Symposia Saturday, May 31, 13:00-17:00

Pulp truth or fiction: fruit composition, diet choice, the health and performance of avian frugivores, and its important conservation implications.

Wild fruits are widely consumed by landbirds as a food resource especially during critical periods such as fall migration. Plants produce a diversity of fruits with a milieu of biochemicals that entice birds (and other frugivores) to eat them and so disperse the plant’s seeds, although little is known about what is so enticing about the fruits. Fruit selection by birds is correlated with fruit chemistry on many levels and recent work suggests that certain compounds in fruits may improve health and performance of birds during long-distance migrations. This symposium will focus on recent studies of the biochemistry of fruits in relation to plant and bird ecology and its important conservation implications.

Ospreys in New England and Long Island: From the era of DDT to the age of satellite telemetry

There is probably no other species as iconic to the coastal habitats of southern New England and Long Island sound as the Osprey, and thus it seems most appropriate to host a symposium focused on the species so close to where it played such a crucial role in our understanding of the havoc that DDT was wreaking on aquatic ecosystems. Our symposium will look at the New England and Long Island Ospreys from their recovery in the post-DDT era to 21st century studies of their foraging behavior as revealed by satellite telemetry. Our list of speakers includes true pioneers in Osprey research, Paul Spitzer and Alan Poole, who will provide the backbone of our papers reviewing the remarkable recovery of the southern New England population from just over 100 pairs in the mid 1970s to well over 1,000 in the 21st century. Iain MacLeod and Rob Bierregaard will discuss new discoveries about the local movements of Ospreys based on their collaborative work with satellite and cell-tower tagged adult male Ospreys.