CFAES Give Today
SENR

School of Environment and Natural Resources

CFAES

Spring 2014 SENR Seminar Series

Feb 20, 2014, 4:00pm - 5:30pm

 

The SENR Seminar Series welcomes Molly McDermott, Doctoral Candidate in the OSU Environment and Natural Resources Graduate Program, will present, The Role of Tropical Agroforestry in the Ecology and Conservation of Flocking Andean Birds.

Forest conversion and agricultural intensification are the main drivers of rapid biodiversity loss in tropical regions such as the Andes, where most forest cover has been lost. Shade agroforestry is often promoted as a land sharing strategy which supports sustainable livelihoods while yielding ecosystem services such as the conservation of biodiversity. The suitability of different agroforestry practices may be of critical importance to the maintenance of mixed-species bird flocks, important ecological units in tropical forest ecosystems, in highly deforested areas. Further, these systems support overwintering populations of Neotropical migrant birds, which are regular flock participants. Microhabitat and landscape determinants of bird use of agroforestry systems merit further exploration, especially in little-studied silvopastures, which combine grazing pastures and trees. The conservation value of silvopastures to Andean birds is poorly understood and will be reviewed in a comparative framework across land uses.

The SENR Seminar begins at 4:10 p.m in 103 Kottman Hall with a video link to 123 Williams Hall on the Wooster campus.