Field Sessions
Extended morning mist-netting sessions will demonstrate and allow practice of the following field skills:
- Bird extraction from mist-nets
- Bird handling and morphological measurements
- Bird molt stage identification
- Aging and sexing
- Transmitter attachment
Additional field sessions will teach VHF telemetry, distance estimation, and point count methodologies. Participants will also learn to prepare museum study skins of bird specimens.
Data Analysis Modules
Full modules will focus on analysis of mark-recapture data and distance sampling analysis using the program DISTANCE. R packages used in the analysis of geolocator and standard telemetry data will be demonstrated.
Analytical modules will be spread throughout the course and will rely heavily on use of the program R. Participants will be provided with resources to introduce themselves to (or refresh their memory of) R before arriving to the course.
Lecture Topics
- Migratory connectivity
- Seasonal interactions
- Radar ornithology
- Life-cycle analyses
- Overwinter ecology
- Applied genetics
- Ecophysiology
- Threats to migration
- Applied conservation strategies
