Lunch with a Famous Ornithologist
This program is designed to partner students with established ornithologists in an effort to build camaraderie among people working in the same field, help students learn keys to success, and provide students a contact person with whom to confer throughout the meeting. Students get to choose from a list of professional ornithologists who have volunteered for the mentor program, and each student is paired with one professional from their “wish list.” Discussion topics are provided to the students in order to get the conversation rolling.
This year we expect to host approximately 50 participants this year with funds provided by the Society for Conservation Biology. Each ornithologist will be partnered with one or two students. They will meet Tuesday, August 5th at noon at the registration desk and then move to a local Greek restaurant. A kick-off meeting may also be scheduled to allow participants to meet face to face for the first time and to discuss the goals of the mentor program.
Partnerships will be made about a month before the meeting allowing participants to contact one another and begin conversations that will continue at the meeting. This year's professionals are listed below. Registration for this event is now closed.
- Bonnie Bowen, Iowa State University
Topics: Behavior, Cooperative breeding, Conservation genetics - Carla Cicero, University of California, Berkeley
Topics: Systematics, Phylogeography, Bioacoustics - David Craig, Willamette University
Topics: Behavioral ecology (especially waterbirds), Natural history and conservation, Mentoring under-represented groups in science - Andres Desrochers, University of Laval
Topics: Landscape ecology, Dispersal/movement ecology, Paridae - Stephanie Doucet, University of Windsor
Topics: Sexual selection, Plumage coloration, Comparative studies, Mating systems,
Behaviour, Tropical ecology
- Erica Dunn, Environment Canada
Topics: Tracking change in bird populations, Careers in Citizen Science,
Migration stopover ecology
- Jerome Jackson, Florida Gulf Coast University
Topics: Intra- and interspecific differential niche use by birds, Avian biogeography, Behavioral ecology of woodpecker - Helen James, Smithsonian Institute
Topics: Causes of ecological collapse following human settlement of islands, Biogeograhic origins and evolutionary history of the Hawaiian avifauna, Evolution of morphological diversity in the perching birds and waterfowl
- Barbara Kus, U.S. Geological Survey
Topics: Conservation, Endangered species management, Behavioral ecology - Kathy Martin, University of British Columbia
Topics: Alpine birds and climate change, Cavity nester communities, Forest birds and resource pulses (including insect outbreaks) - John Marzluff, University of Washington
Topics: Wildlife-habitat relationships, Avian social ecology and demography, Corvidae - Daniel Mennill, University of Windsor
Topics: Vocal duetting in tropical birds, Vocal behavior and sexual selection, Behavioral ecology of tropical birds - John Rotenberry, University of California-Riverside
Topics: Community ecology, Landscape ecology, Conservation biology - William Searcy, University of Miami
Topics: Bird song, Sexual selection, Aggressive behavior - Thomas Sherry, Tulane University
Topics: Neotropical migrant ecology, Tropical ecology and forest fragmentation, Bird conservation in general - Kimberly Sullivan, Utah State University
Topics: Relationships among foraging proficiency, social dominance and survival in juveniles, The role of individual variation in energy expenditure on reproductive success and the development of a hormonal response to stress in young birds, Women in science - Jeffrey Walters, Virginia Polytechnic and State University
Topics: Conservation, Behavioral ecology, Population biology - Michael Webster, Washington State University
Topics: Sexual selection, Mating systems, Speciation - Tony Williams, Simon Fraser University
Topics: Evolutionary physiology, Reproduction, Migration - Kevin Winker, University of Alaska Museum
Topics: Specimen-based ornithology (bird collections and their uses), Genetics at the species level and below, Songbird migration and ecology