The subject of conserving rare birds in the wild has long been the focus of research, debate, and action among scientists and resource management.  Recognition of diverse avian responses to broad-scale human activities has been growing in urban centers, agricultural areas, coastal communities, working forests – the wide array of landscapes we call home.  Within these human-dominated systems, shifts are occurring in bird abundance, distribution, behavior, life histories, and, ultimately, evolutionary potential.  Conservation decision-making in these landscapes will necessarily involve ecological and evolutionary considerations as well as an open discussion of ethical and aesthetic implications.

Conserving Birds in Human-Dominated Landscapesconvened researchers, conservation practitioners, educators, students, land-use planners, urban planners, developers, bird enthusiasts, and the agricultural community to discuss unique challenges to, and key opportunities for, invigorating bird diversity in the areas most heavily impacted by human activities.  It is our hope that by capitalizing on potential synergy between human activity and bird diversity in areas that have, in many ways, been irrevocably altered, we stand to improve our stewardship of the diversity of birds across the full spectrum of global landscapes, from inner city green spaces to the center of the Amazon Basin.  This symposium provided a unique perspective on examining new approaches for managing bird diversity in human-dominated areas, and explored possibilities for improving conservation in the face of an increasingly developed and industrialized world.

This symposium was sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation in collaboration with the Mack Lipkin Man and Nature Series.  Additional support was provided by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary.

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DAY ONE
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Kaufmann Theater

9:00 SESSION I
TRENDS IN SPACE AND TIME

OPENING REMARKS
Ellen V. Futter, President, American Museum of Natural History
Michael J. Novacek, Senior Vice President and Provost of Science, American Museum of Natural History

SESSION INTRODUCTION
Session moderator: Eleanor Sterling, Director, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History

Keynote Address
THE HUMAN ECOLOGY OF GLOBALIZATION, CONSERVATION, AND LIVELIHOODS
Karl Zimmerer, Professor and Chair, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Keynote Address
HUMAN DOMINANCE OF THE BIOSPHERE: EFFECTS ON BIRDS
Andrew Balmford, Reader in Conservation Science, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, UK

COFFEE BREAK

Session moderator: George Amato, Director, Conservation Genetics, American Museum of Natural History

BIRDS IN AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES: LESSONS FROM BRITAIN
Juliet Vickery, Head of Terrestrial Ecology Unit, British Trust for Ornithology, UK

IS URBANIZATION FOR THE BIRDS?
John M. Marzluff, Denman Professor of Sustainable Resource Science and Professor of Wildlife Science, College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle

FROM THE ESTUARY TO THE OPEN OCEAN: INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN MARINE BIRDS AND PEOPLE
Julia K. Parrish, Associate Professor, Biology, and Associate Director, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle

DISEASE THREATS TO BIRD POPULATIONS THROUGH HISTORY
Peter Daszak, Executive Director, Consortium for Conservation Medicine, New York

LUNCH BREAK

2:15 SESSION II
UNDERSTANDING HUMAN INFLUENCE: GEOGRAPHY, ECOLOGY, AND SOCIO-ECONOMICS

SESSION INTRODUCTION
Session moderator: John A. Wiens, Lead Scientist, Mid-Americas Conservation Region, The Nature Conservancy

HUMAN IMPACTS ON BIRD DIVERSITY: REGIONAL TO CONTINENTAL SCALES
Andrew Hansen, Professor, Ecology Department, Montana State University

IS HUMAN-PROVIDED FOOD AN EVOLUTIONARY TRAP? AN APPARENT PARADOX FOR SUBURBAN BIRDS
Reed Bowman, Associate Research Biologist and Head, Avian Ecology Lab, Archbold Biological Station (Fla)

ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC DRIVERS OF URBAN BIRD COMMUNITIES: INSIGHTS FROM THE CENTRAL ARIZONA — PHOENIX LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH PROJECT
Madhusudan Katti, Biology Department, California State University, Fresno

Session moderator: Felicity Arengo, Associate Director, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History

HUMAN DISTURBANCE, TOXICS AND COLONIAL NESTING BIRDS, MIGRATORY STOPOVERS
Joanna Burger, Professor, Ecology and Evolution, Rutgers University

FOREST BIRD SPECIES IN HUMAN-DOMINATED LANDSCAPES OF SOUTHEAST ASIA: LOSSES, PERSISTENCE, AND CONSERVATION
Navjot S. Sodhi, Associate Professor, National University of Singapore

5:00 RECEPTION and POSTER SESSION
Sponsored by the Mack Lipkin Man and Nature Series

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7:00 2006 Mack Lipkin Man and Nature Series Lecture
BIODIVERSITY AND THE EVOLUTIONARY ROOTS OF BEAUTY
LeFrak Auditorium
Gordon Orians, Professor Emeritus of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle

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DAY TWO
Friday, April 28, 2006
Kaufmann Theater

9:00 SESSION III
INVIGORATING BIRD DIVERSITY IN HUMAN-DOMINATED SYSTEMS: LOCAL RESPONSES TO GLOBAL TRENDS

SESSION INTRODUCTION
Session moderator: Dan Ashe, Science Advisor to the Director, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Washington, DC

BIRD CONSERVATION: THE NORTH AMERICAN LANDSCAPE
Paul R. Schmidt, Assistant Director for Migratory Birds, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC

WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE: CITIZEN SCIENCE AS A CONSERVATION TOOL IN HUMAN-DOMINATED LANDSCAPES
Janis L. Dickinson, Arthur A. Allen Director of Citizen Science and Associate Professor of Natural Resources, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

LONG-TERM, CITYWIDE MONITORING FOR BIRD SCIENCE AND CONSERVATION IN URBAN LANDSCAPES: KEY RESULTS AND LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE TUCSON BIRD COUNT
Will Turner, Research Scientist, Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, Conservation International

A NEW PARADIGM FOR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AGENCIES WORKING IN HUMAN-DOMINATED SYSTEMS
Rex R. Johnson, Leader, Habitat and Population Evaluation Team, Division of Bird Habitat Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Minnesota)

COFFEE BREAK

Session moderator: John Alexander, Advisory Council, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History

THE ROLE OF TRADITIONAL AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS FOR STEPPE BIRD CONSERVATION IN EUROPE
Aldina M.A. Franco, Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Biology, University of York, UK

RESTORING OVERGRAZED RIPARIAN LANDSCAPES FOR SONGBIRDS
Steve Zack, Director, Pacific West Program, Wildlife Conservation Society

CONSERVING BIRDS IN FRAGMENTED FORESTS: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE BRAZILIAN ATLANTIC FOREST
Miguel Ângelo Marini, Professor, Department of Zoology, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil

LUNCH BREAK

2:15 SESSION IV
SETTING THE BIRD DIVERSITY HORIZON: DECIDING WHERE WE WANT TO GO

SESSION INTRODUCTION
Session moderator: Ana Luz Porzecanski, Biodiversity Scientist/Project Coordinator, Latin America Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History

Keynote Address
SURE WE CAN...IF WE WANT TO
Michael L. Rosenzweig, Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson

Keynote Address
ACHIEVING BIRD CONSERVATION IN HUMAN-DOMINATED LANDSCAPES: GOALS, STRATEGIES, AND CHALLENGES
Tess Present, Director of Science and Bird Conservation, National Audubon Society

Keynote Address
VALUE AND MEANING: CONSERVING NEW GUINEA BIRDS OF PARADISE IN A HUMAN LANDSCAPE
Paige West, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY

CAPSTONE PANEL DISCUSSION
Moderator: Christopher E. Filardi, Biodiversity Scientist for Pacific Programs, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History
Panelists:
Thomas E. Lovejoy, President, The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment
Gordon Orians, Professor Emeritus of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle
Tess Present, Director of Science and Bird Conservation, National Audubon Society
Michael L. Rosenzweig, Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson
Paige West, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY

5:00 CLOSING
Eleanor Sterling, Director, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation American Museum of Natural History