We are very pleased to announce the release of a new video to augment the “Using and contributing to Avian Collections Workshop” series. This workshop features an international roster of speakers discussing the changing uses of avian collections and demonstrating techniques to prepare and preserve specimens. Even though this “Washing Birds for Arthropod Ectosymbionts” presentation was not part of the original 2012 Fifth North American Ornithological Conference (NAOC-V) workshop, we feel that this important topic warrants being added as an appendix to the series.
Dr. Heather C. Proctor (University of Alberta) is a leader in feather mite (Arachnida: Acari) ecology, evolution, and systematics. Dr. Proctor kindly agreed to demonstrate her techniques to augment both the workshop series mentioned above and to create additional resources for “Working with Birds” – an educational avian specimen preparation PowerPoint series hosted on the Beaty Biodiversity Museum website. Dr Proctor’s video supplements Part 9: Washing Skins for Arthropod Symbionts & Drying Washed Skins.
Note: This video shows the process of preserving bird specimens and may be considered graphic to some. Viewer discretion is advised.
This video demonstrates how to wash a bird for arthropod ectosymbiont research, decant and store the avian washings, examine and extract the arthropods, plus learn how to make and label slides of arthropod ectosymbionts.
Nicole Balsdon, BBM Programs Assistant, filmed this video in the Beaty Biodiversity Museum Vertebrate lab. Derek Tan, BBM Digital Media Specialist, edited the hours of filming, added still images, and branded the final product. Dr. Proctor and I would like to thank Nicole and Derek for all their time and energy turning this concept into such a terrific educational resource.