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Effect of urbanization on birds focus of Hadley lecture

by Jeanne Baron

April 14, 2011 | WMU News

Photo of Dr. Amanda D. Rodewald.
Dr. Amanda D. Rodewald
KALAMAZOO--A well-known bird researcher will present Western Michigan University's 2011 Theodosia Hadley Memorial Lecture from 4 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, in the Fetzer Center's Putney Auditorium.

The talk, "Understanding Mechanisms That Guide Bird Community Responses to Urbanization," will be presented by Dr. Amanda D. Rodewald, professor of wildlife ecology at Ohio State University.

A reception with light refreshments will precede the event at 3:30 p.m. in Room 1060 of the Fetzer Center. Both the reception and talk are free and open to the public.

Rodewald's research seeks to discover the mechanisms guiding landscape-scale responses of bird communities to human disturbances. In her talk, she will discuss why urbanization has different effects on year-round resident species, such as cardinals, than on migrating species, such as flycatchers. She will address behavior and other individual-level causes as well as nest predation rates and other population-level causes.

Rodewald is a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Science Advisory Board and a member of the editorial board of Studies in Avian Biology. She is a current or past associate editor for The Auk, an international journal of ornithology; the International Journal of Forestry; and the Journal of Wildlife Management.

The annual Hadley Memorial Lecture was endowed in 1984 by Dorothy E. Hatch in honor of her cousin, Theodosia H. Hadley. From 1917 to 1946, Hadley was a faculty member in what is now the Department of Biological Sciences. She taught courses in botany, agriculture, and bird and tree studies, but most consistently taught nature study--a course with the goal of increasing the student's understanding of nature and, thereby, the joy of living.

For more information about the 2011 Hadley Lecture, contact David Karowe, WMU professor of biological sciences, at david.karowe@wmich.edu or (269) 387-5630.