Module 11: Effects on species over time

The message
Conservation requires an understanding of how changes to ecosystems affect species over time. Museum collections provide this data.

The experience
A peregrine falcon grasps a rock with its curved talons, a delicate plastic band clasped to its leg. Nearby, a live webcam provides a peek into a peregrine nest perched on the roof of Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center. Mounds of newspaper clippings, articles, and copies of Silent Spring surround a delicate cluster of peregrine eggshells.

The story
The peregrine falcon is a local conservation success story. The story begins in the Museum’s collections, where historic samples of peregrine eggs helped demonstrate the damaging effects of DDT. Today, falcons are making a Chicago comeback and Museum researchers, such as Mary Hennen, continue to monitor their progress through banding programs. Citizens play a special role, too: When fledglings fall from the nest, the research team gets hundreds of calls from people watching the nest cam.