Birds – Field Talk

Immersed in the clouds: Interview with tropical cloud forest researcher

liza — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:41:08 +0000

There is a world within the canopy of a tropical cloud forest that not many people get to see. In this unique ecosystem – maintained by the exceptionally wet microclimate of cloud cover—orchids, moss, lichens and other epiphytes grow in every crease and pocket of the supporting tree branches. Here, hundreds of species of birds, monkeys and other mammal pollinators navigate the aerial landscape, scattering seeds along the way (see below video).

Greg Goldsmith, tropical plant ecologist from the University of California, Berkeley, spends his days harnessed in this “canopy in the clouds”—the name of the interactive, educational website he is currently working on with photographer Drew Fulton and cinematographer Colin Witherill. Read more in the EcoTone post.

Photo Credit: Drew Fulton

Battles of the sexes: Competition and evolution in tropical hummingbirds

liza — Thu, 28 May 2009 21:07:59 +0000

In this edition of Field Talk, we catch up with Ethan Temeles, a biologist at Amherst College, who tells us a tale of competition among the sexes in Caribbean hummingbirds – competition so severe that it drives their evolution. The short, straight bills of male purple-throated caribs and the long, curved bills of female caribs correspond to the shape of heliconia flowers on which they feed. The story got more complicated, though, when Dr. Temeles and his students discovered that despite their curved bills, females prefer straight flowers to curved ones. Join us as Dr. Temeles explains how this species’ sexual dimorphism evolved, and read more in his paper in the May issue of Ecology.

Seasonality and climate change

liza — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:29:22 +0000

Rising temperatures as a result of climate change promise to alter the behaviors of temperature-sensitive organisms. But climate change is also affecting the timing of seasons, which can throw off the alarm clock for critical behaviors, such as breeding. In this edition of Field Talk, we speak with Shaye Wolf, a biologist at the Center for Biological Diversity in San Francisco. Her research, published in the March issue of Ecology, tracks the reproductive behaviors of a small seabird, Cassin’s Auklet, on islands from Alaska to Mexico. She explains that climate change affects different populations in different ways, but could have dire consequences for those that rely heavily on consistent seasonality.

To fly or not to fly? Diving birds shun air travel

liza — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:22:28 +0000

The ability to fly is one of the most significant adaptations in animal history. Some birds, however, have opted out of flying – evolutionarily speaking. In this installment of Field Talk, we catch up with Dr. Rory Wilson, a professor of aquatic biology at the University of Swansea. His paper in the November issue of Ecological Monographs examines the Galápagos cormorant, an aquatic bird that hunts seafloor prey off the coasts of the islands where it makes its home. Wilson and his colleagues find that the peculiar conditions on and around the islands has led to the loss of flight in these cormorants, a trade-off that gives these birds better diving ability.