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Matt Johnson
Lecture Notes
ORNITHOLOGY
(Humboldt State Univ. WILDLIFE 365)
LECTURE 1 - INTRODUCTION
For January 23, 2001
I.
Introduction
A. Welcome to Ornithology. This course is labeled Wildlife 365 and meets here every T
and R in this room, Wildlife 258, from 11 to 12. If that doesn't ring a bell, I suggest
you get up and slide outa here right -- no hard feelings.
B. OK, here we are. My name is Dr. Matt Johnson, and I'll be teaching both the lecture
and lab sections of this course this semester. Is there anyone who didn't get a syllabus
as they walked in? -- HAND THEM OUT
C. Let's take a minute to go over the syllabus,
D. Goals -- see syllabus OVERHEAD
1. Grading - see syllabus
2. Reading
a. The reading for this class will be primarily out of Frank Gill's text,
Ornithology. This third edition is a very good text book, and is
overwhelmingly the first choice among university ornithology classes; we
won't be using much in the way of supplementary literature. Gill is currently
the science director for Nat'l Audubon Society, so he's a big-wig.
b. You'll also need a field guide, as identification is a major part of the lab
portion of this course. The three to choose from are the Nat'l Geographic
guide, Peterson's Guide to Western Birds, and the new sibley guide.
Peterson's has the advantages of grouping similar species together and only
including western species, so you don't have to wade through a bunch of
eastern stuff when you're thumbing through the guide looking for "your bird."
However, these characteristics are also disadvantageous in that it means that
the species are not listed in their phylogenetic order, (when they are, it can
help you learn the order), and as a reference book, Peterson's is limited in that
it only has the western species. The Nat'l Geo is a relatively new edition, and
they've cleaned up some of the mistakes from earlier editions. It has the
advantage of having the maps right next to the species illustrations. The new
Sibley guide has the advantage and disadvantage of having TONS of
information (too much sometimes). It will likely be the definitive field guide
of the next few years. So to sum up I'd say Peterson's might be a bit better for
ID'ing local birds, but the Geo or Sibley will serve you better in the long run,
especially if you plan to pursue ornithology in other locations. It's your call.
c. The final point regarding the readings is that this class will be fairly
challenging, but I can promise that it will be much easier if you read the
material before class. Really.
3. Lab
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a. regular labs – see syllabus
i.
some in lab, some in field
ii.
all held regardless of weather
b. the research paper – see syllabus
4. Lecture and Lab schedule – see syllabus
OK....let's talk about BIRDS!!!
II.
Intro to Ornithology
A. Birds are fascinating. There's no getting around it. Watch people at the park, at the
wharf, on the trail -- most of them at least glance toward birds and watch them, others
are certifiably obsessed with them, rattling off bird lists in otherwise polite
conversations. A few of you may join the illustrious ranks of the avianly-obsessed
after this course is over. Then again, some of you may look at birds only to swear at
them after this course, but if that's the case, I ask you to swear at me and not the birds
because birds are amazing creatures, worthy of are highest admiration.
B. Birds aren't just fascinating right now either; they've been fascinating to people,
including scientists (are they people too?), for centuries. Interestingly, many of the
biggest break-throughs in biology have come from studying birds. Konoshi et al.
summarized the contributions of birds to science in 1989:
1. Evolution, ecology, and sociobiology
a. speciation -- allopatric, sympatric, and parapatric modes of speciation derived
largely from avian examples, in fact natural selection itself was initially
seeded (no-pun-intended) in part from Darwin's Finches on the Galapagos
Islands.
b. Heritability -- phenotype (outward manifestation of the individual) is a
product of genotype (genetic make-up) and environmental influence (learned
by studying natural selection in D's finches).
c. Molecular analyses of phylogeny -- the process of studying the evolutionary
relationships of species (i.e., their phylogeny) using molecular techniques has
seen great advances through work on birds (e.g., DNA-DNA hybridization).
Sibley and Allquist have been at the forefront of this work. Course this means
they keep changing their minds as to who is related to whom, and field guides
have to be revised every other year. What the ?*%& is a Flamingo? - a stork
like duck or a duck-like stork?
2. Population and community ecology
a. competition theory -- David Lack, Robert MacArthur, Evelyn Hutchinson;
these guys were founding fathers of modern ecology, including its emphasis
on species interactions like competition. They all studied birds.
b. Island-biogeography -- the theory of island biogeography by MacArthur and
Wilson has profoundly shaped a whole new field of biogeography, which
includes theories on how to best design nature reserves. The backbone of this
theory was comprised of analyses of the number of species of birds on
Caribbean islands.
3. Behavioral ecology
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a. Territoriality -- most of the major theoretical advances in the idea of
territoriality came from Ornithologists, Fretwell, Lucas, Brown, Nice, etc.
b. Mating systems -- many studies of individually marked birds (colorbanded
birds) added to our understanding of the myriad ways species reproduce:
monogamy, polygamy, leks, etc. Then molecular data from birds destroyed
much of this. Monogamy is not as monogamous as it sometimes looks.
c. Altruism -- cooperation in birds (Acorn woodpeckers, Florida scrub jays) led
to some major advances in understanding altruism as influenced by the
concept of kin selection. Individuals help others in proportion to how closely
they are related.
4. Animal communication
a. Nature vs. nurture -- ornithologists and ethologists (Konrad Lorenz) have
studied bird communication and how it is influenced by heredity and the
environment.
5. Orientation and navigation
a. Many species migrate, but studies on birds have proven to be some of the
most insightful in understanding what determines the onset of migration, how
species navigate, and how they prepare physiologically for their arduous
journeys. [check weidensaul for stats]
C. OK, so birds are fascinating and have contributed to science. But why? What makes
birds, perhaps more so than other wildlife, so fascinating and influential? SLIDES
1. Beauty
a. There are about 9700 species world-wide, about twice as many as mammals;
and scientists keep finding new ones every year (how long will that
continue?). They range in size from the tiny (such as Costa's Hummingbird,
about as long as an average pinky) -- to the very large (emu). This bird
belongs to a group of flightless birds called Ratites; we'll learn about how they
evolved, why they don't fly, and how they came to be distributed throughout
the southern hemisphere but not the North in a few lectures.
b. Birds also contain some of most brightly colored animals on earth. Consider:
[e.g., aracari, western tanager]. Now think about mammals. I've got nothing
against mammals, but with very few exceptions, the mammalian color scheme
ranges from gray to brown to black to brownish-gray to blackish-brown to
grayish-brownish-black......you get the picture.
c. But birds' beauty goes beyond visual beauty. Bird songs inspire poetry,
always have, let's hope they always will. Here are some examples (tape):
i.
Common Loon
ii.
Musician Wren
iii.
Winter wren
iv.
Olive sided Flycatcher
v.
Swainson's thrush
2. Observability
a. mostly diurnal, often gather in groups (harlequin ducks), of course there are
exceptions (secretary bird)
b. vocal, easy to do audio surveys (pt count slide)
c. territorial, usually fairly easy to relocate, if they are there (wandermap slide)
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d. sexually dimorphic - sexes can be differentiated easily in the field for many
species, you don't have to capture them and "turn them over"
e. they build discrete nests making it possible to measure the reproductive output
of individuals, something that is impossible in many species (think frogs).
3. The ease with which they can be studied in the field
a. Relatively easy to catch (mist net)
b. legs make great band holders -- perfect for studies in which individual birds
need to be recognized (overnbird's legs), then banded individuals can be
observed in the field (white-crowned sparrows).
c. Many of them have relatively short life spans and generation, moderate rates
of reproduction (makes population studies easier) - Dunnock nest
d. Usually many species co-exist in a given habitat, making community-level
ecological studies possible (multispecies shorebird flock)
e. Many have conspicuous evolutionary curiosities, especially with regard to
sexual selection -- useful for studying the processes of evolution (pin tailed
whydah)
f. Many can be kept in captivity fairly easily, making in lab studies of flight
dynamics, digestion rates, behavior, etc. possible (Aratinga in cage)
g. But others, thank goodness, cannot be kept in captivity very easily, so they
remain unmolested, flying free so we may watch, remark, and wonder.
(Frigate birds) [I know it's first day Matt, but try to this part slowly]
4. Poetry -- White-tailed tropicbird. "Birds are holes in heaven through which we
may pass." (quote of the day, Walter Inglis Anderson). This bird embodies avian
grace, avian beauty, and avian strength in wondrous flight.