CSBR: Natural History Collections: Replacement of antiquated cabinets for the D.R. Dickey Collection of Birds and Mammals

University Of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

An award was made to the University of California, Los Angeles to purchase much needed replacement cabinets for the Donald R. Dickey Collection of Birds and Mammals. For the past several decades, the collection has resided in deteriorating 70 year-old wooden cases that can no longer protect specimens from possible insect and water damage. Funds from this award are being used to purchase new specimen cabinets that will be housed in a new space-saver system purchased on a prior grant. Natural history collections serve as vital records of past ecosystems. The UCLA Dickey Bird and Mammal Collection houses over 64,000 specimens, a large number of which were collected prior to the widespread industrialization and population expansion that occurred after World War II. As a result, it includes specimens that can provide baseline data on genetic diversity, disease distribution, and industrial contaminant levels (e.g. mercury) for comparison with post WWII individuals. In addition, the collection is used to expose thousands of students to tangible evidence of variation in nature, the relationship of animal form to function, and evolutionary relationships. Moreover, UCLA faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, high school interns, and visiting scientists use the collections for research.