Guam Center for Biodiversity Research
Guam Center for Biodiversity Research
Guam Center for Biodiversity Research
The Guam Center for Biodiversity Research (GCBR) was established in 2025 to combine six University of Guam biological collections under one digital and collaborative roof.
These collections include: 1) Diatoms; 2) the Herbarium; 3) Ichthyology; 4) Invertebrate Zoology; 5) Macroalgae; and 6) Tissues.
GCBR’s mission is to serve local and scientific communities by providing baseline data and surveys to understand and protect regional natural resources. We discover and document life, and disseminate our work freely. We also aim to inspire everyone to behold and cherish our diverse and complex natural world.
GCBR’s Invertebrate Zoology (IZ) collection houses specimens across animal diversity—shrimps, slugs, brittle and sea stars, crabs, corals, ribbon and scale worms, clams, sea squirts, moss animals, and many, many more (but not vertebrates). Our goal is to document life with live coloration photos, voucher specimens, tissue samples, DNA sequences, and associated habitat and locality data. This library of life fuels discovery and research across disciplines. IZ has grown rapidly in the past few years, thanks to an influx of staff and support from our partners at NAVFAC and NSF EPSCoR, and we are open for business. Please reach out for specimen loans or questions, and visit our online portal to search our database. We aim to freely provide valuable baseline data to understand and protect our fragile marine and terrestrial ecosystems and inspire connection with the limitless complexity and beauty of our diverse world.