[va-richmond-general] Oct-Dec 2008 Conservation Cornerstones e-newsletter from Center for Conservation Biology

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Center for Conservation Biology October-December 2008 E-Newsletter


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Support CCB
?Stories highlighted in this email: 
New WM professorship honors Mitchell A. Byrd Landscape dynamics of the VA 
barrier islands Walter Post Smith and his Kiptopeke Chronicles Aerial survey of 
the Pacific Coast of Panama Estimating fish demand by Chesapeake's birds 
Eagles return to the Chesapeake Bay 

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More reading online at Conservation Cornerstones: 

Foraging distrbution of cormorants & osprey 
Bald eagle communal roosts delineated 
Peregrine falcons tracked to Gulf Coast 
United States Nightjar Network expands 
Assessing the value of wetlands 
VA & DC Avian Heritage Programs 






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50% decline in Virginia whimbrel numbers
Whimbrel migration tracking
Suitable forest and early successional habitats 
Bulletin: Marked bird resighting and reporting 

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and more... 
?????CCB's 2007 Annual Report [pdf document] is available online. 








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Photo (c) 

Dana Bradshaw 


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New professorship honors Mitchell A. Byrd 

A member of William & Mary's faculty since 1956, Professor Mitchell Byrd served 
as chairman of the biology department for thirteen years during a time of rapid 
growth and directed its transition to a nationally recognized department with a 
broad-based curriculum. Many of Professor Byrd's over three dozen graduate 
students have been inspired by his commitment to scholarship and his deep 
concern for each individual. The Center for Conservation Biology, established 
by Mitchell Byrd and Bryan Watts in the fall of 1991, along with the college 
community seeks to acknowledge this contribution by establishing the Mitchell 
A. Byrd Chair in Conservation Biology. This is truly one of the highest honors 
that can be bestowed by the academic community. 



Full story at CCB's online newsletter





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Photo (c) Bryan Watts 


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Landscape dynamics of the VA barrier islands 

Barrier island systems contain some of the most naturally dynamic landscapes on 
earth. Along the mid-Atlantic coast, winter storms continually reshape these 
islands. The Virginia barrier islands are the most pristine chain of barriers 
remaining along the Atlantic coast. Over the past 25 years, populations of 
several waterbird species have declined dramatically within the Virginia 
barrier island chain. These declines represent not only a reduction in the 
number of pairs but also a reduction in the distribution of breeding sites. 
CCB's objectives for this project were to characterize temporal and spatial 
patterns of beach habitats within the Virginia barrier island landscape, and to 
quantify the relationship between landscape change and changes in the 
distribution of avian breeding sites.


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Photo (c) 

Jose E. Hernandez 



Walter Post Smith & his Kiptopeke Chronicles

Each of us in our own way and time seek out vantage points on the natural 
world. Places where unleashed from the past and unencumbered by the future, we 
are free to explore the innermost reaches of ourselves. For Walter Post Smith, 
this place was Kiptopeke, Virginia. Walter was one of four bird banders who 
founded the Kiptopeke Banding Station. Before his death in 2004 he compiled his 
annual reflections on each banding season into a book entitled Kiptopeke 
Chronicles. The book is a history of the development of the Kiptopeke Banding 
Station through the eyes of someone who was there from the beginning. More than 
a diary, the volume is a memoir of a person who enjoyed the energy of migrants 
passing through the woods on a fall day. Contact CCB to order a copy of 
Kiptopeke Chronicles (email conbio (AT) wm.edu or call 757-221-1645).


Full story at CCB's online newsletter



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Photo (c) Bart Paxton



Aerial Survey of the Pacific Coast of Panama

A research team from The Center for Conservation Biology (CCB) recently 
returned from Central America, having successfully completed an aerial survey 
of the Pacific Coast of Panama to estimate and map waterbird populations during 
the peak of fall migration. Flying at an altitude of only 20-30 m in a Cessna 
with pilot, Carlos Diaz, the survey team flew 1,565 km of shoreline in 3 days 
between 21 and 24 October, 2008. More than 490,000 shorebirds, seabirds, herons 
and egrets were counted and mapped. 


Full story at CCB's online newsletter



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Photo (c) Andy Glass 



Estimating fish demand by waterbirds in the Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is one of the most productive aquatic ecosystems in the 
world and has played an important role in commercial fisheries for the past 200 
years. Currently, the Bay supports the largest commercial fishery along the 
Atlantic Coast, producing 300,000 to 500,000 metric tons of Atlantic menhaden 
per year. Estimated fish consumption by the 5 populations examined increased 
exponentially, with an average doubling time of 9.0 years between 1975 and 
2005. Expanding populations of brown pelicans and double-breasted cormorants 
have contributed, as well as demand by other fish-eating avian species. Fish 
demand is governed by both the size of the population and the length of 
residency in the Bay. 


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Photo (c) Bryan Watts



Eagles return to the Chesapeake Bay 

Last winter, CCB captured 15 eagles suspected to be visiting migrants and 
fitted them with solar-powered GPS-PTT satellite transmitters. This fall, CCB 
tracked these bald and golden eagles as they migrated south to winter in the 
Chesapeake Bay region. Eagles from northern latitudes typically migrate South 
in search of milder climates and unfrozen water to hunt prey. Eagles annually 
congregate at well known wintering sites around the Chesapeake Bay, because of 
its abundance of waterfowl and fish prey. 


Full story at CCB's online newsletter


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This is the second issue of the Center for Conservation Biology's online 
newsletter, Conservation Cornerstones, which follows a tradition of 
high-quality outreach through scientific reports and publications. We 
appreciate this chance to share our recent research news with you, our valued 
network, and others interested in conservation work.


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Banner image of a satellite-tagged Bald Eagle in flight, courtesy of Charlie 
Volz at Aberdeen Proving Ground. 

CCB's online/email newsletter is designed & edited by Carla Schneider, with web 
developer, Jerry Chu.

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