A Specify database model and Darwin Core metadata schema for the extended specimen

Natural history collections offer crucial infrastructure for monitoring zoonotic diseases by documenting wildlife-pathogen interactions through space and time. However, these collections are underused by One Health researchers, in part because museum database structures are built to support other use cases (e.g., evolution of host organisms). We detail a Specify collection management database and Darwin Core metadata schema for biorepositories based in natural history museums to make specimens in these collections more accessible for research on zoonotic pathogens and parasites. Our database model is extensible, accommodates a wide variety of specimen data types and collection processes, and enables searches for complex relationships (e.g., parasites of host taxon) and parent-child data structures (e.g., a DNA extraction from a blood sample). This type of relationship-based database will allow One Health researchers to better leverage natural history collections toward the goals of open science and a robust response to emerging zoonoses.