Improvements to the Kansas State University Ornithology Collection

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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.