GRANT WRITING Workshop
Tuesday, Aug 13th, 3-4pm, at the Palmer House
The Joint Student Affairs Committee is hosting a one-hour Grant Writing Workshop for student and recent graduates. During the workshop, a panel of speakers will present information on finding and getting funding for graduate research and postdoctoral positions. This event is free. Seating is on a first come, first serve basis. If you have any questions, please contact Melanie Colon.
LEVERAGING DIGITAL COLLECTIONS FOR AVIAN RESEARCH Workshop
Tuesday, Aug 13th, 4-6pm, at the Palmer House
Experts from the Macaulay Library and Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology will discuss collecting, managing, and applying digital media to research questions in ornithology. Topics will include: How to Select the Appropriate Equipment; Capture and Manage Megadata; Options for Archiving Data; and Potential Research Applications. Emphasis will be on providing a brief but comprehensive overview of the practical aspects of collecting and applying digital media that will help participants recognize when and how digital collections may be integrated into their own research. This workshop is organized by the AOU/COS Joint Student Affairs Committee. Registration priority will be given to students. Registration is free, but space is limited. To register, please email Kristen Dillon or Carl Lundblad.
SAMPLING AND PRESERVING AVIAN ENDO- and ECTOPARASITES FROM THE FIELD TO THE LAB Workshop
Tuesday, Aug 13th, 9am-12pm, at The Field Museum
Parasites are important elements in the lives of birds and can impact their health, demography, behavior, and evolutionary history. Parasites themselves are also intriguing because they are ubiquitous, understudied, and at the same time are excellent models for understanding the patterns and processes of diversification and speciation. Are you interested in studying avian parasites? Are you already working on avian parasites? Do you have opportunities to sample birds that you are collecting or banding? This workshop will focus on appropriate field methods for collecting avian endo- and ectoparasites to optimize their usefulness for studying the evolutionary history of and ecology of bird-parasite associations. We will introduce you to field methods, supplies, and some of the downstream approaches that we are using to study avian parasites. We will also provide a practical opportunity to learn these methods on salvaged bird specimens here at the Field Museum. We would also welcome participants with experience studying parasites to attend and share their methods. Registration is free, but space will be limited. To register, contact Jason Weckstein.
USING KNOWLEDGE NETWORKS AND DATA SHARING TO ADVANCE BIRD CONSERVATION AND RESEARCH ENDEAVORS Workshop
Tuesday, Aug 13th, 9am-12:30pm, at The Field Museum
The model for how aggregations of data can be used in bird conservation has evolved over the last ten years from centralized data management to centralized data sharing. The main hub for data sharing in North America is the Avian Knowledge Network (AKN). The AKN provides data and science-based answers to conservation and management needs from our partners, including government, non-government, higher education and private institutions. The AKN is readily capable of incorporating any avian monitoring or demographic dataset, ensuring the data are safely kept, well described, and contributors' intellectual rights are upheld, while also enabling the community of partners to discover the data and to collaboratively develop new and improved means to analyze and visualize them to answer conservation and management needs. Workshop participants will receive hands-on training using the Avian Knowledge Network and several of its nodes (i.e., California Avian Data Center, Midwest Avian Data Center, and Rocky Mountain Avian Data Center). It is strongly preferred that participants bring their own laptops or tablets (configured to work from Wi-Fi networks). A limited number of laptops may be made available for use upon request. For questions and registration regarding this workshop, please contact Katie Koch.
THE PREPARATION AND CURATION OF BIRDS' EGGS FOR MUSEUM MANAGERS AND FIELD BIOLOGISTS: AN EGGCITING Workshop
Tuesday, Aug 13th, 1-3pm, at The Field Museum
Dr. Linnea Hall, Executive Director, and René Corado, Collections Manager, of the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology (WFVZ) will present a 2-hour workshop on the subject of bird eggshells. The WFVZ currently holds the largest collection of bird eggshells in North America (>225,000 sets). Workshop topics to be covered will include: a brief history of egg collecting and what we’ve learned from birds’ eggs; how to interpret collectors’ egg cards and the marks on empty eggshells in museum collections; how to blow and otherwise empty full eggs of contents; how to handle “problem eggs” (e.g., dried contents, broken shells, Byne’s disease); how to generally handle and mark eggs; and how to curate eggs long-term. Registration is free, but space is limited. To register, please email René or Linnea.