OTHER LINKS
New birds fall for old trick
Statewide Bird Survey
Critical Trends Assessment Program (CTAP)
New birds fall for old trick
Statewide Bird Survey
Critical Trends Assessment Program (CTAP)
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Michael Ward
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1816 South Oak Street Champaign, IL 61820 Phone: 217-244-4089 Email: mpward@illinois.edu Office Location: I-BLDG | ||
| Activities | I am the coordinator of the Critical Trends Assessment Program and a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. My area of research is the population dynamics and behavior of birds. |
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| Research |
Along with the research I am conducting on the effect of West Nile virus on birds, I am also involved in research on population dynamics and habitat selection in birds. Our research on Black-capped Vireos has shown that individuals not exhibiting site fidelity use the presence of conspecifics when determining where to breed (See OTHER LINKS for the ScienceNow article). We are currently studying whether the presence of nest predators (i.e. snakes) affects where Vireos nest. Using conspecific attraction techniques (i.e. bird models and vocalizations) we were able to re-establish Forster’s Terns as a nesting species in Illinois. On a 30-acre man-made island in the Chain-of-Lakes in northeastern Illinois we established a colony of more than 100 breeding terns. We are currently preparing to try and establish additional colonies as well as determine the reproductive success, site fidelity, and the effect of human disturbance on tern behavior. I have and am currently conducting research on wetland birds in northeastern Illinois. I have been studying Yellow-headed Blackbirds for the last seven years to determine why the population is declining and also how the individuals in Illinois determine which marsh to breed in. We are also analyzing 25-years of data on the abundance and distribution of all wetland birds in the area to determine population trends for particular species and to develop management recommendations for the remaining wetlands. I also teach Ornithology at the U of I. |
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| Professional affiliations |
Society for Conservation Biology American Ornithologist's Union Cooper Ornithological Society |
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| Selected publications |
Ward, M. P. and S. Schlossberg. April 2004. Conspecific attraction and the conservation of territorial songbirds. Conservation Biology 18: 519-525. Ward, M. P. 2005. The role of immigration in the decline of an isolated migratory bird population. Conservation Biology 19: 1528-1536. Ward, M. P. 2005. Habitat selection by dispersing yellow-headed blackbirds: evidence of prospecting and the use of public information. Oecologia 145: 1432-1939. Ward, M. P. and P. Weatherhead. 2005. Sex-specific differences in site fidelity and the cost of dispersal in yellow-headed blackbirds. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 59: 108-114. Beveroth, T., M. P. Ward, R. Lampman, A. Ringia, and R. Novak. in press. The changes in seroprevalence of West Nile virus across Illinois in free ranging birds from 2001-2004. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. |
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| Program Affiliates |
Visiting Assistant Professor - Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign |
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| Education | Ph.D.,University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Animal Biology, 2004 MS,University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, 2000 BS, Northeast Missouri State University (Truman State), Kirksville, Missouri, 1995 | ||