Critical expansion needs in the University of Alaska Museum's Mammal Collection

University Of Alaska Fairbanks Campus, Fairbanks AK

Investigators

Abstract

An award has been made to the University of Alaska Fairbanks under the direction of Dr. Link E. Olson to provide new specimen shelving and cases that will allow a 50% increase in storage space for the Mammal Collection of the natural history museum. The mammal collection contains an important set of specimens of mammals in this region that is important in studies of arctic warming. Most specimens are from Alaska, the Arctic Ocean and North Pacific Ocean, from the US, Canada, and Russia. The collection includes many marine mammal specimens. The entire collection is accessible online through the museum Arctos database. The collection has grown markedly in the last 25 years. Some 10,000 specimens are currently stacked in boxes, and the new cases and shelving will allow for their proper care and storage in archival facilities. The collection will be housed in a new building that will double the size of the current one. The project will employ a graduate student to work as a Curatorial Assistant in reorganization of the collection.