Upcoming Programs
We are pleased to announce that Nuttall monthly meetings are back in person at Harvard.
Past Programs
(NOC members, login to view and listen to presentations)
Jeff Foster–Scatological Adventures in Avian Food Webs
Professor of Biology at Northern Arizona University Despite food and foraging being critical to maintaining bird populations, efficient and detailed assessment of diets has been elusive for many species. Molecular approaches, specifically fecal metabarcoding, have revolutionized our understanding of what birds eat. This talk will describe recent developments in the molecular analysis of bird diets…
Read MoreNancy Chen – The complex consequences of dispersal in a fragmented landscape
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, University of Rochester The movement of individuals within and among populations is an important source of evolutionary change. Our understanding of the impact of individual movement on population dynamics and fitness is limited by our inability to directly measure dispersal distances and the reproductive success of immigrants, except in a…
Read MoreNathan W. Cooper – Full annual cycle biology: Lessons from North America’s rarest songbird
Research Ecologist, Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute Cooper will present his research on North America’s rarest songbird, the Kirtland’s Warbler. Over the past few decades, Kirtland’s Warblers have undergone a remarkable recovery, from just 167 males in the world in 1987 to more than 2200 males today. In addition to…
Read MoreWendy Puryear – The changing landscape of influenza: the global situation, and its impact on birds of the North Atlantic
Scientist at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University Wild birds, especially waterfowl, seabirds, and shorebirds, have long been considered the natural reservoir for Influenza A virus (IAV). The majority of IAV subtypes in wild birds are considered Low Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (LPAI) and cause little to no disease. High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI)…
Read MoreRichard Primack and Amanda Gallinat – Concord Birds, Climate change, and Thoreau
Richard Primack is a professor of plant ecology at Boston University and Amanda Gallinat is a visiting assistant professor of environmental studies at Colby College The detailed records of bird sightings and phenological observations around Concord from the last 170 years—from Thoreau, Brewster, and Griscom’s notes to today’s studies by scientists at Boston University—provide a…
Read MoreKristen Ruegg – The Bird Genoscape Project: Harnessing the power of genomics for migratory bird conservation
Kristen Ruegg is Assistant Professor at Colorado State University Most populations of migratory birds are now threatened. It is estimated that the populations of 1 out of every 2 songbirds are declining in the Western Hemisphere with impacts predicted to worsen with climate change. However, because migratory birds have both breeding, migratory and wintering areas…
Read MoreDavid N. Bonter – Public engagement in science: For birds, people, and conservation
Public engagement in science: For birds, people, and conservation Studying birds provide a remarkable window into the coupling of natural and human systems. This presentation will explore what we have learned about birds and people through engaging the public in scientific research. With a focus on Project FeederWatch (www.feederwatch.org), a program with data from more…
Read MorePepper Trail – Fighting Crime with Feathers: The Casebook of a Forensic Ornithologist
Forensic Ornithologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory Dr. Pepper Trail served as the senior forensic ornithologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement for over 20 years. During this time, he worked on over 2000 cases, identifying bird remains submitted as evidence in wildlife crime investigations. This evidence…
Read MoreRebecca Jo Safran – The role of adaptation in phenotype divergence and speciation: an integrative and comparative perspective
Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Colorado-Boulder Evolutionary mechanisms lead to changes in the phenotypic and genomic features of populations; population genetics and patterns of phenotype differentiation are often used to infer which of these mechanisms are at work. Here, I highlight the need to more directly study the underlying…
Read MoreAmber Roth – A 25-year journey to recover a rapidly declining forest songbird, the Golden-winged Warbler
Assistant Professor of Forest Wildlife Management, University of Maine Dr. Amber Roth began studying Golden-winged Warbler in 1998 as a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin. Little did she know then that this was the beginning of a long journey of research, monitoring, and conservation to aid this rapidly declining migratory forest species. Today…
Read MoreJeff Foster–Scatological Adventures in Avian Food Webs
Professor, Department of Biological Sciences & Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University Despite food and foraging being critical to maintaining bird populations, efficient and detailed assessment of diets has been elusive for many species. Molecular approaches, specifically fecal metabarcoding, have revolutionized our understanding of what birds eat. This talk will describe recent developments in…
Read MoreBrian Olsen – Adapting to Novelty: what tidal marsh birds can teach us about evolving to meet new challenges
Professor of Ornithology, University of Maine Tidal marshes of the Atlantic coast of North America are host to a suite of specialized bird taxa, but tidal marshes themselves are geological ephemeral and these taxa are the descendants of species from other ecosystems. Despite their various origins, tidal marsh colonizers share a suite of adaptations and…
Read MoreSteven C. Latta – No Fool’s Errand: A Search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Louisiana
Director of Conservation and Field Research, National Aviary in Pittsburgh The history of decline of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is long, complex, and controversial. The last widely accepted sighting of this species in continental North America was 1944. A collaboration between Project Principalis and the National Aviary has produced personal observations, sound recordings, trail camera photos,…
Read MoreMichael Romero – Stress in Birds
L. Michael Romero is Professor of Biology at Tufts University In contrast to stress-related disease in humans, the stress response is vital for helping wild birds survive in their natural habitats. I will present research showing that the hormonal and physiological responses to stress are important for birds to survive natural stressors such as storms,…
Read MorePete Marra – The Epic Migrations of Birds
Pete Marra is Director of the Earth Commons: Georgetown University’s Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Laudato Si’ Professor in Biology and the Environment, and Professor in the McCourt School of Public Policy Migration is one of the most engaging phenomena of the animal world and one epitomized by birds. Migratory birds are the Olympiads of…
Read MoreBridget Stutchbury – Why Is Tropical Bird Behavior So Different?
Bridget Stutchbury is Professor in the Department of Biology at York University, Toronto Dr. Bridget Stutchbury explores why the tropics is a unique natural laboratory that has led to unusual and varied bird behavior compared with temperate-breeding species. A large majority of research on bird behavior has focussed on North American and European breeding birds,…
Read MoreLauryn Benedict – Divas in the treetops: When and why do female birds sing?
Lauryn Benedict is Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Northern Colorado Female bird song is more common and widespread than is generally appreciated. In this presentation Dr. Lauryn Benedict will give an overview of female bird song prevalence and variety. She will discuss what we can learn by studying the songs of female…
Read MoreAllan Strong: The Bobolink Project: Payments for Ecosystem Services to Conserve Grassland Birds
Dr. Allan Strong is a Professor in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont. In response to continent-wide population declines in the suite of birds that nest in agricultural habitats, we initiated a payment for ecosystem services program called The Bobolink Project. Beginning in Rhode Island and expanding to…
Read MoreTim Birkhead – How we know what we know about birds
Tim Birkhead is a Fellow of the Royal Society and emeritus professor of behaviour and evolution at the University of Sheffield We take so much for granted when it comes to birds, but where did our knowledge come from? Although people had been intrigued by birds since the palaeolithic, it was only with the scientific…
Read MoreAutumn-Lynn Harrison – Uniting across hemispheres to discover unknown migratory pathways of birds: Advancing scientific knowledge and translating to conservation
Dr. Autumn-Lynn Harrison is a research ecologist at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and is the program manager of the Migratory Connectivity Project Join Dr. Autumn-Lynn Harrison, a marine ecologist with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, as she shares results from two hemispheric-scale tracking projects, and how the data have been translated into global policy…
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