September 10, 2008

Burtt Becomes President of National Ornithology Group
He and OWU students present research at group’s annual meeting

Jed Burtt

Still frame from video by Chuck Della Lana

At last month’s annual meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU), zoology professor Jed Burtt, Ph.D., became president of the 125-year-old scientific organization, the largest in the world devoted to the scientific study of birds. He will serve a two-year term.

In addition, Burtt presented bird feather research during the prestigious meeting, which attracted nearly 1,100 scientists. His co-authors included adjunct professor Jann Ichida, electron microscope technician Laura Tuhela-Reuning, and several current and former OWU students.

Also presenting research at the AOU meeting were Ohio Wesleyan students Lauren Smith ’09 of Wadsworth, Ohio, and Sean Williams ’11 of Boston. Smith presented information comparing the ranges of differently colored Australian parrots, while Williams discussed differences among the feather barbs of albino, white, and black plumage.

Additionally, Williams was appointed to the organization’s committee on bird collections. He is the first undergraduate ever asked to serve on the committee. He also was the youngest presenter at this year’s meeting. (OWU student Jack Stenger ’10 of Cincinnati, who presented at last year’s AOU meeting and attended this year’s event, remains the youngest presenter in the group’s history.)

Burtt says the biggest impact the AOU has on society at large is that it must decide when a population of birds is a species and when it isn’t. “An important outcome of this work,” he says, “is that we affect what birds are considered endangered species.”

The group’s decisions are important and sometimes controversial. By determining that the California gnat-catcher is a species, for example, the AOU provided the scientific reason for halting development of a scenic—and lucrative—section of the California coast where the species lives.

During the annual meeting, the AOU also released a report on the efforts to save the California condor. “One issue facing the birds is that they eat the carcasses of animals shot with lead bullets,” Burtt says. “As a result, the condors can develop lead poisoning.”

But, Burtt says, the AOU’s various committees, not the president, are responsible for examining issues and reaching policy decisions.

“My job as president is to keep the organization running smoothly,” he says.

In that role, one of the issues Burtt is exploring is how best to share information with both the scientific community and the general public.

“We are looking at how to more effectively connect with people,” he says of the organization. “Better use of electronic media, as well as improving our more traditional outlets, such as peer-reviewed journals. One of our goals is to engage young people and encourage them to become AOU members. Another goal is to attract those who do not belong to a scientific organization or attend meetings, but who observe birds and contribute their observations to group projects, such as those out of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.”

As part of its increased outreach efforts, the organization recently launched a Facebook page, which already has more than 170 friends.

– Cole Hatcher