Curator: David Chapman
Associate Curator: James Markham
History
Robert W. Holmes joined the faculty at UCSB in 1967 and became the first director of the newly established Marine Science Institute. He collected diatoms from a variety of freshwater and marine habitats in the western United States.
Collection Overview
The Albert L. Brigger and Robert W. Holmes Diatom Collection consists of diatom specimens, slides, and approximately 300 volumes from Brigger's personal library and from the extensive research collections of Holmes, (search library catalog). Holmes' main research interests were the description of diatoms from cetaceans, the diatoms on diving seabirds, and the use of diatoms as a tool for reconstructing the pH of Sierra Nevada lakes. Holmes also studied the variability of the genus Cocconeis and the Aulacodiscus kittonii group. In addition, he sampled diatoms throughout the world in freshwater and marine habitats. The Holmes collection contains approximately 5000 slides, 700 samples and cleaned material, and 500 light and scanning electron microscope images.