Tuesday (Association of Field Ornithologists plenary):
Jen Owen, Michigan State University

Title: “Migratory birds and global health: Facing risks, posing risks, and offering solutions”

Dr. Owen, currently an Associate Professor at Michigan State’s College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, conducts research at the Burke Lake Banding Station and the Corey Marsh Ecological Research Center. Her areas of expertise include the ecology of zoonotic diseases, the behavioral ecology of migratory birds, and avian ecoimmunology and virology. Her talk will focus on 1) environmental stressors (primarily human caused) and their impact on health of migratory birds; 2) the role of migrating birds in dispersal of pathogens, particularly HPAIV; and 3) how birds connect people to nature and can inspire people to be better stewards of natural resources.

---

Wednesday (Society of Canadian Ornithologists plenary):
Matthew Fuirst, Birds Canada
2024 SCO Early Career Researcher Award recipient

Title: “Dispersal and lifetime fitness in a food-caching resident of the boreal forest”

Dr. Fuirst has broad interests in understanding the demography and movement ecology of wild animals, with particular research strengths in spatial modeling, avian monitoring and conservation, behavioral ecology, and molecular analyses. He received my MSc from New York’s Stony Brook University, where he studied the foraging and microbial ecology of Herring Gulls, and his Ph.D. from the University of Guelph, where hes examined the role of dispersal in population dynamics of adult and juvenile Canada Jays in Algonquin Park. Currently he holds a dual role with Birds Canada, where he is responsible for Long Point and Thunder Cape bird observatories and aspects of the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network and is using data from the Canadian Lakes Loon Survey to understand survivorship and contaminants of Common Loons.

---

Thursday (Wilson Ornithological Society plenary):
Ron Mumme, Allegheny College
2024 Margaret Morse Nice Medal recipient

Title: “A tale of the tail in Hooded Warblers: Foraging performance, uniparental desertion, and stabilizing selection”

Dr. Mumme is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biology at Allegheny College. His major research interests are animal behavior and avian behavioral ecology, and since 2010, his research has focused on the the relationship between plumage pattern and foraging performance in the Hooded Warbler, a species that uses displays of its conspicuous white tail spots to startle potential insect prey and enhance foraging success. Ron’s field work on this species has been conducted at Hemlock Hill Field Station located near Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania.