The University of Tennessee Etnier Ichthyology Collection (UTEIC) is a state-supported facility used for undergraduate, graduate, and professional teaching, research, and public service. UTEIC houses nearly 450,000 specimens of fishes. The collection is the primary repository of the native fishes of Tennessee. It houses the most important collection in the world of fishes from the southern Appalachians, and has a strong emphasis on collections from the eastern U. S., Mexico, and Central America. It is a basic resource for studies in taxonomic/systematic ichthyology, functional morphology, as well as ecology, and will soon showcase a database containing vast information on fishes of the Southeast and around the world. In addition, the general public and numerous state and federal agencies, conservation groups, environmental consultants, and legal council rely on our specimens for general information and for data critical to biodiversity, habitat management, and conservation decisions. |