, but most excess samples requests must be approved before sampling is conducted to ensure availability.

Excess samples are managed by either NEON staff at regional facilities (Table 1) or by staff at contracted laboratories (Table 2). NEON cannot guarantee access to samples managed at external facilities but can facilitate the request. All excess samples are separate from the specimens and samples archived in the NEON Biorepository. Researchers are encouraged to view the Biorepository catalog for complementary specimens.

Excess Samples Managed by NEON

Samples listed in the table below are managed by NEON staff at regional facilities and can be requested directly from NEON via the Excess Samples Request Form below.

Table 1. Excess sample types managed by NEON staff at regional facilities.
Sample Type NEON Protocol Storage Conditions Expected Volume/Mass of Excess Per Sample Bout
Algae: periphyton, seston, phytoplankton diatoms NEON.DOC.003045 4°C highly variable
Herbaceous plants: clip samples NEON.DOC.014037 oven-dried @ 65°C, then ambient 10s to 1000s of grams per bout
Coarse downed wood: bulk density samples NEON.DOC.001711 oven-dried @ 105°C, then ambient 10s of kilograms per bout; bouts conducted 2X per site only within first 10 y
Litter samples NEON.DOC.001710 oven-dried @ 65°C, then ambient 0 to 10s of grams per functional group per litter trap, varies depending on time of year and site
Root samples: ground NEON.DOC.014038 oven-dried @ 65°C, then ambient 0 to 10s of grams per root core
Canopy foliage samples NEON.DOC.001024 oven-dried @ 65°C, then ambient 0 to 10s of grams per woody individual or clip strip sampled
KCl extracts from N transformations soil samples NEON.DOC.014048 frozen, -20°C 10-80 mL extra filtered solution per sample
Soils from periodic sampling* NEON.DOC.014048 sieved, air-dried, then ambient 0 to ~200 g per soil sample with more for mineral horizons and less for organic.

*Note that NEON still has excess air-dried soil from sites in Puerto Rico (Guanica Forest and Lajas Experiment Station) collected in 2017 pre- and post-Hurricane Maria. While the sites did not incur massive hurricane damage, they did receive large amounts of rainfall, and Guanica Forest lost a number of trees.

Excess Samples Managed by Contracted Facilities

Samples listed in the below table are managed by external contracted facilities. Additional coordination is required to access these samples, and availability is determined by the contractor rather than NEON.

Table 2. Excess sample types managed by staff at contracted facilities.
Sample Type NEON Protocol Storage Conditions Expected Volume/Mass of Excess Per Sample Bout
Mosquitoes: unidentified, whole specimen NEON.DOC.014049 frozen, -80°C highly variable, typically 25% of total collection
Aquatic macroinvertebrates: whole specimen NEON.DOC.003046 ambient, ETOH highly variable
Aquatic macroinvertebrates: homogenized (for DNA) NEON.DOC.003046 4°C varies by site, collected only during mid-summer
Zooplankton: unprocessed NEON.DOC.001194 ambient, ETOH highly variable
Zooplankton: homogenized (for DNA) NEON.DOC.001194 4°C varies by site, collected only during mid-summer

Requesting Excess Samples

To request Excess Samples managed by NEON:

  1. Fill out the Excess Samples Request Form.
  2. Submit Request form to AssignableAssetRequests@BattelleEcology.org

To request Excess Samples managed by Contracted Facilities, please Contact Us.

Shipping Excess Samples

Researchers are responsible for shipping costs and for obtaining and providing the appropriate permits for shipping, receiving and housing samples. For example, inter-state shipping may require USDA APHIS permits for soil, vegetation, or wood samples. Samples collected at National Park sites (i.e., D07 Great Smoky Mountains National Park, D10 Rocky Mountain National Park, and D12 Yellowstone National Park) or in D20 Hawaii are not available for excess sample requests.

Additional Excess Sample Questions

If you have questions regarding Excess Samples before submitting a request, or other Excess Sample related questions, please Contact Us.

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Copyright © Battelle, 2019-2020

The National Ecological Observatory Network is a major facility fully funded by the National Science Foundation.

Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.