CSBR: Rehousing of the Mammal Collection at the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute

This project ensures the long-term preservation and security of the mammalian research collections housed at the University of Kansas (KU) Biodiversity Institute. The KU Biodiversity Institute’s mammal collection is of international importance, ranked as the sixth largest in North America, and the third largest university holding in the world. This project replaces antiquated wooden specimen cabinets with updated stainless steel casing to rescue irreplaceable specimens from environmentally deficient conditions and preserve them in ideal, climate-controlled, pest-free housing in perpetuity.

Safeguarding the KU Biodiversity Institute’s mammal collection ensures the continued contribution of these resources to biodiversity science, formal undergraduate and graduate education, and public programming for K–12 students, teachers, and public audiences of the KU Biodiversity Institute’s Natural History Museum. This project engages several undergraduate and graduate students in collections-based research projects and active curation.

The physical specimens preserved at the Biodiversity Institute provide a critical foundation for research and education on DNA, climate change, evolution, conservation, and emerging pathogens, and are available for loan by researchers across the globe.

The KU Biodiversity Institute’s mammal collection houses 279,936 dry specimens in 332 cabinets, 185 of which are antiquated and compromised wooden cabinets that date to the 1950s and 1960s, and whose joints, doors, and seals are inadequate for protecting dry specimens from pest infestations. Specimens will be vacuumed and frozen at -40ºC for 2 weeks to eliminate pests, then transferred to stainless steel cases for long-term preservation.

During the transfer, data from specimen tags will be verified and digitally recorded in the Specify museum database, and served to the community through GBIF, iDigBio, BISON, and VertNet. As specimens are processed, phenotypic characters will be recorded, including the reproductive status or molting progress of each specimen, and these data will be used to test for shifts in mammalian life history events overtime.

Students will collaborate with Exhibits Staff at the KU Biodiversity Institute to conceive and build a new public exhibit focused on the importance of scientific collections. The exhibit will highlight research stories that illustrate how critical collections are for solving problems of societal interest, including recognizing emerging pathogens and tracing the origins of invasive species.

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.