The Partners in Flight International Science Committee meets annually to address cutting-edge science needs most relevant to hemispheric-level bird conservation. In July 2019 we met in Ottawa, Ontario.
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 landbird conservation at range-wide and regional scales. The PIF Science Committee develops and maintains all aspects of the PIF Avian Conservation Assessment Database (updated in 2021 and summer 2023) and the Population Estimates Database, 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).
The Science Committee is open to anyone interested in thinking about landbird conservation issues 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 is currently recruiting new members, so please contact the Chairs if you are interested in participating. Current major topics of interest to the Science Committee include full annual-cycle bird conservation and population modeling, landscape conservation design, regional-level species assessment score revisions for the U.S. and Canada for both the breeding and nonbreeding seasons, and population estimation.
Current Science Committee Co-chairs:
Dr. Alaine Camfield, Manager, Priority Places Initiative, Canadian Wildlife Service
Sarah Kendrick, Migratory Bird Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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