Improvements to the Kansas State University Ornithology Collection

堪萨斯州立大学的桑德科克博士获得了一笔拨款，用于改善堪萨斯州立大学的鸟类学收藏。该鸟类库目前包含1172张圆皮、188匹坐骑、30-40只展翅和20-30个巢，是大平原生态区鸟类区系的代表性样本。这些收藏很有价值，因为它们包括了19世纪末和20世纪初在堪萨斯州收集的许多鸟类标本，其中包括两个现已灭绝的爱斯基摩鸟标本。这个项目的目标是保存和改善鸟类学收藏的资源，用于本科教学和公共教育。项目的目标有三个。首先，鸟类学收藏的迫切需要是改善存储设施。研究用的兽皮目前储存在木质框架内，这些木质框架至少已有30年的历史，而且不是密封的。坐骑目前被安置在木质陈列柜中，这些橱柜在1969年收藏被转移到阿克特音乐厅时被抢救出来。这笔赠款的大部分直接费用(56%)是用于购买新的博物馆储藏柜，以确保收藏品免受虫害。其次，收藏的另一个主要需求是对现有标本进行编目。该藏品的长期目标是将具有潜在研究价值的老标本转移或交换给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。为了方便转移，鸟类学收藏的内容将被编入一个电子数据库，并将在互联网上提供。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来完成这项任务。最后，收集的最后一个需要是获得新的材料来取代具有研究价值的旧标本。剩余的直接成本(9%)是用于保存和存储新材料的策展用品。这个项目具有重要的科学意义，因为它将使堪萨斯州立大学鸟类学收藏的博物馆藏品首次向科学界开放。对于对博物馆标本进行回顾分析的研究人员来说，获取研究皮肤将是最有价值的，但这些藏品也包含有价值的标本，将填补历史采样工作的空白。该项目将产生更广泛的影响，为三名本科生提供博物馆管理技术的综合培训。鸟类学收藏的资源在本科生教育和公众推广计划中也发挥着重要作用。博物馆标本经常被用作生物系三门核心本科课程的教学材料：生物学原理(生物198)、组织生物学(生物201)和鸟类学(生物543)。鸟类标本也是生物部协调的公共宣传项目的重要资源。坐垫和书房皮将用于阿克特大厅的永久展品、堪萨斯州立大学年度开放参观活动的展示、莱利镇学区小学生实地考察的展示，以及附近Konza Prairie生物站K-12学生和教师的环境教育项目。博物馆藏品的长期保护将使堪萨斯州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.