Symposium: "Physiological Ecology of Migration," New Orleans, LA, 24-30 September, 2002

University Of Rhode Island, Kingston RI

Investigators

Abstract

This proposal is for support of a symposium "Physiological Ecology of Migration: How to Fly, Fast, and Feed En Route " at the Third North American Ornithological Congress (NAOC) on 24-31 September 2002 in New Orleans, LA. The objectives for this symposium are twofold: (a) to bring together outstanding researchers who are actively studying migratory birds at different levels of biological organization (molecular, cellular, organismal, populations) and (b) to include researchers who can address the physiology of a taxonomically diverse set of migratory birds within a broad ecological context. Such a focus is timely in that significant recent work has addressed the metabolic physiology of flying birds and the importance of phenotypic flexibility in organ systems for migrating birds. However, this work has not been adequately integrated especially across various levels of biological organization, nor has this work been disseminated to a broader audience of ornithologists interested in the ecology of birds during migration. The contributors at the symposium will provide a diverse set of perspectives and approaches for studying the physiological ecology of migration in part because they include scientists at different stages of their careers, and from various countries represented by both men and women.