Roundtable Discussions

Social Field Safety and Inclusivity for Marginalized and Historically Excluded Researchers

Lauren D. Pharr, Murry L. Burgess, Kayla Stukes

Attendees will get the chance to be a part of an informational conversation about ways to support field researchers, especially marginalized and historically excluded field researchers, by taking into account various scenarios such as race, gender, disabilities, chronic illnesses, and being LGBTQ+.

Individuals who carry out fieldwork as a part of their job or research program experience a higher risk of conflict due to identity prejudice. Individuals with minority identities, including race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity and/or religion, are at risk and more likely to be either harassed or questioned in certain settings while carrying out fieldwork. Additionally, extra steps for individuals with invisible disabilities or chronic illnesses should be considered to make the experience and environment comfortable for them. Join representatives of Field Inclusive, a new nonprofit dedicated to helping prioritize social field safety (i.e. interactions with the general public or other individuals) both on an individual and institutional level, as we have a safe and in-depth discussion about ways you can best support your field researchers, especially those who are marginalized and historically excluded.

BIO-LEAPS Project to Co-create Affinity Groups in Ornithology

Daizaburo Shizuka, Ashley Dayer, Jennifer Smith, Kristen Covino, Tim O’Connell, Nathan Thayer

This roundtable will provide updates and a space for feedback on the collaborative project across three ornithological societies (AOS, AFO, WOS) that aims to establish a process for co-creating affinity groups to support a more diverse and inclusive field of ornithology.

A recent diversity assessment conducted by the American Ornithological Society (AOS) found that ornithology is considerably dominated by White members and lacks representation among key groups, particularly Black and Hispanic/Latinx communities. Moreover, the assessment revealed that many members from historically excluded groups feel a weaker sense of belonging, feel that their voices are not heard, and that they are not valued compared to members from other groups. In 2023, the AOS, Association of Field Ornithologists (AFO), and Wilson Ornithological Society (WOS) began a collaborative project, with funding support from the NSF BIO-LEAPS program, to design a process for co-creating affinity groups—i.e., groups created by and for members from historically excluded communities—that facilitate cultural change to work towards creating a more diverse and inclusive ornithological community. The co-creation process engages marginalized members to imagine an ornithological community where they belong and are valued, and then creates affinity groups based on those visions through a series of workshops with emerging leaders of the communities. In this roundtable, we will provide updates on the progress of this project, including information from our recent survey and leadership workshop. We also hope to gather feedback to learn from the community and use this information to grow the project to the next stage.

Let’s talk Motus! Q&A discussion on the Motus Wildlife Tracking System

Matt Webb, Todd Alleger, Adam Smith

This roundtable discussion will be targeted toward researchers, educators, students, and other people interested in learning more about or using Motus.

The Motus Wildlife Tracking System has revolutionized how we record animal movements and behavior in nature using collaborative automated radio telemetry. This roundtable is intended as a follow-up to the pre-conference Motus workshop and other Motus-related content presented throughout the week, to allow for more discussion and a relatively open-ended Q&A period for participants. Discussions may include collaborative project goals, planning strategies, troubleshooting, data management and analysis, and more. Participants will have an opportunity to describe their use of Motus and have their questions answered by a panel of Motus experts. This roundtable is open to all, from those not currently using Motus and interested to learn more, to super-users with in-depth questions or topics.

New Directions for Bird-Window Collision Research

Kim Sullivan, Mark Koven

This roundtable will focus on data that are needed to move forward with implementing bird friendly design across university campuses, translating research into building design, and new technology for preventing bird window collisions.

Bird-window collisions are a significant contributor to avian mortality. Following up on the symposium at the AOS & SCO–SOC 2023 meeting, we will discuss 1) data needs to move forward with implementing bird friendly designs on campuses, 2) how to put bird friendly design principles into practice and, 3) how using new technologies can prevent bird-window collisions. At this point, a variety of studies have identified factors associated with window collisions, and we have a diverse array of mitigation techniques that have been tested in flight tunnels with some additional testing in field settings. What additional data would be useful in evaluating mitigation strategies? Bird friendly design practices are increasingly being considered for new construction. What are the best practices for incorporating these practices in a specific building design? What considerations need to be given to the interaction of windows and landscaping for new construction? Finally, the ability of passerine birds to see in the UV range provides potential options for using UV light on problematic windows where other options are not feasible. We will discuss a field experiment using UV light projection that effectively decreased bird-window collisions. We plan to produce a white paper from this discussion and publish the white paper to encourage continued discussions on moving the field of preventing bird-window collisions forward.

Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo Working Group

Cathy Wise, Jenna Stanek

We invite you to join us to learn more about our activities and discuss future directions as we work to recover the Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo. 

The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is a long-distance migratory bird species that is widely-distributed across North America during its breeding season. It has, however, experienced a steep population decline (>60%) over the last 35 years across its range. The decline of western populations has been particularly severe leading to the listing of the western population as federally threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2014. The Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo Working Group was founded in 2008 with a primary goal of developing a conservation strategy for the Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Since its founding, the Working Group and its members have made great strides with advancing scientific efforts, collaboration, and information transfer. The Yellow-Billed Cuckoo Working Group was selected as one of Road to Recovery’s (R2R) pilot species for recovery. R2R reimagines migratory bird conservation by providing a systematic approach that brings together advances in the biological and social sciences to address the recovery of North American birds. The objective of the Working Group discussion will be to invite others to learn about what the Working Group has accomplished, the tasks that we have identified as important for cuckoo conservation, and opportunities for involvement. We will revisit topics from the symposium and discuss opportunities for collaboration across the full-annual range. 

Advancing the conservation of neotropical birds—a Pan-American discussion.

Jeffrey D. Brawn, Camila Gómez

In this roundtable we will discuss the results of a recent survey on the status of ornithology and avian conservation in the Neotropics to foster a productive and inclusive dialogue on what is known and what needs to be known about the biology and conservation of Neotropical birds.

Over 40% of the world’s avifauna occurs in the Neotropics. Yet, fundamental questions persist about the biology and status of most species in the region. Given the inevitability of climate change and habitat loss, these uncertainties pose significant challenges for establishing and implementing science-based conservation policies. Recent reviews of research priorities for Neotropical birds, while thoughtful and innovative, have led to concerns about current levels of participation by ornithologists from Latin America. The objective of this roundtable is to help expand and advance this critical dialogue. The discussion will center on results of a questionnaire/survey sent in spring 2024 to a geographically diverse group of researchers and conservation professionals across the Americas. The questionnaire will seek input on views about the current state of knowledge, short- and long-term research needs, and how ornithologists can collaborate and advance Neotropical conservation policy. Analyses of the survey results will be presented including comparisons of responses from different geographic regions.

This roundtable organized by the American Ornithological Society’s (AOS’s) Conservation Committee.

Finding synergy across the U.S. and Canadian landbird conservation community

Sarah Kendrick, Anna Chalfoun, Jeff Walters, Kristen Ruegg

Join the leaders of Partners in Flight, Road to Recovery, the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, American Ornithological Society, and Society of Canadian Ornithologists to learn how they work together and help us to identify future work and your needs.

Do you ever get confused by the goals and objectives of bird conservation groups in Canada and the U.S.? Who does what, and what are the strengths of each? The bird conservation community has grown by leaps and bounds since the late 1990s with various groups focusing on conservation objectives at regional, national, and international scales. Groups like Partners in Flight began 33 years ago, while newer movements/initiatives like the Road to Recovery began in 2020 in response to the Science article quantifying the loss of three billion birds in the last 50 years. Conservation goals, vision, and foci can become confusing with many groups and the overwhelming scope of conservation challenges. Join the leaders of many of Canada and the U.S.’s largest bird conservation organizations (Partners in Flight, the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, Road to Recovery, American Ornithological Society, and Canadian Society of Ornithologists) to clarify their roles and help us identify ways we can work together more efficiently to make progress on today’s pressing conservation challenges.

This roundtable organized by the American Ornithological Society’s (AOS’s) Conservation Committee.

Leveraging eBird data to inform regional bird conservation priorities and objectives

Laura Farwell, Ashley Peele, Orin Robinson, Rebekah Rylander, Andrew Stillman

Staff from multiple Migratory Bird Joint Ventures and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology will discuss a collaborative project to leverage eBird data to inform regional conservation efforts, with a discussion of recent applications, current work in progress, and future directions.

Migratory Bird Joint Ventures (JVs) are cooperative, regional partnerships working to conserve habitat for the benefit of birds, other wildlife, and people. There are 22 habitat-based JVs across North America, each addressing bird habitat conservation issues specific to their geographies and partnerships. JVs facilitate and support collaboration among diverse partners—including state, federal, Tribal, non-profit, and private entities—to advance on-the-ground conservation. Over the past year, through a collaboration with Cornell Lab of Ornithology, JVs have led an effort to summarize eBird data at spatial scales relevant to regional conservation efforts. JV-level summaries of eBird Status and Trends data products are being used to inform regional conservation priorities, bird and habitat objectives, and monitoring of progress towards regional objectives. Panelists from participating JVs and Cornell will share information about the collaboration and data summaries that are being used, including seasonal proportion of global population estimates, relative abundance raster layers, and regional population trend estimates. JV staff working across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico will also share specific examples of how data products are being used to inform conservation planning and action in different regions. Lastly, panelists and participants will have an opportunity to discuss future directions and potential applications of this work.

Science Communication for Ornithologists

Susan Bonfield, Garth Spellman, Lauryn Benedict and The Local Host Committee
Join us for a panel discussion with expert Science Communicators to learn strategies for sharing your science with diverse audiences and to hear about varied careers in Science Communication and outreach.

This year’s AOS conference is all about translating science into action. To do that effectively, ornithologists need to communicate scientific results to a range of audiences –  from the general public to experts in their respective fields. This roundtable will feature a panel of Science Communicators discussing the many ways that avian research can be used to direct and inspire engagement and conservation. We will highlight Science Communication strategies that will be useful to all ornithologists and provide examples of career paths in Science Communication. Panelists include Digital Engagement Manager for the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies Tyler Cash, Editor of Birding Magazine and Field Guide Author Ted Floyd, AOS Communications and Marketing Manager Chris Anne Handel, World Migratory Bird Day Latin America Coordinator Miguel Matta, and owner of Access Birding and research associate in the Dayer Human Dimensions Lab at Virginia Tech Freya McGregor. The discussion will be moderated in English and Spanish by Garth Spellman and Cristina Barros.