Audubon Society of Central Arkansas

By Dr. Than Boves, Arkansas State University

NOTE – this and other upcoming meetings will be online via Zoom. Visit ar.audubon.org/events to find and register for each meeting. Registration takes the place of a sign-in sheet. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Bergmann’s Rule, which states that body size in endotherms is positively related to latitude (as a surrogate of temperature), is one of the oldest principles in ecology. Despite this fact, questions remain about its relevance for migratory species, when it manifests itself during development and how it is maintained, and what its future holds in a world undergoing climate change. Dr. Boves and his lab studied these aspects of Bergmann’s Rule in a long-distance migratory songbird, the Prothonotary Warbler.

Dr. Than Boves is an Associate Professor of Avian Ecology at Arkansas State University. He has studied a broad range of topics in bird ecology, behavior, evolution, and conservation for >15 yrs, often focusing on warblers, but also dabbling in raptors and other songbirds.

By Dr. Dan Scheiman, Audubon Arkansas

NOTE – this and other upcoming meetings will be online via Zoom. Visit ar.audubon.org/events to find and register for each meeting. Registration takes the place of a sign-in sheet. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The increasing use of dicamba is putting birds at risk in our agricultural landscape. Dicamba is an herbicide, the use of which is skyrocketing because Monsanto/Bayer is pushing its soybean and cotton varieties that have been genetically modified to be resistant. Dicamba’s volatility means it can do damage to non-GMO crops and native plants far beyond where applied. Dan will provide an update on Audubon Arkansas’s advocacy and community science monitoring campaigns.

Dr. Dan Scheiman is Bird Conservation Director for Audubon Arkansas and VP of ASCA. Dan has a B.S. from Cornell University, M.S. from Eastern Illinois University, and Ph.D. from Purdue University. He and his coworkers advocate for birds, restore wildlife habitat, and help Arkansans improve their local environments.