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Accessioning the Garth Denman Percival Family Avian Skin Collection
and Possible Changes in Three Species of Birds
Adam M. Klessens and Eric C . Atkinson
Northwest College
Biology Department
INTRO
Over the course of two semester I was given the task of documenting the Garth Denman Percival Family Bird Collection. The collection was
donated to Northwest College by the Garth Denman Percival Family in
2009. The collection was collected by Garth and his son on his ranch near
Lance Creek, Wyoming. Consisting of 347 birds with 152 species from 39
different families, the collection is over one hundred years old, the oldest documented was a Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) caught on 20 June 1908. This bird is 109 years old.
Over the course of the semester, a question came up about whether or not there were any morphological changes in birds from one hundred years ago and birds caught today. I decided to pursue this within a three species of
birds, the Yellow Warbler ( Setophaga petechia), Red-winged Blackbird, and Willet (Tringa semipalmata). From research done by Charles R.
Brown and Mary Bomberger Brown in “Where has all the Roadkill Gone?” on Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) in Nebraska found that there was a change in the morphology of the wing chord. This was due to the
birds being hit by cars (Brown and Brown 2013).
I tested the hypothesis of no difference in measurements taken on birds collected approximately 100 years ago and those collected recently.
Within the span of approximately 100 years, there should not be a
significant change in size in the three species of birds chosen. If there is than is there a possible cause for the change.
METHODS
This project was conducted in the Science and Math building at Northwest College and the Draper Museum of Natural History Laboratory. The project started in August 2016 till present. I measured the wing chord, tail length, bill dimensions (length, depth, and width) and tarsus length using standard
ornithological methods. The wing chord was measured with an arc in the
wing. The bill dimensions were taken at the nares (nostrils) for repetition. I then photographed the dorsal, lateral, and ventral sides of the birds.
These data, along with photographs, will be digitally accessioned and posted to the internet for public use.
.
ACKNOWLEGEMENTS
RESULTS
From the student t tests performed I found that there were no significant changes in the red-winged blackbird. I did find significant changes in the tarsus length of both the yellow warbler and willet. The bill length and bill depth of the yellow warbler had changed significantly
P- values:
Graph 1: 5.04x10-5 Graph 2: 0.024406 Graph 3: 0.016613
Graph 4: 0.000234
DISCUSSION
CONCLUSION
• What I found in this project was that there was a increase in the tarsus length of the yellow warbler and willet and a decrease in the width and
length of the bill of the yellow warbler.
• Further research needs to be conducted to determine a cause of the
changes.
REFERENCES
• Chuck Preston and Bonnie Smith from the Draper Museum of Natural History for bird data and use of their lab.
• Eric Atkinson for the assistance and help for the project.
• Matthew D. Carling and the staff of the Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center at the University of Wyoming for bird measurements.
• Courtney Richardson for the photographs (Fig.1 –Fig.4)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Garth Denman Percival University of Wyoming
Len gth (mm) Me an + -1 SE Collection
Tringa semipalmata Tarsus Length
0 5 10 15 20 25
Garth Denman Percival University of Wyoming and Draper Museum Len gth (mm) Mean + -1 SE Collection
Setophaga petechia Tarsus Length
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
Garth Denman Percival University of Wyoming and Draper Museum Len gth (mm) Mean + -1 SE Collection
Setophaga petechia Bill Depth
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Garth Denman Percival University of Wyoming and Draper Museum Len gth (mm) Mean + -1 SE Collection
Setophaga petechia Bill Length
Graph 1: Willet Tarsus Length Graph 2: Yellow Warbler Bill Depth
Graph 3: Yellow Warbler Tarsus Length Graph 4: Yellow Warbler Bill Length
Fig 1: Wing Chord Length Fig 2: Tail Length
Fig 3: Bill Length Fig 4: Bill Depth
Fig 5: Dorsal Fig 6: Lateral Fig 7: Ventral
Brown, C. R., & Brown, M. B. (2013). Where has all the road kill gone?. Current Biology, 23(6), R233-R234.
Ricklefs, R. E. (2004). Cladogenesis and Morphological Diversification in Passerine Birds. Nature, 430(6997), 338-41. Retrieved from
http://libproxy.nwc.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/204522 839?accountid=46698
Riyahi, S., Hammer, Ø., Arbabi, T., Sánchez, A., Roselaar, C. S., Aliabadian, M., & Sætre, G. (2013). Beak and skull shapes of human commensal and non-commensal house sparrows passer domesticus. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 13, 200.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-13-200
Species
Scientific Name GDP Collection Draper's Collection University of Wyoming's Collection
Total Birds
Red-Wing Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
12
2
7
21
Yellow Warbler Setophaga petechia
5
2
10
17
Willet
Tringa semipalmata
6
0
5
11
From what the graphs show we can say that
• The tarsus length on the contemporary willet and yellow
warbler has increased.
• Bill depth on the contemporary yellow warbler has decreased. • Bill length on the contemporary yellow warbler has decreased. What could be the cause of this?
• For the yellow warblers, human interaction could be a factor in the changes. Research from Charles R. Brown says that
fatalities due to being hit by cars has caused the wing length to shorten to be more maneuverable.
• Selective Breeding?
