Historical foraminiferal collections as a resource for monitoring anthropogenic climate change

Natural history museum collections (NHC) represent an underutilized yet valuable resource for tracking environmental changes and anthropogenic impacts on marine ecosystems. Historical samples, particularly foraminifera collected during marine expeditions from the late 1800s to mid-1900s, offer crucial baseline data pre-dating significant human influence. These collections, often accompanied by oceanographic data, can fill important knowledge gaps regarding past biodiversity, species distribution, and ecosystem health. While challenges such as limited accessibility, uncertain sample histories, and methodological inconsistencies exist, modern analytical approaches, including non-destructive imaging and machine learning, greatly enhance their usability. Here we advocate for the preservation, digitization, and strategic use of historical micropaleontological collections, emphasizing their potential for providing essential long-term ecological insights and supporting conservation and climate mitigation strategies.