Speakers

Islands play a key role in both the evolution of new avian species and the extinction of others. Although over 80 percent of bird species live on continents, 92 percent of extinctions since 1500 have been on islands. Join us to view some marvelous island species and learn about the conservation issues unique to islands.

Only male birds sing, right? Wrong! In fact, this widespread notion has a lot more to do with human cultural and geographic biases than it has to do with nature. In this talk, Nathan Pieplow explores the often-overlooked songs of female birds.

Eric Schroeder will take you on a tour of this amazing island, home to 308 species of birds, 108 of which are endemic. Endemism isn’t limited to individual species but, remarkably, extends to the family level; Madagascar has six endemic avian families: the mesites, the asities, the vangas, the tetras, the ground rollers, and the cuckoo roller (which has only one species—the Cuckoo-roller—in the family.)

Dive into the world of Alcatraz seabirds! Learn about the several species that breed on the island each spring and summer, and how we can protect them from climate change and other threats.

This presentation will discuss how audio recording is used for conservation and research with examples ranging from the use of portable recording systems in tropical bird conservation, autonomous recorders for detection and monitoring, automated playback systems for reintroduction, and will also touch on related issues such as the ethics of playback. The talk will include brief discussion of individuals that have carried out this work.