We are excited to present the AFO Café—informal science conversations about birds, their habitats, and field biology, with a short update on AFO’s programs—all free, open to the public, and sponsored by Avinet Research Supplies. Please bring your coffee, tea, beer, or beverage of your choice, and join us! You can even help us support the café by visiting our Bonfire store and purchasing a coffee mug or shirt. If you miss one of our events, you can view recordings at our YouTube Channel.
Upcoming Events
April 4, 2025 – “Flamingos as sentinels in an era of rapid changes in the high Andes“
Featuring: Alex Jahn, PhD. From the Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University (Oregon, USA)
Flamingos breed in the high Andes and are increasingly threatened by degradation in the quality of the wetlands they use as a result of lithium mining and climate change, whose impacts are evident but still poorly understood; however, we still do not understand enough about these birds to make informed conservation recommendations. We are studying water quality, prey abundance and pollution, together with the physiological and behavioral ecology of flamingos in several Andean wetlands in Argentina. With this data, we hope to better understand their ability to respond to anthropogenic change and propose informed conservation recommendations. We also work with local communities to promote environmental education and the protection of the water they depend upon. Because both flamingos and people depend on clean water, we hope to use flamingos sentinels of the impacts of climate change and mining on the lakes, rivers and streams used by both flamingos and people.
The café will be held at 4:00 pm EST. The event is free and open to anyone. Registration is required. Sign up at the link below!
Past Events
Featuring: Shannon Skalos, PhD. Statewide Avian Conservation Coordinator & Senior Environmental Scientist Specialist, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Northern harriers are an important raptor species in marsh and grassland ecosystems across North America, and yet they are a relatively understudied species. In California, harriers are a Species of Special Concern and have been in decline for several decades. Understanding their reproductive ecology, habitat selection, and migration are key to understanding and managing this decline. For her PhD, Shannon studied harriers in Suisun Marsh, the largest brackish water marsh on the west coast and home to one of the largest breeding and wintering populations of harriers in California. Shannon will discuss micro and macro nest site habitat selection, the role of habitat and small mammals in nest success, and the migration ecology of wintering harriers in Suisun Marsh.
Watch the recorded event here:
Featuring: Julieta Von Thungen and Jaime Bernardos
Duck hunting in Argentina attracts foreign tourism, and this mobilizes the economy in marginal regions. Hunters turned to scientists to estimate the abundance of fourteen duck species eligible to hunting. This could demonstrate to local authorities the sustainability of their activity.
Many scientists believe that a) data changes minds; scientific literacy is the answer; b) to change social behavior, you have to change individual minds; c) the best thing is to create a broad impact. However, bridging the gaps in the implementation of actions for nature conservation is not linear, and does not easily translate into recommendations for policymakers.
Mixing social science professionals into a team allows us to evolve towards “soft” systemic thinking. Through Participatory Action Research, a group of hunters, enforcement authorities and scientists defined the following objectives: a) Estimate abundance and distribution to compare between years. b) All actors involved must participate. c) Generate information accessible to all actors involved. d) Transition from the general to the particular through successive approaches. We define a learning cycle with steps: 1) planning, 2) action, 3) monitoring, 4) reflection, 5) learning and adaptation. The cycle restarts the following year, incorporating the new “soft” and “hard” knowledge obtained as a result of the previous cycles.
Progress is reflected in 4 days of field work with 14 teams configured by one biologist and one hunter. In a route of 18,592 kilometers, the percentages of water bodies surveyed were Buenos Aires 1.18%; Currents 2.90%; Entre Ríos 2.11%; and La Pampa 3.61%.
This framework incorporates knowledge of different actors and recognizes their responsibilities. Training improves understanding of the system in which the problem is found. Learning cycles allow for reflection and recognition of errors and agreements more transparently. At the same time, external facilitation is important to avoid the subject-object polarity installed in science.
Watch the recorded event here:
Featuring: Agustina Gómez-Laich (IEGEBA, CONICET) and Monserrat Del Caño (IBIOMAR, CONICET)
Many areas of animal biology, particularly behavior and movement ecology, have greatly benefited from advances in technology. In this AFO Café, Agustina will give a general overview of how bird behavior can be studied using the information provided by two miniature on-board sensors, triaxial accelerometers and magnetometers. Monserrat will show us the potential of accelerometry for the study of parental food provisioning and chick begging behavior in birds.
Watch the recorded event here:
Featuring: Ryan Terrill, PhD, Science Director, Klamath Bird Observatory
Watch the recorded event here:
Featuring: Jay Wright – Metroparks Toledo
Blue Jays are important long-distance dispersers of acorns and other small nuts through their fall caching behavior. For his PhD research, Jay investigated the possible influences of this caching behavior on the ongoing decline of oaks and the anticipated reintroduction of American chestnut in eastern North America. He will discuss the results of seed selection trials and the dispersal effectiveness of Blue Jays for oaks and chestnuts in Ohio, as well as the relationship between oak masting cycles and Blue Jay abundance.
Watch the recorded event here:
Featuring: Antonella Gorosábel, Ph.D. – Postdoctoral fellow CONICET
The Ruddy-headed Goose (Chloephaga rubidiceps) has two separate populations: one sedentary, which resides in the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, and one migratory that overwinters mainly in the Pampas region (Argentina) and breeds in Southern Patagonia (Argentina and Chile). The migratory population has decreased considerably to less than 800 individuals and is categorized as Endangered in Argentina and Chile. For this population, we study the impact of different human activities, such as wind farms, hydroelectric dams, and agricultural activities, on the distribution, abundance, habitat use, and migration strategy of this species. To conduct these studies, we apply different methodologies such as censuses in vehicles and boats, camera traps, interviews with stakeholders, focal observations, exclosure plots in agricultural fields, nutrient and microhistological analysis of their feces, and we equip individuals with satellite transmitters. We also use Geographic Information Systems (GIS), ecological modelling and different statistical analysis.
By using all these methodologies, we have been studying the ecology of the Ruddy-headed Goose, together with the other two migratory sheldgeese species (Chloephaga picta and Chloephaga poliocephala) for more than 10 years. We are a group of researcher from different institutions that work together to find different ways to protect the Ruddy-headed Goose.
Watch the recorded event here:
Featuring: Dan Ardia (Franklin & Marshall College)
Watch the recorded event here:
Featuring: Paulo Llambías (CONICET, Argentina)
Watch the recorded event here:
Featuring: Valeria Ojeda (INIBIOMA-CONICET, Argentina), assisted by Miguel Saggese, Laura Casalins, Gala Ortiz and Pablo Plaza
Collaborative work among veterinarians and biologists, including Miguel Saggese, Laura Casalins, Gala Ortiz, and Pablo Plaza, is presented with the purpose of generating awareness on the widespread use of anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) in most of South America, and the little attention given to this environmental threat in both academic and management spheres. Although there’s support both from veterinary and human medicine that these poisons affect varied non-target subjects, toxicology laboratories do not test for comprehensive ARs detection in animal tissues, at least in Argentina. We aim at strengthening networking capabilities to allow surveillance of ARs impacts on wildlife and human health, better enforcement of regulation and use of ARs, and the application of mitigation measures.
Watch the recorded event here:
Featuring: María Andreína Pacheco (Temple University)
Haemosporidians are a diverse group of vector-borne parasitic protozoa that includes the agents of human malaria. However, most of the described species are found in birds and reptiles. Although our understanding of these parasites’ diversity has expanded by analyses of their mitochondrial genes, there is still limited information about their origin and diversification. This talk focuses on avian haemosporidian parasites’ ecology, diversity, and evolutionary biology. I am applying phylogenetic and molecular clock methods to understand host switches, local transmission, and the radiation of major parasite groups in their vertebrate hosts, focusing on avian parasites as they inform about the origin of this group of parasites. Although sensitive to the assumptions of the molecular dating method used, the estimated times indicate that the avian haemosporidian subgenera/genera diversification took place after the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary following the radiation of modern birds. Our recent results suggest that these parasites’ radiation may result from community-level evolutionary processes between their vertebrates (birds, lizards, and mammals) and invertebrate hosts (Diptera vectors).
Watch the recorded event here:
Featuring: Jess McLaughlin (University of California Berkeley)
Why do some populations in allopatry become reproductively isolated, while others maintain their ability to hybridize? Using a comparative framework, I’ve looked at what might predict the development of reproductive isolation and the outcomes of secondary contact in Panamanian birds, focusing on ten widespread lowland birds. A baseline assumption is that the longer the eastern and western Panama populations have been isolated, the more likely that reproductive isolation is maintained when the populations come into contact- but is this the case? Or do other factors better predict which taxa stay distinct, and which undergo reticulation?
Watch the recorded event here:
Featuring: Scott Taylor (University of Colorado-Boulder), Shawn Billerman (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), and Robert Curry (Villanova University)
Scott Taylor, Bob Curry, and Shawn Billerman will be talking about the dynamic nature of hybrid zones, and how they change over time, whether in response to climate change and shifting ranges or habitat alterations that lead to changes in how species interact.
Watch the recorded event here:
Featuring: Emily Choy (McGill University, Canada) and Kendra Tingmiak (University of Lethbridge, Canada)
Kendra and Emily will share their experience and perspectives working with northern communities in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region of the Northwest Territories, monitoring the health status of Beaufort Sea beluga whales as part of a community-based monitoring program.
Watch the recorded event here:
Resources mentioned during today’s presentation:
- Doing Research in the Northwest Territories
- Negotiating Research Relationships with Inuit Communities
- Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans
- People of a Feather film
- Arctic Eider Society
- SIKU – The Indigenous Knowledge Social Network
- National Representational Organization for Inuit in Canada
- Inuit Circumpolar Council
Featuring: Juan Manuel Rojas Ripari, IEGEBA-CONICET, Argentina
Cooperative breeding is a reproductive system in which one or more adults (helpers) assist others in rearing their offspring. In birds, cooperative breeding occurs in 9% of species and it is associated with remarkable variation in mating systems and patterns of social organization. A comprehensive understanding of the evolution of helping behavior can only be achieved by assessing social and genetic patterns across a broad range of cooperative systems. Yet, for some geographic regions like the Neotropics, detailed genetic studies of cooperatively breeding birds are still comparatively scarce, despite being the most biodiverse region of the world. Here, we examine genetic relationships within and between social groups in a Neotropical cooperative breeder, the Grayish Baywing (Agelaioides badius), a medium-sized passerine native to southern South America. We used ddRAD sequencing to study the social organization and fine-scale genetic structure of 41 breeding groups obtaining 327 SNPs. We found that helpers were primarily males, the majority of which were genetically related to the individuals they assisted, either as previous offspring of the breeding pair or as first or second order relatives of the breeding male with reproduction skewed to the breeding pair. However, we also observed unrelated male and female helpers, suggesting non-reproductive benefits may be at play. We found weak evidence consistent with male natal philopatry, and fine-scale genetic structure, as adult males in our population showed higher relatedness at close geographic distances than females. Future studies that further examine the mechanisms behind group formation and the fitness pay-offs of helping behaviour will increase our understanding of the complex cooperative system of the Grayish Baywings.
Watch the recorded event here:
Featuring: Matthew Gonnerman, University of Maine
Wild turkeys are a wide-ranging species with considerable cultural and economic significance. As they can exist across a variety of ecosystems, understanding how land use affects population vital rates can be a crucial component of informed management. This is even more important for turkey populations in Maine, where harsh winters can have negative impacts on survival and reproduction. Using a combination of banding, radiotelemetry, and GPS tracking data, I sought to better understand the relationship between turkey population ecology at their northern range limit and the diverse landscape gradient they occupy in Maine. This work resulted in a better understanding of the current distribution of turkeys in Maine, what habitat is necessary for their survival in harsh winters as well as for reproduction, and how movement between seasonal ranges can impact population distributions.
Watch the recorded event here:
Featuring: Nicolas Lois, IEGEBA-CONICET, Argentina, and Rebecka Brasso, Weber State University
Stable isotopes and trace metals can aid our understanding of trophic dynamics and interactions between species and populations. Southern ocean penguins present an intriguing spatial pattern of these ecological tracers. In this presentation we will show global and regional patterns and potential evolutionary and conservation implications.
Watch the recorded event here:
A panel discussion led by Allyson Jackson (SUNY Purchase)
Interested in graduate school but not sure how the process works? Come to the September AFO café to hear from 5 current graduate students about their experiences and advice for finding, applying to, and getting into graduate school. This panel will be focused on US-based graduate programs and will cover topics like whether to do a masters or a PhD, how to find an advisor and funding, and what to expect in graduate school. We will also take your questions. This will be helpful for current or recent undergraduates or anyone looking to get into a grad program!
Panelists include:
- Karina Sanchez, PhD student, University of Northern Colorado
- Katie Henson, PhD student, Duke University
- Maria Costantini, M.S., PhD candidate, University of Hawai’i at Manoa
- Nicole Lussier, PhD student, University of Tennessee
- Ryan Baumbusch, M.S., PhD candidate, Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University
Watch the recorded event here:
Featuring Bettina Mahler, Melina Atencio and Alicia de la Colina
The Yellow Cardinal (Gubernatrix cristata) is an ‘Endangered’ passerine from southern South America. For the past four years, a management plan for Yellow Cardinals has been implemented in Argentina for rescued individuals from the illegal caged-bird market. Rescued individuals go through a sanitary rehabilitation and an anti-predator training at Fundación Temaiken recovery center and are subsequently released back into areas with suitable habitat within their area of provenance, previously determined by the use of molecular markers. A monitoring program of released individuals helped us identify several factors that account for the success of this management plan, related to characteristics of both the individuals and the habitat, which should be considered in future liberations.
Watch the recorded event here:
Featuring Dan Baldassarre and Brooke Goodman
Humans dominate the global landscape, so we need to understand how our activity affects wildlife. In this AFO Café, Dan will provide a general overview of how urban living affects the visual and vocal communication of Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis). This research is driven exclusively by undergraduate students, one of whom, Brooke Goodman, will talk about her project using automated recorders to quantify cardinal song repertoires.
Watch the recorded event here:
Featuring Leo Campagna, Cecilia Kopuchian, and Adrián Di Giácomo
We combine field experiments and genomics to understand the importance of behavioral isolation in the capuchino seedeaters (Sporophila). The study takes advantage of the recent discovery of a new species in the genus, Sporophila iberaensis, which has a very small breeding range confined to the northern portion of the Esteros del Iberá Wetlands in the province of Corrientes (Argentina).
Watch the recorded event here:
Interested in speaking? Have a topic idea? Contact us at afo.communications@gmail.com with speaker suggestions or to volunteer!