Renovation, digitization, and integration of the Kansas State University mammal collection within national collaborative collections management for enhancing biodiversity research

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Natural history collections constitute long-term records of global biodiversity from present and past timeframes that might, if properly stored, be preserved many decades or even centuries into the future. These biological resources help to advance scientific understanding in many ways, including how species respond to climate change, how species evolve through time, and how diseases of wildlife and people emerge and spread. Additionally, specimens can be used to enhance public education at all levels, and one day can be used to answer questions asked by future generations. The collections of mammals at Kansas State University (KSU) are representative of species occurring through the Great Plains from roughly the last 100 years. However, their current storage conditions are poor and the information associated with them is not usable by science or the public. This project will ensure that 1) all existing specimens are properly stored in secure and stable cases, shelving units and freezers, 2) all of the data is digitized and made publicly available online for multiple uses, and 3) the KSU mammal collection will become an active resource for enhancing both science and education, with capacity for ongoing growth and increasing public use. Many of the existing mammal specimens are associated with the nearby Konza Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) Initiative, and as such the KSU mammal collection will represent a legacy of specimen materials from a multi-decade ecological landscape-scale experimental system. In the first year, new and secure storage cases and shelves will be purchased, and existing mammal specimens will be re-housed. A subset of specimens representative of Kansas mammal diversity will be designated as a teaching collection for KSU classes, and a separate collection for educational purposes will be developed to be housed at the Konza LTER field station. Data associated with all specimens will include information on species, georeferenced collection localities and dates, body measurements, parasites, frozen tissues, and potentially multiple other kinds of specimen parts. All data will be uploaded to the Arctos online multi-collection database and shared across other active specimen data portals including iDigBio. Curation and processing of back-logged specimens will continue through the duration of the project and will be used as resources for teaching curatorial methods to undergraduate students. The work will employ multiple students and technicians over three years. Student experience through learning the process of curating specimens and associated data will help to develop the next generation of museum-based scientists and educators. The renovated collection will enhance K-12 education and multiple undergraduate classes including a field-based methods course in mammalogy. Associated specimen resources will fuel ongoing and novel research directions by the project PI and graduate students. This project will result in a renovated and expanding publicly searchable, and relational specimen data stream. This project is jointly funded by Capacity: Biological Collections and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.