Mr Richard Sabin

Biography

Employment history

2004 – present: Senior Curator, Mammal Group, NHM (merit promotion, September 2004)
1992 – 2004: Curator, Mammal Group, NHM
1984 – 1992: Faunal specialist/osteologist, field archaeologist

Higher Education

1996: M.A. Museum Studies, University College, University of London
1992: B.A. (Hons.) Archaeology and Prehistory, University of Sheffield

Job Responsibilities and Expertise

Curator of marine mammals, large terrestrial mammals (ungulates), archaeozoology, mammalian genetic resources manager (destructive and invasive sampling), manager of the Department of Zoology's collections at the NHM Outstation and specialist advisor to the NHM's Cetacean Strandings Project.

Additional duties: line manage team of 3 curatorial staff (since 1993); carry out specialist hard tissue identification work for HM Customs and Revenue CITES team, UK Wildlife Crime Unit and major UK auction houses; carry out collections evaluation and report writing for UK/international museums and other organizations; undertake applications for CITES import permits and Animal Health documentation as part of specimen acquisition. Develop NHM’s National Collection of Cetacea through fieldwork, collections-based research, taxonomic revision and collaborative studies.  Gallery management/exhibitions liaison officer; loans officer; conservation officer.

Expertise in identification and analysis of faunal remains (vertebrate/archaeozoology), human osteology, skeletal pathology, osteometry and palaeobiology. Special interests in collection management, environmental management of vertebrate collections, use of the Internet by museums for 'virtual' access, creation of 'virtual' specimens using micro-CT scanning data, creation of ‘virtual’ collections using novel technologies and remote electronic access to collections data; development of techniques for evaluating and accessing genetic resources held in museum research collections; development of destructive and invasive sampling protocols; public outreach; art/science collaboration; investigation into the effects of different preparation techniques on vertebrate specimens.

Currently jointly investigating genetic diversity in large cetaceans as part of a Natural History Museum-funded collections-based project, using ancient DNA techniques to address issues of conservation biology.

Publications

Selected Bibliography

• *Kimura, B., Marshall, F.B., Chen, S., Rosenbom, S., Moehlman, P.D., Tuross, N., SABIN, R.C., Peters, J., Barich, B., Yohannes, H., Kebede, F., Teclai, R., Beja-Pereira, A., Mulligan, C.J., 2009. Ancient DNA from Nubian and Somali wild ass provides insights into donkey ancestry and domestication. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (*submitted for publication June 2009).
• Barnett, R., Yamaguchi, N., Shapiro, B., SABIN, R.C., 2008. Ancient DNA analysis indicates the first English lions originated from North Africa. Contributions to Zoology, 77 (1): 7-12.
• Canning, S.J., Begona Santos, M., Reid, R.J., Evans, P.G.H., SABIN, R.C., Bailey, N., Pierce, G.J. 2008. Seasonal distribution of white-beaked dolphins (Lagenorhynchus albirostris) in UK waters with new information on diet and habitat use. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 2008, 88(6), 1159-1166.
• Stringer, C.B., Finlayson, J.C., Barton, R.N.E., Fernández-Jalvo, Y., Cáceres, I., SABIN, R.C., Rhodes, E., Currant, A.P., Giles Pacheco, F. 2008. Neanderthal exploitation of marine mammals in Gibraltar. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105 (38): 14319-14324.
• O'Regan, H., Turner, A., SABIN, R.C. 2006. Medieval big cat remains from the Royal Menagerie at the Tower of London. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 16 (5): 385-394.
• SABIN, R.C. 2005 From the Palaeolithic to the present-day: the research value of marine mammal remains from archaeological contexts and the uses of contemporary museum reference collections. In: Oxbow Monographs in Archaeology: papers from the 9th Conference of the International Council of Archaeozoology (ICAZ), Durham, 23rd-28th August 2002. Volume 7: Sea Mammals – Exploitation and Cultural Importance.
• SABIN, R.C. 2004. The National Whale Stranding Recording Scheme. Mammal News, 140: 12-13. The Mammal Society.
• SABIN, R.C. 2002. Collecting under contract: balancing the needs of museum reference collections and the requirements of the 'client'. The Biology Curator 22, 40-43.
• Crisp, G., Pirrie, D., Shail, R.K. & SABIN, R.C. 2001. The Godrevy dog; early canine or lost pet? Geoscience in South-west England, 10, 172-176.
• SABIN, R.C., Bendrey, R. & Riddler, I.D. 1999. Twelfth-Century porpoise remains from Dover and Canterbury. Archaeological Journal, 156, 366-373.
• SABIN, R.C. 1997. Museums and their websites: an examination and assessment of how museums are coping with the challenge of the World-Wide Web. Journal of Conservation and Museum Studies, 2, May 1997, 1-37.

Consultancy Reports

• SABIN, R.C., Jepson, P.D., Reid, A., Chimonides, P.J., Deaville, R., Patterson, A., Law, R., Penrose, R., Spurrier, C. & Evans-Jones, E.L. 2006. Trends in Cetacean Strandings around the UK Coastline and Cetacean and Turtle Postmortem Investigations for the year 2005 (CRO 346). A report for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Natural History Museum Consultancy Report No. ECM 5032/06, 48pp. June 2006.
• SABIN, R.C., Jepson, P.D., Reid, A., Chimonides, P.J., Deaville, R., Patterson, A., Law, R., Penrose, R. & Spurrier, C. 2005. Trends in Cetacean Strandings around the UK Coastline and Cetacean and Turtle Postmortem Investigations for the year 2004 (CRO 238). A report for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Natural History Museum Consultancy Report No. ECM 516G/05, 57pp. November 2005.
• SABIN, R.C., Jepson, P.D., Reid, A., Chimonides, P.J., Deaville, R., Patterson, A., Law, R., Penrose, R. & Spurrier, C. 2004. Trends in Cetacean Strandings around the UK Coastline and Cetacean and Turtle Postmortem Investigations for the year 2003 (CRO 238). A report for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Natural History Museum Consultancy Report No. ECM 516F/04, 57pp. June 2004.
• SABIN, R.C., Jepson, P.D., Reid, A., Chimonides, P.J., Deaville, R., Patterson, A. & Spurrier, C. 2003. Trends in Cetacean Strandings around the UK Coastline and Marine Mammal Postmortem Investigations for the year 2002 (CRO 238). A report for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Natural History Museum Consultancy Report No. ECM 516F/03, 72pp. May 2003.
• SABIN, R.C., Jepson, P.D., Reid, A., Chimonides, P.J., Deaville, R., Patterson, A. & Spurrier, C. 2002. Trends in Cetacean Strandings around the UK Coastline and Marine Mammal Postmortem Investigations for the year 2001 (CRO 238). A report for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Natural History Museum Consultancy Report No. ECM 516F/02, 91pp. May 2002.
• SABIN, R.C., Jepson, P.D., Reid, A., Deaville, R., Muir, A.I. & Patterson, A. 2001. Trends in Cetacean Strandings around the UK Coastline and Marine Mammal Postmortem Investigations for the year 2000 (CRO 238). A report for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Natural History Museum Consultancy Report No. ECM 516F/01, 51pp. March 2001.