Some of the University of Windsor scientists who presented their research findings at the North American Ornithological Congress last week in Washington, DC.
The University of Windsor made a world-class showing of ornithological expertise last week during the North American Ornithological Congress.
Biology professor Dan Mennill displays some of the sonic equipment used to track birds migrating at night.
A study of nocturnal migration found that 30 times more birds are flying over lighted areas than unlit ones.
Fourth-year biology student Sarah Wong observes birds flying by during a field trip Saturday to Point Pelee.
Biology students headed to Lake Erie’s north shore Saturday to observe migrating birds in flight.
Ornithology student Erica Authier breaks out the binoculars for a closer look at birds in Point Pelee National Park.
A field trip Saturday took ornithology students to bird-watching hotspots in Canada’s migration corridor.
Claire Sanders was finishing an undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta when her fascination with birds began. Now she’s living her dream.
“I took an ornithology class in my final year and I’ve been hooked on birds ever since,” she said. “I start talking about birds and I can’t stop.”
Sixty University of Windsor biology students set a biodiversity record during a class field expedition on Saturday, September 29.
Students in professor Dan Mennill’s ornithology class observed 64 different species of birds on their day-long trip to Point Pelee National Park and Holiday Beach Conservation Area.
“This is the eighth year that I’ve taught this course,” explained Dr. Mennill, “and we’ve seen anywhere from 38 to 59 species during a full day of birdwatching. But we’ve never broken the barrier of 60 species.”
Placing three UWindsor graduate students among the top award recipients at the North American Ornithological Congress confirms the university as a centre of excellence for bird biology in North America, says professor Oliver Love.
Fourteen researchers represented the University of Windsor, including Dr. Love and students from his laboratory and the laboratories of Dan Mennill and Stephanie Doucet.
The Windsor delegation took three of the 12 awards for the best student talks and posters among the hundreds of student presenters:
Karly-Jo Kreitzer found that a two-week expedition to the tropics gave her insights she could never have had in a classroom.
“It's an entirely different world and it was an amazing learning experience,” said Kreitzer, one of 14 students who participated in a University of Windsor field course on the ecology of Costa Rica.
Studying plants and animals in ecosystems ranging from ocean-side mangrove forests to mountaintop cloud forests, the biology students gained a unique firsthand understanding of tropical ecology.
Many animals communicate using sound to attract mates, find food, and avoid predators.
Dave Wilson, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Windsor, says that rising levels of human-generated noise have raised concern for those animals. He is a member of a team of researchers who have published a new study this week in the Journal of Experimental Biology, which shows that traffic noise causes red-winged blackbirds to alter their songs.
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