The PIF International Science Committee meets once a year. The picture was taken during the 2023 meeting.
The PIF International Science Committee is an open forum of scientists from universities, NGOs, and agencies in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Central America dedicated to advancing scientific concepts and approaches for bird conservation at range-wide and regional scales. The PIF Science Committee oversees all aspects of the PIF Avian Conservation Assessment Database (ACAD) and the Population Estimates Database (PED) and is responsible for the writing and updating of all continental and regional PIF Bird Conservation Plans, as well as Handbooks for the PIF Databases and other technical documents (see Key Resources list at right). A new special feature in the journal Avian Conservation and Ecology highlights recent work by the committee.
Participation in the Science Committee is open to anyone interested in bird conservation across large spatial scales. We have 2-hour calls on the 2nd Thursday of every month and usually have a 3-day in-person working meeting once a year. The Science Committee has four active subcommittees that focus on conservation status assessment (i.e., ACAD), population estimates, climate vulnerability, and migration ecology. Details on the subcommittees below. Other significant topics of interest to the Science Committee include full annual-cycle bird conservation and population modeling, landscape conservation design, conservation investment strategies, and international cooperation and collaboration. The Science Committee welcomes new members; contact the Chairs if you are interested in participating.
ACAD Subcommittee: The ACAD Subcommittee meets monthly on the first Thursday of the month. The purpose of this committee is to provide direction, guidance, and support to Bird Conservancy of the Rockies in updating and improving the ACAD, including the PIF conservation assessment methodology, a key tool for prioritizing and coordinating strategic bird conservation across taxa, jurisdictions, organizations, and spatial scales. Members of this committee typically have expertise in North American birds (or some subset thereof) and avian conservation science. Some members have quantitative skills in data analysis and modeling, and we are especially interested in additional members who can contribute in these ways, as well as those with expertise in non-landbirds, i.e., waterfowl, shorebirds, and waterbirds (especially seabirds), and those from underrepresented parts of our geography (e.g., Latin America). If interested in contributing your knowledge and/or skills to the ACAD Subcommittee, please contact the current chair, Arvind Panjabi (Bird Conservancy of the Rockies), or drop us a note at this link: https://partnersinflight.org/contact/.
Population Estimates Subcommittee: The Population Estimates Subcommittee meets monthly on the third Thursday. Its function is to explore and evaluate various techniques for modeling populations, and to periodically publish regional, national, and continental estimates for all North American landbirds. Although many members have expertise in quantitative analysis and modeling, field experience with the distribution and relative abundance of species in various parts of North America is also valuable. The subcommittee is particularly interested in adding expertise in seabirds, waterfowl, waterbirds, and shorebirds, with the aim of adding these groups to a future update of the PED. If interested in contributing, please contact the current chair, Marcel Gahbauer (Canadian Wildlife Service; marcel.gahbauer@ec.gc.ca).
Migration Ecology Subcommittee: The Migration Ecology Subcommittee aims to create a forum to bring people together around using tracking methods to fill knowledge gaps and inform conservation strategies for migratory birds. Co-chaired by Amie MacDonald (Birds Canada), Anna Lello-Smith (Wildlife Conservation Society), Maya Wilson (BirdsCaribbean), and Fabiola Rodríguez (Cornell University), this subcommittee meets virtually bi-monthly on the fourth Thursday of every other month and provides simultaneous interpretation between English and Spanish. If you are interested in or work in migratory bird conservation, please consider joining the group and being added to its email listserv. Visit PIF’s YouTube channel to watch all previous meetings.
Climate Vulnerability Subcommittee: The Climate Vulnerability Subcommittee seeks to improve our knowledge of climate-related risks to the conservation of North American bird species and to incorporate this information into the PIF assessment methodology and ACAD through a systematic approach. This committee, chaired by Brooke Bateman (National Audubon Society), meets on an irregular basis. If you are interested in getting involved in this subcommittee, please drop us a note at this link: https://partnersinflight.org/contact/.
Current Science Committee Co-chairs:
Dr. Alaine Camfield, Manager, Priority Places Initiative, Canadian Wildlife Service (Right)
Sarah Kendrick, Migratory Bird Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Left)
A primary activity of the PIF Science Committee is maintaining and updating the Avian Species Conservation Assessment database, including tracking the taxonomy and conservation status of recently split species, such as this California Scrub-Jay. © Brian Sullivan © Brian Sullivan