1 NREM/ZOOL 4464 – Ornithology Dr. Tim O’Connell Lecture 1–3 12–16 January, 2015 Readings this week: Gill: xxi–xxvi, Ch. 1, Ch. 18 (pgs. 558–569), Gill: Ch. 21. Objectives for Ornithology: •EVERY student completes the course with a new and deeper appreciation of birds and birding •The foundation in bird study you receive in this course prepares you for a lifetime of scholarly work in ornithology, or participation as a “citizen scientist” •Students who excel in the course will be “field ready” for jobs in ornithology by April. •We will examine the systematics, phylogenies, distribution, identification, field sampling, life histories, morphological traits, ecological relationships, behaviors, and conservation of birds. Some Course Particulars •Grading – 1000 points total in the course (lecture + lab). Important Dates: •Sun., 18 Jan., 2:00 pm: Boomer Lake , Stillwater, OK •Sat., 24 Jan., 8:00 am: OSU Arboretum , Stillwater, OK •11–12 Feb.: Lab Practical 1 •Sat., 14 Feb., 8:00 am: Sanborn Lake , Stillwater •20 Feb.: Lecture Exam 1 •Sun., 22 Feb., 8:00 am: Lake Carl Blackwell , Payne County, OK •Sat., 7 Mar., 8:00 am: Couch Park , Stillwater •Sat., 28 Mar., 7:00 am–4:00 pm: Drummond Flats WMA , Garfield County, OK •1–2 Apr.: Lab Practical 2 •10 Apr.: Lecture Exam 2 •Sat., 18 Apr., 8:00 am: Babcock Park , Stillwater •20 Apr.: Term Project Data Compilation •Sat., 25 Apr.: BIRDATHON , Payne County, OK •29–30 Apr.: Lab Practical 3 4 May: Lecture Final Exam Diversity of Birds •Domain Eukarya, Kingdom Animalia •Phylum Chordata, *subphylum* Vertebrata •Class Aves •Orders: 34 •Families: 223 •Genera: ~ 2000 •Species: 9000–10000 Example classification of a bird you should know: Tyrannus forficatus scientific name Scissortailed Flycatcher English common name (standardized) Tyrannidae family (note “dae” suffix) Passeriformes order (note “formes” suffix)
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Ornithology lectures 1–3 · •The foundation in bird study you receive in this course prepares you for a lifetime of scholarly ... histories, morphological traits, ecological relationships,
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NREM/ZOOL 4464 – Ornithology Dr. Tim O’Connell Lecture 1–3 12–16 January, 2015 Readings this week: Gill: xxi–xxvi, Ch. 1, Ch. 18 (pgs. 558–569), Gill: Ch. 21. Objectives for Ornithology: •EVERY student completes the course with a new and deeper appreciation of birds and birding •The foundation in bird study you receive in this course prepares you for a lifetime of scholarly work in ornithology, or participation as a “citizen scientist” •Students who excel in the course will be “field ready” for jobs in ornithology by April. •We will examine the systematics, phylogenies, distribution, identification, field sampling, life histories, morphological traits, ecological relationships, behaviors, and conservation of birds. Some Course Particulars •Grading – 1000 points total in the course (lecture + lab).
Important Dates: •Sun., 18 Jan., 2:00 pm: Boomer Lake, Stillwater, OK •Sat., 24 Jan., 8:00 am: OSU Arboretum, Stillwater, OK •11–12 Feb.: Lab Practical 1 •Sat., 14 Feb., 8:00 am: Sanborn Lake, Stillwater •20 Feb.: Lecture Exam 1 •Sun., 22 Feb., 8:00 am: Lake Carl Blackwell, Payne County, OK •Sat., 7 Mar., 8:00 am: Couch Park, Stillwater
•Sat., 28 Mar., 7:00 am–4:00 pm: Drummond Flats WMA, Garfield County, OK •1–2 Apr.: Lab Practical 2 •10 Apr.: Lecture Exam 2 •Sat., 18 Apr., 8:00 am: Babcock Park, Stillwater •20 Apr.: Term Project Data Compilation •Sat., 25 Apr.: BIRDATHON, Payne County, OK •29–30 Apr.: Lab Practical 3 4 May: Lecture Final Exam
Diversity of Birds •Domain Eukarya, Kingdom Animalia •Phylum Chordata, *subphylum* Vertebrata •Class Aves •Orders: 34 •Families: 223 •Genera: ~ 2000 •Species: 9000–10000 Example classification of a bird you should know: Tyrannus forficatus scientific name Scissor-‐tailed Flycatcher English common name (standardized) Tyrannidae family (note “dae” suffix) Passeriformes order (note “formes” suffix)
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Comparison of diversity of species among the different classes of vertebrates: •Birds – 9,000–10,000 •Fish -‐ 33,000 •Amphibians -‐ 6,800 •Reptiles -‐ 8,800 •Mammals -‐ 4,300 So birds are pretty diverse, but not nearly so as fish, and nowhere near so as insects. One of reasons we perceive birds as especially diverse, however, is that we encounter them everywhere. Because birds are generally diurnal and can make use of just about any habitat we humans do (e.g., cities, forests, farmland), we encounter birds all day wherever we go. Here in Stillwater, in the dead of winter on a college campus, here are species you’re likely to see on any given day just while walking between classes: House Sparrow House Finch European Starling Mourning Dove Rock Pigeon Canada Goose If you start paying a little attention you might also notice: Northern Mockingbird Northern Cardinal American Robin Cedar Waxwing American Crow Ring-‐billed Gull In contrast, how many mammals are you likely to encounter on campus in January? Fox Squirrel Amphibians? Reptiles? Fish? Beetles? Not so much. Where the birds are. The distribution of birds is not at all uniform across the globe: Darker areas indicate greater species richness. Check out this list of bird species richness by country: Colombia 1,821 Peru 1,781 Brazil 1,712 Indonesia 1,604 Ecuador 1,515 Bolivia 1,414 Venezuela 1,392 China 1,221 India 1,180 Congo, DR 1,148 Kenya 1,103 Tanzania 1,056
Myanmar 1,047 Argentina 1,038 Mexico 1,026 Uganda 1,015 Thailand 971 Sudan 952 Cameroon 936 Angola 930 Panama 904 Nigeria 899 United States 888
•Perspective – 252 species on our list for Payne County; ~ 200 spp breed in Oklahoma; 101 spp on the Stillwater Christmas Bird Count a few weeks ago.
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That 888 for the U.S. is awfully generous – it includes all sorts of vagrant species identified at some point anywhere in U.S. territories. It’s actually quite difficult to find any more than about 500 of those species. In contrast, tropical countries can be much more diverse, even though their land mass is a lot smaller. Check out Panama’s marginally higher diversity than the U.S. Now consider that Panama is slightly smaller than South Carolina. That’s a lot of different species crammed into a small geographic area. Two things characterize the most diverse countries: tropical climate is the biggie, but next comes the presence of mountain ranges. Mountains in the tropics create a tremendous variety of habitat conditions to which different species can adapt. For example, there are hundreds of species worldwide with tiny distributions on mountain slopes like that that of Pink-headed Warbler:
How do we know about these distributions of birds? Although birds never cease to surprise in distribution and abundance, we know an awful lot about them relative to other vertebrate groups. People have always studied birds.
Birds in art People have studied birds for as long as there have been people. Birds announce the change of seasons, point the direction to predator kills or fruiting trees or water sources or islands over the horizon – even honey! Birds are a resource themselves – for food, insulating feathers, ceremonial garb, tools (e.g., hooks). Finally, birds are a source of human inspiration. Examples of use of birds in art (ancient and modern) Rock painting of Genyornis from Australia – could be 40,000 years old. Apache Indian rock painting from Arizona – prob, Golden Eagle in flight. Hieronymus Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights.” (ca. 1500) Birds in music, e.g., Charlie Parker’s “Ornithology.” Birds in movies, e.g., Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” (1963) But what about birds in science? (U.S. examples) •Mark Catesby (1682–1749) •Published Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands between 1731 and 1743. •First published work on the flora and fauna of North America. •Englishman who lived in Williamsburg, VA for many years. Alexander Wilson, The Father of American Ornithology Born the son of a rebellious Scottish smuggler in 1766, Alexander Wilson left school when only 10 years old to train as a weaver and write poetry. At the age of 28, he set sail for America. After almost a decade of teaching school in Pennsylvania, this self-taught ornithologist dedicated himself to the seemingly unattainable goal of drawing “all the finest birds of America.” For the next ten years, Alexander Wilson traveled widely observing and painting birds. The result of these labors is the monumental nine-volume American Ornithology (1808-1814) in which 264 species (49 more than were previously known) are described and figured in considerable detail. John James Audubon •1785–1851 •Birds of America (1827) included 435 life-sized prints •On 7 December 2010, one of the original books was auctioned at Sotheby’s in London for $11.5 million – the most expensive book ever. Right: Audubon’s mind-blowing portrait of the extinct Carolina Parakeet.
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Charles Darwin •1859: The Origin of Species •The Theory of Evolution By Natural Selection was formulated primarily through Darwin’s meticulous records of morphological characteristics of finches on Galapagos islands. By the dawn of the 20th Century, a sea change was ripe for Ornithology. Rather than simple observations of species’ distributions (Catesby–Audubon) or meticulous record keeping of seemingly arcane morphological characters (Darwin), the stage was set for a new way to study birds – meticulous record-keeping on what birds did. Margaret Morse Nice •Given a bird book at age 12, and started taking notes. •Born in Amherst, MA and earned degrees from Mount Holyoke (BA) and Clark (MA). •Married Blaine Nice in 1908, and moved to Norman, OK where Blaine was on the OU faculty and Margaret raised 5 kids. •Published The Birds of Oklahoma in 1931; also published 18 articles on child development, based on observations of her own children. •Moved to Columbus, OH in 1927 and began a definitive study of Song Sparrows. •First female president of the Wilson Ornithological Society and elected fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union. •Published more than 250 papers, 3000 book reviews, and several books. Nice’s work on the life history of Song Sparrow ushered in a new era of studying the lives of birds, contributed greatly to the fledgling field of animal behavior, and laid the groundwork for the rise of citizen science in ornithology. To this day, the “lifetime achievement” award for consistent excellence given annually by the Wilson Ornithological Society is called the “Margaret Morse Nice Medal.” Professional scientific societies developed in the 19th Century: •American Ornithologists’ Union – 1883: publishes Auk •Wilson Ornithological Society – 1888: publishes Wilson Journal of Ornithology •Cooper Ornithological Society – 1893: publishes Condor •Association of Field Ornithologists – 1922: publishes Journal of Field Ornithology •Raptor Research Foundation – 1966: publishes Journal of Raptor Research •The Waterbird Society – 1976: publishes Waterbirds •Today, all publish international, peer-reviewed journals, sponsor research and awards, hold annual meetings, provide multiple avenues to support students in ornithology Other societies publish journals that include articles on ornithological topics. There include: •Science •Nature •Ecology – and its derivatives such as Ecological Applications •Conservation Biology •Journal of Wildlife Management •Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) •Evolution •Oecologia •Animal Behaviour •International journals comparable to The Auk: Ibis, Emu, Ornis Fennica, Die Vogelvelt, Ostrich, Ornitologica Neotropical, Journal of Avian Biology, etc. All of these are high-level, peer-reviewed journals of science (some much higher than others) in which the material published usually can be demonstrated to have international significance and represent state-of-the-art in the discipline. This is a tremendous output of scientific research related to birds.
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Articles of regional significance or those that focus on descriptive aspects of life history, distribution, etc., may be published by regional scientific societies. These are not solely ornithological journals, but they publish plenty of bird papers. •Southeastern Naturalist, Southwestern Association of Naturalists, Prairie Naturalist, etc. •These are regional societies with peer-reviewed journals of a lower tier. Mostly these publications deal with interests relevant to a particular region, rather than issues of international scope. There are also state level societies of ornithological research, obviously focusing on state-level questions and issues. •Oklahoma Ornithological Society •“The OOS is an independent, non-profit educational organization founded in 1951 and dedicated to the observation, study, and conservation of birds.” •Publishes (peer-reviewed!) the Bulletin of the Oklahoma Ornithological Society •Today, notes on distributions and basic natural history are usually published in journals like BOOS. The OOS owes a debt of great gratitude to George M. “Doc” Sutton who was instrumental in establishing BOOS as a peer-reviewed journal of science, even though it’s got such a narrow scope. Check this place out: http://www.suttoncenter.org/