Events

Prof Amber Rice, Lehigh University

When hybridization occurs, selection against hybrids can maintain species barriers. Learning and memory can be important for fitness in many species, but whether cognition is impacted by hybridization is not well understood. Black-capped and Carolina chickadees naturally hybridize, and also rely on learning and memory to cache and retrieve food as an adaptation for overwinter survival. My research on wild-caught adult chickadees indicates that hybrid chickadees show reduced spatial memory, which persists even after we standardized diet and rearing environment. Much of this reduction in memory may be explained by genetic incompatibilities, but our work also suggests that chickadee gut microbiomes may be influencing their cognition.

Amber completed a BA at the College of Wooster in Ohio, followed by a PhD at the University of North Carolina. She first began working with birds during her postdoc at Uppsala University in Sweden. Amber started her faculty position at Lehigh University in 2011. Across her career, Amber has worked with study systems including plants, spiders, toads, and birds, but her interests have always centered around understanding how biodiversity arises and is maintained.

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Jim Wright

Jim Wright, long-time "Bird Watcher" columnist for The Bergen Record and other New Jersey newspapers, will speak about his book The Real James Bond, the story behind the noted naturalist/adventurer from Philadelphia and the world’s greatest identity theft

Featured are the genuine James Bond's iconic Birds of the West Indies, his solo Caribbean expeditions -- and his enduring connection to Ian Fleming.

Jim's other books include The Screech Owl Companion, The Nature of the Meadowlands, Jungle of the Maya, and Hawk Mountain. In his spare time, he spies on peregrine falcons for the state of New Jersey. He is the coordinator for the fall migration at the State Line Hawk Watch on the Hudson River.

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Prof Jennifer Uehling

Though most people bemoan the presence of bird poop, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure! Dr. Jenny Uehling will explore what we can learn from bird feces, covering topics such as DNA sequencing to identify bird diet and microplastic identification and quantification. Understanding what birds are eating, and how it can expose them to potentially helpful nutrients or harmful pollutants, allows us to better understand the relationship between diet, survival, reproductive success, and bird declines.

Dr. Jenny Uehling is an assistant professor at West Chester University. She received her PhD in Ecology from Cornell University and her BS in Biology and Environmental Studies from the University of Chicago. She studies bird behavior, with a focus on foraging ecology.

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.