What's New?
Graduate Students - FREE
Membership
The
Cooper Ornithological Society is always interested in getting more
graduate students involved and provides free student memberships each
year. These student awards cover costs of membership for 2 years and
carry full membership benefits including online access to the Condor,
providing an important launch into ornithological careers at an early
stage. To apply, the major professor sends a cover letter of nomination
describing why the student deserves the award and a copy of the
student's CV. Deadline for receipt of applications is 25 February 2011.
Send application materials by e-mail or post to:
SHELDON J. COOPER
Department of Biology & Microbiology
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
800 Algoma Blvd.
Oshkosh WI 54901-8640
(E-mail: cooper@uwosh.edu)
Board of Director Nominations
2010 Nominations Committee: Pat Kennedy
(Chair), Tom Gardali, Fritz Knopf, and Matthias Leu.
The following 6 people (in alphabetical order) have agreed to be
nominated for the Cooper Ornithological Society (COS) Board of
Directors to serve from 2011 to 2014.
Anne Bartuszevige is the Conservation Science Director
at the Playa Lakes Joint Venture (PLJV), a nonprofit whose mission is
“to conserve playas, other wetlands and associated landscapes through
partnerships for the benefit of birds, other wildlife and people.” Anne
completed her undergraduate degree at Hope College, a master’s degree
at Illinois State University, and a Ph.D. at Miami University in Ohio.
Prior to joining the PLJV, Anne was a post-doctoral researcher at
Oregon State University (under the supervision of current COS board
member Patricia Kennedy). Anne’s early interest in avian ecology was
piqued by her undergraduate research project on seed dispersal.
However, her interests in avian ecology are broad, and she has studied
organochlorine pesticide contamination in grassland passerines, how
birds may facilitate the landscape-scale invasion of an exotic plant,
and changes in site occupancy of three species of raptors in a
privately owned prairie whose primary land use was cattle ranching. It
was this last project, her post-doc research, that introduced Anne to
the importance and value of conservation in working landscapes. As the
Conservation Science Director at the PLJV, Anne is responsible for
biological planning for birds in the southern short- and mixed-grass
prairie region. She works with members of the various continental
bird-conservation plans (North American Waterfowl Management Plan,
Partners in Flight, Shorebird Conservation for the Americas, and
Waterbird Conservation Plan). In addition, she is responsible for
understanding the major scientific issues of concern in the southern
Great Plains landscape such as effects of the Conservation Reserve
Program on grassland birds, wind-energy development, and climate
change, among others. This understanding of the scientific
underpinnings of major conservation issues are then used to help
develop decision-support systems for landscape-scale biological
planning. Anne is also collaborating with a variety of scientists at
various institutions to understand the dynamics of playa wetlands,
which bear heavily on water-dependent birds in the southern Great
Plains.
Anne first joined the Cooper Ornithological Society (COS) during her
post-doc. She has since served on the Painton Award Committee and has
served as a reviewer for the Journal of Raptor Research. Anne is eager
to become more involved with the COS and thinks this is a great time to
begin. The COS, like many professional societies, is going through a
period of change that may be difficult but need not be scary. This is
an opportunity to evaluate effectiveness of programs, re-dedicate to
important objectives, and engage new target audiences for membership.
For example, there are many scientists employed in what are considered
nontraditional scientific careers who can benefit greatly from society
membership. Anne would like to work to engage this sector of the
ornithological community and determine how the COS could benefit them
in their careers. Anne is also interested in working with the broader
ornithological community on bringing scientific information to the
applied level to create better tools for making conservation decisions.
Anna Chalfoun is a Research Scientist with the Wyoming
Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and Department of Zoology
and Physiology at the University of Wyoming. Anna has been a COS member
since beginning her master’s research in 1997 with Frank Thompson at
the University of Missouri-Columbia, research that focused on avian
nest predators and habitat fragmentation. She received her Ph.D. in
2006 from the University of Montana under the mentorship of Thomas
Martin, past president of the COS. Her doctoral work focused on
understanding patterns of avian habitat selection at multiple spatial
scales, nest predation, and parental care behaviors. Anna began her
position at the University of Wyoming in 2008 following post-doctoral
study with Craig Benkman. Current work in her lab centers on
investigations of wildlife–habitat relationships and applied ecological
questions including the effects of energy development, the epidemic of
pine beetles in lodgepole pine forests of the western U.S., road
networks, and climate change on birds and other wildlife. She has
taught undergraduate and graduate-level seminars in conservation
biology and habitat ecology. Anna recently served on the Student Awards
Committee at the joint AOU/COS/SCO conference in San Diego, where she
also organized a symposium focused on understanding avian habitat
relationships. The symposium resulted in an invitation to write a
Perspectives paper for the Auk, and she currently has a paper in press
in the Condor. She looks forward to continued participation in the
Cooper Ornithological Society and would bring an enthusiasm for and
dedication toward ornithological research, conservation, education,
service, and rejuvenating membership and involvement in the
ornithological societies.
Victoria J Dreitz is a research scientist in the Avian
Research Program of the Colorado Division of Wildlife in Fort Collins,
Colorado. She holds a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences from
Colorado State University and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of
Miami-Florida. Her research focuses on understanding the
population dynamics, particularly survival of young birds, and
regulation of avifauna in relation to natural and anthropogenic changes
in the environment, including habitat characteristics and predator–prey
interactions. While as a post-doc with Fritz Knopf at the U.S.
Geological Survey and Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Vicky began
her research on grassland birds, specifically the Mountain Plover,
which she continues to focus on today. For approximately
the last 10 years her research has involved collaboration with private
landowners, mainly agricultural producers and ranchers in the Great
Plains region of the U.S. The Department of Interior recognized
this collaboration by awarding the Colorado Division of Wildlife and
the Colorado Farm Bureau its Conservation Service Award in 2005.
Vicky has authored or co-authored >35 peer-reviewed research
articles in diverse array of journals from Journal of Field Ornithology
to Journal of Applied Statistics, articles on a variety of bird-related
topics including development of novel field and analytical methods to
estimate demographic parameters, descriptions of methods to monitor
populations of special concern, and approaches to working with private
landowners to enhance efforts to conserve species. She is also a
faculty affiliate in the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation
Biology at Colorado State University, where she mentors and co-advises
undergraduate and graduate students. Vicky has been a member of the
Cooper Ornithological Society for more than 10 years and, having
obtained her Ph.D. within the past decade, will provide the society a
perspective from a young professional. She is enthusiastic about
having an opportunity to serve on the COS board and wants to ensure
that COS continues to lead the way in transferring information on the
conservation and management of avian populations.
Scott Sillett is a Research Wildlife Biologist at the
Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, National Zoological Park,
Washington, DC. He completed his B.A. at the University of Arizona,
joined the COS while a master's student with J. V. Remsen at Louisiana
State University, earned his Ph.D. with Richard Holmes at Dartmouth
College, and was a post-doc with James Nichols at the U.S. Geological
Survey’s Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Scott has published about
35 papers. His research focuses on population regulation and life
history of migratory passerines and the ecology of landbirds on
California’s Channel Islands. He co-advises graduate students at
Colorado State University, Cornell University, the University of
Nebraska, and the University of Vermont. Scott regularly attends COS
and other ornithological meetings. He served on the Student Awards
committees of the COS and AOU from 2002 to 2007. Scott is convinced
that budget limitations and declining membership place a strong
imperative on the integration of the North American ornithological
societies and their journals. The COS should and can play a leadership
role in this exciting, transformative process. Scott believes that
while a primary advantage of COS membership will continue to be access
to an excellent scientific journal, additional benefits will be needed
to attract and retain new members. Therefore, the COS must work with
the other ornithological societies to increase funding opportunities
for their members, particularly students and young professionals, to
foster enhanced interactions with policy makers and the public and to
develop common standards for the curation and management of
ornithological datasets.
Wayne Thogmartin is a quantitative avian ecologist
(research statistician [biology]) with the U.S. Geological Survey’s
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center in La Crosse,
Wisconsin. He holds a B.A. in Ecology/Behavior/Evolution from the
University of California, San Diego, an M.S. in Zoology from the
University of Arkansas, and a Ph.D. in Zoology from Southern Illinois
University, Carbondale. He has published papers on a wide array
of ecological issues, but his primary research focus has been
conservation design, primarily improving the effectiveness of
conservation through the modeling and mapping of bird abundance over
large spatial scales. Among his >40 technical papers and book
chapters, are four articles in the Condor and three in the Auk.
Wayne is actively involved in bridging the gap between research and
management, serving on the Science Committee of Partners in Flight, the
technical board for the Upper Mississippi River and Great Lakes Joint
Venture, and working groups for the Cerulean Warbler, Golden-winged
Warbler, Henslow’s Sparrow, and American Woodcock. Wayne has
previously served the COS by co-organizing the 74th meeting in La
Crosse and serving as a manuscript reviewer. Election to the
Board would allow him to increase his service to the COS and the other
ornithological societies. Relevant experience includes
co-organizing the 26th meeting of the Waterbird Society and the 3rd
International Environmetrics Society North American Regional Meeting,
and serving as chair of the Spatial Technology and Telemetry Working
Group and as a member of the board of the Biometrics Working
Group of the Wildlife Society.
Michael Wunder is an Assistant Professor in the
Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Colorado,
Denver. He teaches courses in biostatistics and biogeography and
studies the ecology of migratory birds. He received his B.A. degree in
EPO Biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, before working as
a field zoologist for the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the Bureau of
Land Management, and the Colorado Natural Heritage Program for a
collective decade or so. He received his Ph.D. in Ecology from Colorado
State University, where he studied Mountain Plovers under the guidance
of Fritz Knopf and Barry Noon. He is a life member of the Cooper
Ornithological Society and has refereed for and published in the
Condor, Auk, Journal of Field Ornithology, Ornithological Monographs,
and Wilson Journal of Ornithology. He currently serves as associate
editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology and has served on the board of
the Colorado chapter of the Wildlife Society. Mike’s perspectives on
the value of avian research and on the role of ornithological societies
have been shaped by his experiences in both academic and applied
settings. As a member of the Board of Directors, he would work to
ensure that the COS remains among the world’s leading ornithological
societies by continuing to facilitate broad dissemination and archiving
of high-quality research results through sponsorship of student
support, dynamic annual meetings, and providing a high-quality
publication outlet.
2011 Annual Meeting
The COS annual meeting will be held 9-13 March
jointly with the Association of Field Ornithologists and the Wilson
Ornithological Society in Kearney, Nebraska. Please visit
the meeting web
site for more information.
News from The Condor
The Condor will no longer be considering Short
Communications for publication starting in August 2009. For
further details please see the Message from the Editor-in-Chief
published in the latest issue of The
Condor (May 2009, 111:3) or click here.
