Our research uses movement ecology as a framework to understand how individuals and populations respond to changes in their environment in order to project how future change may alter a population’s dynamics and evolutionary trajectory.
Our Philosophy
The natural world knows no political boundaries. That means that we are all stakeholders in the conservation of our biodiversity and our lab welcomes the involvement of anyone and everyone, no matter where they come from or how they identify themselves. We are also working to overcome our own biases, as well as those that have long prevailed in the scientific and conservation communities, by learning from and engaging with the communities whose lives intersect with the species we study.
The natural world knows no political boundaries. That means that we are all stakeholders in the conservation of our biodiversity and our lab welcomes the involvement of anyone and everyone, no matter where they come from or how they identify themselves. We are also working to overcome our own biases, as well as those that have long prevailed in the scientific and conservation communities, by learning from and engaging with the communities whose lives intersect with the species we study.
Breaking News
- Window collisions frequently prove deadly for birds and have been identified as one of the leading causes of direct, human-induced mortalities for birds around the world. In the U.S. alone, as many as 1.25 billion birds may die each year after hitting windows. With the help of nearly 200 students, we have surveyed the UMass Amherst campus for bird window collisions each morning for the past two years. We have documented hundreds of collisions involving dozens of species over this time. To begin mitigating the threat posed by windows on campus, we have begun a fundraising campaign to raise money to place bird-safe window coverings on one of UMass' deadliest buildings. If you are interested in contributing funds, you can do so here. Or, if you are interested in helping with surveys, you can sign up here. This is one conservation problem that we know we can solve -- please help out if you can!
- Numerous studies have recently documented dramatic declines in shorebird populations. All of these studies, however, have relied on indices of abundance and we have a surprisingly poor understanding of how large most shorebird populations are actually. With the help of hundreds of volunteer community scientists, we have been carrying out surveys of the South American coast for the past 15 years to tackle this problem. Led by Fernando Faria, out now in the Journal of Field Ornithology, are our first population estimates for shorebirds along the Atlantic coast of South America. We find that Nearctic shorebirds in the region have indeed declined since the last estimates were generated in the early 1980s, although not as drastically as some other studies have suggested. We also find, though, the Neotropical breeding shorebird species have far larger populations than previously thought. Together, we hope that these results will provide an important baseline for the recovery of Nearctic shorebird populations.
- I am so excited to announce that I have taken an exciting new role as the Mass Audubon Bertrand Chair for Ornithology! In this new capacity here at UMass Amherst, I will be working closely with Mass Audubon to carry out research on Massachusetts birds throughout their annual cycles. I will also be helping Mass Audubon to strategize their bird conservation efforts and to reach out to people interested in birds in Massachusetts and beyond. Stay tuned for so much more to come on Massachusetts birds in the future!
nsenner at umass.edu
Mass Audubon Bertrand Chair for Ornithology
Department of Environmental Conservation
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Holdsworth Hall 219
Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Mass Audubon Bertrand Chair for Ornithology
Department of Environmental Conservation
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Holdsworth Hall 219
Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S.A.