An award has been made to the Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection (TCWC) at Texas A&M University to fund the replacement of all cases in the bird and mammal collections which were heavily damaged in a flood event over 15 years ago. With this funding, the principal investigators will be able to ensure the long-term safety and continued viability of these vertebrate collections, which number over 60,000 mammals and 15,000 birds. This award will also allow the collection to accommodate increasing numbers of specimens from active ongoing research programs. The PIs will also update taxonomy, verify specimen identifications, and cross-reference specimens to genetic resources, all of which are critical aspects of collection management. Additionally, the grant will fund graduate Curatorial Assistant positions, allowing the principal investigators to train and educate new museum-based researchers. Approaching its 75th year, the TCWC is one of the most active vertebrate collections in the state: the bird collection is the only active research-based collection in the state, and the mammal collection ranks among the top 20 in the western hemisphere. In addition to providing resources for basic research, the TCWC is a critical element in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences curriculum, for which the collections host the lab sections of all vertebrate natural history courses. Over 200 undergraduates per year are exposed to, and are made beneficiaries of, the biodiversity represented in the bird, mammal and other vertebrate collections. Furthermore, the collections routinely sponsor undergraduate interns who participate in various aspects of collections management. The PIs anticipate providing over 12 internship opportunities associated with this grant.
The Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection (TCWC hereafter) was established in 1936 by W.P Taylor and Dr. William B. Davis, founder of the Department of Wildlife Management (now Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences) at Texas A&M University. The TCWC maintains one of the more substantial University based natural history collections in the United States, with over one million preserved specimens. The specimens and associated data accessioned at the TCWC primarily document the faunal history of Texas and other portions of the U.S., Mexico, and Central and South America; these materials comprise a rich resource for research in systematics, conservation, endangered species and related fields of study. The collections also serve as laboratory space for five courses (Natural History of Vertebrates, Herpetology, Ichthyology, Mammalogy and Ornithology), which expose over 400 undergraduates per year to collections and research. The primary purpose of the grant was to install the bird and mammal collections in new specimen cases. The previous cases had been flooded over 20 years ago, damaging specimens and cases; the latter had over the subsequent 20 years suffered warping and rust that generally rendered them difficult to use and exposed the specimens to dermestids. Over the course of the grant, we completed the transition of bird and mammal specimens to the cases purchased under the grant. During this process we updated taxonomy, and we also developed and implemented a fumigation/freezing protocol that remains in place going forward. In the bird collection, we have verified the presence of each specimen with respect to specimens listed in our database; this was accomplished by extensive use of undergraduate interns, that layed hands on each specimen. The bird collection has also been placed on acid-free paper. All mammal specimens are now in new cases and well-curated; all specimens have been cross-listed to our data bases and semi-annual bug checks have been established. Substantial progress has been made in our work cases and we have finalized our fumigation protocol for dealing with loan returns, teaching specimens, and infestations (similar protocols are in place for the bird collections). Our dermestid colony has been rebuilt from the ground-up and we have instituted a rigorous protocol to insure that mammal and bird specimens added to the collection are dermestid free. Finally, the genetics resources collection is now completely reorganized and samples are trackable for loans, and are linked to voucher specimens. Overall, the bird and mammal collections now meet typical standards for natural history collections. This grant has allowed us to properly preserve a vital historic and modern collection of specimens, that are invaluable to scientific research, undergraduate and graduate eduction, and public outreach.
