Dr Elspeth Haston, Deputy Herbarium Curator
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Dr Elspeth Haston, Deputy Herbarium Curator
My experience is in taxonomic research, curation systems and digitisation. My work has included the development of tools, processes and workflows to aid with curation in herbaria. My current focus is on large-scale digitisation, including looking at integrating digitisation into curatorial and research processes.
I lead a digitisation programme at RBGE which has included the development of tools, processes and workflows for digitising herbarium specimens and related images and documents.
The curation of herbarium specimens actively aids taxonomic and other research. I worked with David Harris, James Richardson, Peter Stevens and Mark Chase to produce the Linear Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (LAPG) II sequence of families as well as the updated version based on APG3. At RBGE, I was responsible for reorganising the herbarium at RBGE to follow the LAPG II family sequence as well as a more systematic arrangement of the non-angiosperm major groups. This was the first large herbarium to move to the APG system.
I carried out systematic research on the Peltophorum group (Leguminosae) based on molecular and morphological data. I have also undertaken research on floral development in the Gesneriaceae, with particular emphasis on the genera Saintpaulia and Streptocarpus.
OrcId: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9144-2848
Contact: e.haston@rbge.org.uk
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Yost, JM, Sweeney, PW, Gilbert, E, Nelson, G, Guralnick, R, Gallinat, AS, Haston, E, et al. (2018). Digitization protocol for scoring reproductive phenology from herbarium specimens of seed plants. Appl. Plant Sci.6: e1022
Azani, N, Babineau, M, Bailey, CD, Banks, H, Barbosa, AR, Pinto, RB, Haston, E, ... Zimmerman, E (2017). A new subfamily classification of the Leguminosae based on a taxonomically comprehensive phylogeny. Taxon, 66, 44–77
Nishii, K, Hughes, M, Briggs, M, Haston, E, Christie, F, DeVilliers, MJ, Hanekom, T, Roos, WG, Bellstedt, DU, Moeller, M (2015). Streptocarpus redefined to include all Afro-Malagasy Gesneriaceae: Molecular phylogenies prove congruent with geographical distribution and basic chromosome numbers and uncover remarkable morphological homoplasies. Taxon 64(6):1243-1274.
Haston, EM. (2014). A digital future. The Botanics Magazine, 58: 4-5
Haston, EM (2014). 4th August 1914 – collections on the day that war was declared between Britain and Germany. http://stories.rbge.org.uk/archives/12334
Drinkwater, RE, Cubey, RN & Haston, EM, (2014). The use of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) in the digitisation of herbarium specimen labels. Phytokeys 38 : 15–30.
Haston, EM (2013). Finding faster ways to enter minimal data for herbarium specimens. http://stories.rbge.org.uk/archives/1283
Goodwin, ZA, Lopez, GN, Stuart, N, Bridgewater, SGM, Haston, EM, Cameron, ID, Michelakis, D, Ratter, JA, Furley, PA, Kay, E, Whitefoord, C, Solomon, J, Lloyd, AJ & Harris, DJ (2013). A checklist of the vascular plants of the lowland savannas of Belize, Central America. Phytotaxa 101 (1): 1–119.
Bebber, DP, Carine, MA, Davidse, G, Harris, DJ, Haston, EM, Penn, MG, Cafferty, S, Wood, JRI & Scotland, RW (2012). Big hitting collectors make massive and disproportionate contribution to the discovery of plant species. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 279: 2269-2274.
Haston, E, Cubey, R, Pullan, M, Atkins, H & Harris, DJ (2012) Developing integrated workflows for the digitisation of herbarium specimens using a modular and scalable approach. Zookeys, (209):93-102.
Haston, EM, Cubey, R & Harris, DJ (2012). Data concepts and their relevance for data capture in large scale digitisation of biological collections. International Journal of Humanities and Arts Computing, 6.1–2: 111–119.
Haston, EM, Mejissa, J & Watkins C (2009). Two new species of Saintpaulia from the Uluguru Mountains, Tanzania. Curtis's Botanical Magazine, 26(3): 270-280.
Haston, E,Richardson, JE, Stevens, PF, Chase, MW & Harris, DJ (2009). The LinearAngiosperm Phylogeny Group (LAPG) III: a linear sequence of the families in APGIII. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 161(2): 128-131
Haston, E,Richardson, JE, Stevens, PF, Chase, MW & Harris, DJ (2007). A linear sequence of Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II families.. Taxon, 56 (1): 7-12.
Haston, E &Ronse de Craene, L (2007). Inflorescence and floral development in Streptocarpus and Saintpaulia (Gesneriaceae) with particular reference to the impact of bracteole suppression. Plant Systematics & Evolution 265(1-2): 13-25.
Haston, EM,Lewis, GP & Hawkins, JA (2005). A phylogenetic reappraisal of the Peltophorum group (Caesalpinieae: Leguminosae) based on the chloroplast trnL-F, rbcL and rps16 sequence data. American Journal of Botany, 92: 1359-1371.
Haston, EM,Lewis, G & Hawkins, J (2003). A phylogenetic investigation of the Peltophorum group (Caesalpinieae: Leguminosae). In Klitgaard, B.B. & Bruneau, A. (eds) Advances in legume systematics: part 10. Higher level systematics. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 149-159.
DiSSCo: Distributed System of Scientific Collections, a new pan-European Research Infrastructure initiative, Member of the UK National Task Force Committee
MOBILISE: Mobilising Data, Policies and Experts in Scientific Collections. EU COST Action project, UK Management Committee
SYNTHESYS3: EU-funded SYNTHESYS3 project (2014-2017), Workpackage Leader for the Joint Research Activity (JRA)
Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF), Joint Chair of the CETAF Digitisation Working Group
EUDAT, Member of the Herbadrop project within the EU-funded EUDAT project.
Scottish Digitisation Working Group, Member of the Steering Group
Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigBio), Member of the AugmentOCR Working Group
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