Improvements to the Kansas State University Ornithology Collection

堪萨斯州立大学的桑德考克博士获得了一笔赠款，用于改进堪萨斯州立大学的鸟类学收藏。鸟类学收藏目前包含1172个圆形皮肤，188个坐骑，30-40个展开的翅膀和20- 30个巢，是大平原生态区鸟类区系的代表性样本。这些藏品很有价值，因为它们包括19世纪末和19世纪初在堪萨斯州收集的许多鸟类标本，包括两个现在已经灭绝的爱斯基摩杓鹬标本。本计划的目的是保存和改善鸟类学馆藏的资源，以供本科生教学和公众教育之用。首先，鸟类学收藏的迫切需要是改善储存设施。研究用的皮肤目前储存在至少有30年历史且不密封的木框架中。坐骑目前被安置在木制陈列柜，这些陈列柜是在1969年收藏品被转移到Ackert Hall时被抢救出来的。这笔赠款的大部分直接费用（56%）用于新的博物馆储藏柜，以确保藏品免受昆虫的破坏。第二，收藏的另一个主要需求是现有标本的编目。这些藏品的长期目标是将具有潜在研究价值的旧标本转移或交换到主要的自然历史博物馆，如附近的堪萨斯大学自然历史博物馆。为了便于传输，鸟类学收藏的内容将被编入一个电子数据库，该数据库将在互联网上提供。直接费用的一部分（35%）将用于雇用和培训三名本科生策展助理，以完成这一任务。最后，收藏的最后一个需要是获取新的材料，以取代具有研究价值的旧标本。剩下的直接费用（9%）是用于保存和储存新材料的策展用品。这个项目在科学上很重要，因为它将使堪萨斯州立大学鸟类学收藏馆的藏品首次向科学界开放。对博物馆标本进行回顾性分析的研究人员来说，获得研究皮肤将具有最大的价值，但收藏品中也包含有价值的标本，将填补历史采样工作的空白。该项目将通过为三名本科生提供博物馆策展技术的全面培训产生更广泛的影响。鸟类学收藏的资源也在本科教育和公众推广计划中发挥重要作用。博物馆标本经常被用作生物学系三门核心本科课程的教学材料：生物学原理（Biol 198），器官生物学（Biol 201）和鸟类学（Biol 543）。鸟类标本也是生物学部协调的公共宣传计划的重要资源。坐骑和学习皮肤将用于Ackert Hall的永久展览，用于堪萨斯州立大学的年度开放日活动，用于Riley Town学区小学生实地考察的展览，以及附近Konza Prairie生物站K-12学生和教师的环境教育计划。博物馆藏品的长期保护将使堪萨斯东北部的当地社区受益。

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Sandercock at Kansas State University to makeimprovements to the Kansas State University Ornithology Collection. The OrnithologyCollection currently contains 1172 round skins, 188 mounts, 30-40 spread wings, and 20-30nests that are a representative sample of the avifauna of the Great Plains ecoregion. Thecollection holdings are valuable because they include many bird specimens that were collected inKansas during the late 1800s and early 1900s, including two specimens of the now extinctEskimo Curlew. The goal of this project is to conserve and improve the resources of theOrnithology Collection for use in undergraduate teaching and public education.The objectives of the project are threefold. First, an urgent need of the OrnithologyCollection is improved storage facilities. The study skins are currently stored in wood framecabinets that are at least 30 years old and not airtight. Mounts are currently housed in woodendisplay cabinets that were salvaged when the collection was moved to Ackert Hall in 1969. Amajority of the direct costs of this grant (56%) are for new museum storage cabinets that willensure that the collection will be protected from insect damage. Second, another major need ofthe collection is cataloguing of the existing specimens. The long-term goal for this collection isto transfer or exchange older specimens of potential research value to major natural historymuseums, such as the nearby Museum of Natural History at the University of Kansas. Tofacilitate transfers, the contents of the Ornithology Collection will be inventoried into anelectronic database that will be made available on the Internet. A portion of the direct costs(35%) will be used to hire and train three undergraduate curatorial assistants to complete thistask. Last, a final need for the collection is acquisition of new materials to replace olderspecimens of research value. The remaining direct costs (9%) are for curatorial supplies toprepare and store new materials.This project is scientifically important because it will make the museum holdings of theKansas State University Ornithology Collection available to the scientific community for thefirst time. Access to study skins will be of greatest value to researchers conducting retrospectiveanalyses of museum specimens, but the collection also contains valuable specimens that will fillgaps in historical sampling efforts. The project will have broader impacts by offeringcomprehensive training in the techniques of museum curation to three undergraduate students.The resources of the Ornithology Collection also serve an important role in undergraduateeducation and outreach programs for the public. Museum specimens are regularly used asteaching materials in three core undergraduate courses in the Division of Biology: Principles ofBiology (Biol 198), Organismic Biology (Biol 201) and Ornithology (Biol 543). Avianspecimens are also an important resource for public outreach programs coordinated by theDivision of Biology. Mounts and study skins will be used in permanent exhibits in Ackert Hall,in displays for annual open house events at Kansas State University, in displays for field trips ofgrade school students from the Riley Town school district, and in environmental educationprograms for K-12 students and teachers at nearby Konza Prairie Biological Station. Long-termconservation of the museum holdings will benefit local communities in northeast Kansas.