Alaska is not simply another geopolitical unit in North America. Faunistically, including birds, there is no other region of its type on the planet. It hosts a diverse New World and old World avifauna, as well as a uniquely Beringian avifauna. Historically, other museums have been important in documenting the avian diversity of this remarkable region, but in the late twentieth century these activities have been conducted almost exclusively by the University of Alaska Museum (UAM).
In 1997 the UAM bird collection grew by 1,000 specimens, or by 14%. This growth rate will be sustained or exceeded for the foreseeable future, and probably ranks UAM among the top 10-12 institutions in North America in collections growth. If one counts objects preserved, rather than individuals, then the growth rate is larger. The great majority of specimens being added today are prepared as skins, partial skeletons, tissue samples, and stomach contents - five separate pieces for each individual. The collection is fully computerized, and the cataloguing process involves entering each specimen acquired directly into the computer database. At present specimen holdings exceed the space available in cases. The skeleton collection and some of the lesser-used skin material are currently being stored in cardboard boxes on top of cases in the bird range. Because there is no available collection expansion space in cases, not all of holdings can be placed in taxonomic order. None of these problems is acceptable for an active systematics collection, and all of them can be alleviated with new cases. This project will support the purchase of new cases, which are anticipated to satisfy needs for the next 3-5 years.
