A grant has been awarded to Dr. Sandercock at Kansas State University to make improvements to the Kansas State University Ornithology Collection. The Ornithology Collection currently contains 1172 round skins, 188 mounts, 30-40 spread wings, and 20-30 nests that are a representative sample of the avifauna of the Great Plains ecoregion. The collection holdings are valuable because they include many bird specimens that were collected in Kansas during the late 1800s and early 1900s, including two specimens of the now extinct Eskimo Curlew. The goal of this project is to conserve and improve the resources of the Ornithology Collection for use in undergraduate teaching and public education. The objectives of the project are threefold. First, an urgent need of the Ornithology Collection is improved storage facilities. The study skins are currently stored in wood frame cabinets that are at least 30 years old and not airtight. Mounts are currently housed in wooden display cabinets that were salvaged when the collection was moved to Ackert Hall in 1969. A majority of the direct costs of this grant (56%) are for new museum storage cabinets that will ensure that the collection will be protected from insect damage. Second, another major need of the collection is cataloguing of the existing specimens. The long-term goal for this collection is to transfer or exchange older specimens of potential research value to major natural history museums, such as the nearby Museum of Natural History at the University of Kansas. To facilitate transfers, the contents of the Ornithology Collection will be inventoried into an electronic 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 this task. Last, a final need for the collection is acquisition of new materials to replace older specimens of research value. The remaining direct costs (9%) are for curatorial supplies to prepare and store new materials. This project is scientifically important because it will make the museum holdings of the Kansas State University Ornithology Collection available to the scientific community for the first time. Access to study skins will be of greatest value to researchers conducting retrospective analyses of museum specimens, but the collection also contains valuable specimens that will fill gaps in historical sampling efforts. The project will have broader impacts by offering comprehensive training in the techniques of museum curation to three undergraduate students. The resources of the Ornithology Collection also serve an important role in undergraduate education and outreach programs for the public. Museum specimens are regularly used as teaching materials in three core undergraduate courses in the Division of Biology: Principles of Biology (Biol 198), Organismic Biology (Biol 201) and Ornithology (Biol 543). Avian specimens are also an important resource for public outreach programs coordinated by the Division 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 of grade school students from the Riley Town school district, and in environmental education programs for K-12 students and teachers at nearby Konza Prairie Biological Station. Long-term conservation of the museum holdings will benefit local communities in northeast Kansas.
