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Mr Mark Adams

Mark Adams
  • Senior Curator, Birds
  • Life Sciences department
  • LS Vertebrates Division
Natural History Museum at Tring
Akeman Street
Tring
Herts
HP23 6AP

Biography

Employment history

1990 - present: Curator, Bird Group, Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum

Qualifications

    1999: BSc (Hons), Biological Sciences, Univ. of London

    1995: HNC, Applied Biology, Univ. of Hertfordshire

Curation

Collection Responsibilities

  • Responsible for NHM bird skin collection – contains c.¾ million specimens representing c.95% of the known species of the world.
  • Manage bird Type collection
  • Manage bird specimen loans programme.
  • Manage bird collection databasing.
  • Manage Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programme in bird collections.
  • Handle avian enquiries and identifications.

Curatorial projects:

Curation improvement projects to priority parts of skin collection 

  • rolling programme of curation for specific families
  • Large skin collection
  • Type collection
  • E&E collection

Research

Interests

Subfossil bird bones in Falkland Island peat bog

Subfossil bird bones in Falkland Island peat bog © Copyright Mark Adams

 

  • Sub-fossil bird remains from the Falkland Islands

Sub-fossil bird bones preserved in a peat-bog require careful excavation before they can be preserved and then identified.

Falklands conservation







 

Anas platyrhynchos x40 feather microstructure

Anas platyrhynchos x40 feather microstructure (Image J. Shamoun) © Copyright J. Shamoun

  • Feather identification using feather microstructure

The micro-characters of feather barbules can reveal characteristics unique to different bird groups so can aid in feather identification.

Publications

Publications
2005
  • Cooper, J.H. & Adams, M.P. ( 2005 ) Extinct and endangered collections: managing the risk. Zoologische Mededelingen Leiden 79 (3) : 123-130 .
2004
  • Sabin, R.C. & Adams, M.P. ( 2004 ) Elephants in the attic... The Arts Surveyor 2 : .
2003
  • Adams, M.P., Cooper, J.H. & Collar, N.J. ( 2003 ) Extinct and endangered (‘E&E’) birds: a proposed list for collection catalogues. Bull. B.O.C. Supplement 123A : 338-354 .
1999
  • Herroelen, P., Louette, M. & Adams, M. ( 1999 ) A reassessment of the subspecies in the owl Glaucidium tephronotum, with notes on its biology. Bull. B.O.C. 119 (3) : 151-162 .
1997
  • Adams, M.P. & Woods, R.W. ( 1997 ) Sub-fossil Bird Bones in a Falkland Island Peat Bog. The Warrah, Newsletter of Falklands Conservation 11 : 6-7 .
1994
  • Adams, M.P. & Bailey, J.M. ( 1994 ) The Reorganisation of the Natural History Museum’s Avian Spirit Collection. Biology Curators Group Newsletter 6 (4) : 41-42 .
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