Due to major storms in the Washington, D.C. area last week that disrupted email and phone service to The Wildlife Society headquarters, we are extending the application deadline for the 2010 Native American Professional Development Travel Grants Program to August 20, 2010. This exciting new program provides grants of up to $1,500 for students to attend The Wildlife Society’s annual conference in Snowbird, Utah, October 2-6, 2010. The conference offers a plethora of activities aimed at students’ professional development, including events to meet professionals, learn how to find wildlife jobs, and socialize with other students. Please help us spread the word about this unique opportunity to any eligible students that you know. Details of the program can be found here.
Researchers at the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology are studying the effects of toxic contamination from the Gulf oil spill on the fecundity of migratory birds. While scientists know that toxins are detrimental to bird reproduction, they still need more data to determine to what extent these negative effects manifest further inland; for instance for migratory birds that pass through the Gulf yet breed hundreds of miles away.
In order to gather this data, researchers are asking birdwatchers across the continent to contribute by monitoring local nests and providing information to the NestWatch program. Citizen-science observations have long driven otherwise unworkable research efforts, and hopefully will continue to do so in the future.
With wildlife proliferating in areas where they were formerly scarce or nonexistent, education on wildlife and their interactions with humans is becoming increasingly necessary. This New York Times article discusses a handful of the risks and countermeasures that many people may fail to consider and that come from having wildlife in their midst.
The Wildlife Society realizes that wildlife professionals play a key role in managing and educating the public on interactions with wildlife, so we are hosting multiple workshops related to human-wildlife conflict in partnership with the Human-Wildlife-Conservation Collaboration and others at our annual conference this year at Snowbird, Utah, to be held from October 2 to 6.
The Wildlife Society is currently offering grants of $1,500 via a competitive program available to all Native American, Alaska Natives, First Nations, Native Hawaiian or Indigenous Tribal students currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program studying natural resources or natural resource management. Through these grants we’d like to enable as many interested, budding professionals as possible to attend our 17th Annual Conference in Snowbird, Utah, which will run from October 2-6 this year. Select students will be able to enjoy meeting and learning from experienced wildlife professionals from all over the country. The application deadline of August 6, 2010 is rapidly approaching, so please check here for more details on the program and how to apply.
The Wildlife Society is pleased to announce its inaugural video competition winners:
When Owls Dream, by Amanda Moors
In first place we have an eerie yet soothing montage of scenes depicting owls in the wild. The video opens with visions flushed with blue, suggesting night time, and then unfolds with more day light scenes. Through both phases we see owls swooping, hunting, feeding, and watching. Both in flight and alighted, the owls in this video are skillfully presented as some of the most patient of predators.
Trapping Rio Grande Wild Turkeys in Texas, by Shawn L. Locke
Coming up in second is an instructional video demonstrating how to capture and attach a tracking device to a turkey. In an informative combination of high-speed playback and detailed narration, the video covers several key considerations such as necessary equipment, nuances in trap preparation, seasonality of the capture, merits of different tracking devices, and the scientific benefits gained from tracking the turkeys. All in all it is quite an educational watch for anyone not already a veteran of hands-on turkey research.
Meet a Fisheries and Wildlife Grad, by Marco Sanchez
Our final winner is a video of one graduate student’s discussion on her project to discover more about zoonotic diseases. She approaches the research by analyzing the wildlife vectors based on the various ways in which they handle the disease. Later she points out a few of the implications of this strategy and how it could inspire new and meaningful insights. Her discussion offers a wealth of information, making it well worth the watch.
That’s it for this round’s winners, but more captivating submissions can be found at our youtube channel. We look forward to enjoying more of the community’s handiwork in the future, so be ready for our next competition!
Southern Illinois University Carbondale has recently proven that with a subject like Tropical Ecology, learning need not be confined to the classroom, or even the country. In order to provide the best first-hand experience, Professor Andrew Carver and Assistant Professor Clay Nielson, SIU’s Student Chapter Advisor and immediate Past-President of the North Central Section of TWS, led a mix of undergraduate and graduate students directly into Panama for their Tropical Ecology Field Course. Plunged into the pristine forests of Soberania National Park and steeped in local culture, students learned and applied field research techniques, taking samples from the Park’s wealth of flora and fauna, and setting up remote automatic cameras to study more elusive species. Recording one such species, the harpy eagle, gained students national recognition, but their efforts in assisting and teaching local biologists were just as invaluable. We encourage researchers and educators everywhere to explore possibilities like this, and we advise aspiring wildlife professionals to always watch for such opportunities.
Here is a video where you can learn more about the professors’ and students’ thoughts on the endeavor:
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