Sidney A. Gauthreaux, Jr., October 2006
(Photograph by Carroll Belser)

The trans-Gulf migration system has provided both the inspiration and raw material for more than three decades of research by Sidney A. Gauthreaux, Jr. Growing up in southern Louisiana, he witnessed some of the most dramatic fall-outs of trans-Gulf migrants ever seen. These experiences instilled in him a fascination for migration and a passion to understand it, which have persisted throughout a long and productive professional career.

Radar ornithology was in its infancy when Dr. Gauthreaux began his formal studies of bird migration. He began to work with the first generation of weather radars (WSR-57) and soon realized that without some means of obtaining quantitative data from the screen, radar provided little more than dramatic pictures. Others had attempted to devise ways to quantify bird displays on radar, but none was successful. Dr. Gauthreaux's insight was that moon watching could be employed to calibrate the different densities of bird echoes observed on radar. This innovation provided an essential tool that has made radar a potent instrument in the study of migration.

Many other biological and nonbiological targets in the atmosphere produce echoes on radar. From the beginning of his radar work, Gauthreaux emphasized the necessity of combining radar data with simultaneous visual observations to confirm that it was indeed birds that were being seen on radar and to determine what types of birds were producing the display. He began to experiment with small ceilo­meter lights to see whether they could provide a means of observing nocturnal migration when moon watching was not an option. He developed all of the methods used (even to this day) to observe night migration with a ceilometer and telescope. Later, when night-vision technology became available, he was the first to obtain a military image intensifier and use it in conjunction with portable ceilometers and mobile marine radars to obtain an enhanced view of night migration.

Throughout his career, Dr. Gauthreaux has continued to pioneer new technologies and bring them into the service of migration research. When the WSR-57 weather radars were replaced by the much more sophisticated WSR-88D Doppler radars, he began to evaluate this new equipment as a tool for investigating bird migration. He developed methods to quantify migration density on the new radar. With this much more sensitive equipment, the problem of detecting insects and other nonavian targets was increased. Using the sophisticated Doppler features of the new radar, he developed protocols to aid in the identification of echoes as well as methods for determining the direction and speed of bird movement.

The development of important techniques for studying migration has been one of the hallmarks of Gauthreaux's career, but his ultimate goal has been to employ those methods to better understand bird migration, especially the massive songbird migration in the region of the Gulf of Mexico. His first work on spring trans-Gulf migration with radar remains a classic. Because trans-Gulf migrants fly both day and night, and because of the distances involved, it required long-range radar to provide a complete picture. He worked out the seasonal and daily timing of arrival of trans-Gulf flights and documented how they were influenced by wind and other weather factors. He directly observed the formation of flocks by scattered migrants caught aloft at dawn far out over the Gulf. He described how trans-Gulf migrants behave once they reach the coast, confirming that most birds continue well inland from the coast before ­landing. The ­migration around the Gulf of Mexico is perhaps the best-understood migration system in the world, and that is almost entirely owing to the work of Gauthreaux and his students.

His experience with migration on a scale as large as the Gulf migration system caused Gauthreaux to think about the evolution of migration patterns on a continental scale and how they may have been shaped by long-term climatic patterns, especially temporal and spatial patterns of wind flow aloft. These ideas have been shown to have predictive power in other parts of the world.

In the 1980s, when concern began to develop about declines in populations of Neotropical migrants, Gauthreaux realized that his long-term radar studies in the Gulf region could provide insight into this issue. By examining radar films over a period of 30 years, he was able to show that the volume of migration across the Gulf in spring appeared to have declined markedly. This provided an important independent set of data showing the same trend revealed by on-the-ground census data. Later, he began to build an archive of migration data from the new WSR-88D radar stations across the United States so that ongoing monitoring of migration on a large scale will be possible. This record will be invaluable to students of bird populations for decades to come. From his earliest observations of migration with the WSR-57 radar, it was apparent that at the times of take-off and landing by birds, radar revealed a great deal of detail about precisely where birds were concentrating. As interest in conservation of migratory birds at stopover sites increased, Gauthreaux recognized that surveillance radar could easily identify the hot spots where large concentrations of stopover migrants occurred. Many of the most important stopover habitats in the Gulf Coast region were not the coastal woodlands where fall-outs of migrants are most conspicuous. Rather, they were farther inland in the more extensive river-bottom hardwood forests, something that would have been difficult to demonstrate without Gauthreaux's radar surveillance and the insight to interpret it. These data have been used to drive decisions concerning land conservation, and the techniques are being applied nationwide with considerable fanfare.

Dr. Gauthreaux has published more than 100 papers that are characterized by their rigor, careful, methodical presentation, and attention to detail. His reviews and synthetic papers on broad-scale migration patterns and their ­evolution, differential migration of age and sex classes, and the role of behavioral dominance continue to stimulate thought and research in the field. He is regarded throughout the world as one of the leading students of bird migration. His work has been funded continuously at a high level for more than three decades.

During the past decade, Dr. Gauthreaux has published more than 30 papers that have moved the field of migration study in new directions. It is a remarkable accomplishment when a scientist devotes most of a long career to the study of one subject area and continues to provide new insights. That Gauthreaux has done so in such a conspicuous way is testimony to the quality of his intellect, the depth of his love for the subject, and his dedication to academic science. For his outstanding leadership and innovative contributions to the study of bird migration, the American Ornithologists' Union is pleased to present Sidney A. Gauthreaux, Jr., the William Brewster Memorial Award for 2006.

Award criteria .-The William Brewster Memorial Award consists of a medal and an honorarium provided through the endowed William Brewster Memorial Fund of the American Ornithologists' Union. It is given annually to the author or co-auathors (not previously so honored) of the most meritorious body of work on birds of the Western Hemisphere published during the 10 calendar years preceding a given AOU meeting.

Sievert A. Rohwer, scoring molt on albatross wings
(Photograph by Vanya Rohwer)

Sievert Rohwer is one of the most productive, insightful, and influential researchers in ornithology. His work has been a model blend of field, museum, and laboratory studies integrated in a theoretical context. Dr. Rohwer's research contributions fall into four major areas. Perhaps the most widely recognized of these, particularly beyond ornithology, is the role he has played in the analysis of variation in avian plumages, including status signaling, delayed plumage maturation, and color variation in raptors. His work on the behavioral correlates of variation in amount of black on the head and breast of Harris's Sparrow ( Zonotrichia querula ) launched the research area usually referred to as "status signaling." His paper on the social significance of avian winter plumage variability (Rohwer 1975), and subsequent experimental studies, catalyzed an avalanche of critical research on the significance of individual variation in plumage as well as parallel work in other animals. Together with Eivin Røskaft, Rohwer undertook the logistically challenging task of dyeing male Yellow-headed Blackbirds ( Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus ) black. The surprising consequence, that blackened males often acquired better territories after their experimental treatment, spawned his "arbitrary identity badge" hypothesis, which provides a mechanism by which novel color patches may serve aggressive competition and account for the rapid color divergence in allopatry.

Dr. Rohwer's interest in bird plumage is also reflected in his longtime interest in molt and its integration into the annual cycle (starting with his M.S. thesis at the University of Kansas). He has maintained one of the few active, question-driven research programs on avian molt. He is the unquestioned leader in the field of ecology and evolution of molt cycles, and any paper in the field cites many of his papers, or those of his students. This interest in plumage cycles inspired his often-cited papers on delayed plumage maturation. Much of Rohwer's recent field work has targeted the documentation of what is likely a novel strategy in passerine birds, namely postbreeding migration to a resource-rich area for molting before continuing on to the wintering range.

In the late 1980s, the adoption of unrelated young by replacement mates in birds seemed especially puzzling in the face of major papers appearing on sexually selected infanticide in mammals. Rohwer solved this puzzle by showing that tolerance, and even care, of unrelated young offered future mating opportunities when dispersal was constrained (e.g., Rohwer 1986, Rohwer et al. 1999). This interest led to an elegant field experiment showing that male Yellow-headed Blackbirds recognize young they did not sire but tolerate them for their courtship value, just as egg-guarding male fishes do. As an aside, probably few ornithologists are aware of his work on human behavioral ecology (e.g., Hayward and Rohwer 2004).

Dr. Rohwer has also made outstanding contributions to the study of speciation and hybridization, starting with his heavily cited dissertation studies of meadowlarks ( Sturnella spp.) and more recently with Townsend's Warblers ( Dendroica townsendi ) and Hermit Warblers ( D. occidentalis ). In collaboration with R. M. Zink and others, he has extended this interest into several trans-Beringean and Old World groups (e.g., Zink et al. 1995), concentrating on phylogeographic patterns and species limits. This collaboration has provided the first glimpses of the ­evolutionary genetic history of the birds of this region. He deserves much praise for fostering multiple Russian-American collaborations and organizing a massive collecting program for birds of the former Soviet Union (Rohwer et al. 2001).

Dr. Rohwer has excelled at using museum specimens to ask innovative and novel questions. He has spearheaded a major effort at the Burke Museum, and it has blossomed into a powerhouse in the world of specimen-based research. The bird collection at the Burke is probably the most rapidly growing in the world, and the wealth of data-rich traditional specimens, combined with the world's largest spread-wing collection and one of the largest tissue (DNA) collections, makes it one of the planet's most valuable bird collections. This all has occurred because of his leadership and vision.

For his spectacular combination of intellectual energy and empirical field- and specimen-based inquiry, the American Ornithologists' Union is pleased to award Sievert A. Rohwer the Elliott Coues Award for 2006.

Award criteria .-The Elliott Coues Award recognizes extraordinary contributions to ornithological research. There should be no limitation with respect to geographic area, subdiscipline(s) of ornithology, nor the time course over which the work was done. The award consists of a medal and an honorarium provided through the endowed Ralph W. Schreiber Fund of the American Ornithologists' Union.

Literature Cited

• Hayward, L. S., and S. Rohwer . 2004. Sex differences in attitudes toward paternity testing. Evolution and Human Behavior 25:242-248.
• Rohwer, S. 1975. The social significance of avian winter plumage variability. Evolution 29:593-610.
• Rohwer, S. 1986. Selection for adoption versus infanticide by replacement "mates" in birds. Pages 353-395 in Current Ornithology, vol. 3 (R. F. Johnson, Ed.). Plenum Press, New York.
• Rohwer, S., S. V. Drovetski, and C. S. Wood. 2001. Bird specimens in the Burke Museum from Russia and Kazakhstan. Ornitologia 29:260-281.
• Rohwer, S., J. C. Herron, and M. Daly. 1999. Stepparental behavior as mating effort in birds and other animals. Evolution and Human Behavior 20:367-390.
• Zink, R. M., S. Rohwer, A. V. Andreev, and D. L. Dittmann . 1995. Trans-Beringia comparisons of mitochondral DNA differentiation in birds. Condor 97:639-649.

D. Ryan Norris, September 2005
(Photograph by Amy Newman)

The Ned K. Johnson Young Investigator Award recognizes outstanding and promising ornithological research contributions made by persons early in their career with the hope and expectation that such individuals will provide future leadership in ornithology within and beyond North America. The AOU is proud and confident of its selection of Dr. D. Ryan Norris as the second recipient of the Ned K. Johnson Young Investigator Award.

Dr. Norris's research has focused on the population dynamics and behavioral ecology of migratory animals. His integration of diverse techniques and approaches (field observations, biogeochemistry, radiotracking, rigorous statistical testing, and modeling) to address multiscale problems while emphasizing the use of novel methods has provided important insights into complex problems in a variety of migratory animals, ranging from wolves to birds.

The research career of Dr. Norris, as well as his interest in migratory animals, began when he was an undergraduate at the University of Waterloo, where he studied the spatial dynamics of a migratory gray wolf ( Canis lupus ) population. This work culminated in two excellent ­publications. Norris completed an M.S. degree at York University with Professor Bridget Stutchbury. He used radiotracking to examine the effect of fragmentation on the movement patterns and extrapair mating behavior of Hooded Warblers ( Wilsonia citrina ), a small Neotropic-Nearctic songbird. His time in Stutchbury's laboratory culminated in six publications, and he continues his interest in the effects of habitat fragmentation on the behavior and mating systems of birds and other taxa. Norris immediately entered the Ph.D. program at Queen's University to work with Professor Laurene Ratcliffe and Adjunct Professor Peter Marra. Norris's Ph.D. dissertation, Geographic Connectivity and Seasonal Interactions in a Long-distance Migratory Bird , was extraordinary and resulted in eight publications, including a cover article in Science , an important paper in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B , and a lengthy paper in Ornithological Monographs, no. 61 , published in fall 2006. This last work, which used stable isotopes to examine carry-over effects and migratory connectivity in American Redstarts ( Setophaga ruticilla ), was cutting-edge research that continues to provide fundamental insights into the population biology of migratory birds. Norris has integrated multiple and diverse fields, including ecology, behavior, population modeling, and biogeochemistry. After finishing his dissertation, Norris was awarded both an Izaak Walton Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship and an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of British Columbia. There, he applied his knowledge of isotope biogeochemistry and modeling to begin a collaboration with Peter Arcese, examining issues of West Coast seabirds, specifically how fisheries and climate change have influenced Marbeled Murrelet ( Brachyramphus marmoratus ) populations.

In fall 2006, Norris began an Assistant Professorship in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph, Canada, where he is in a position to expand his multidisciplinary research and mentoring approaches to tackle both basic and applied conservation challenges.

Award criteria. -The Ned K. Johnson Young Investigator Award recognizes outstanding and promising work by a researcher early in his or her career in any field of ornithology. Candidates excel in research and show distinct promise for leadership in ornithology within and beyond North America. They must have received their doctorate within five years of being nominated, must not have received the award previously, and must be a member of the AOU at the time of nomination. The award consists of a framed certificate and an honorarium provided through a gift to the endowment of the American Ornithologists' Union honoring Ned K. Johnson, a lifelong supporter and former President (1996-1998) of the AOU. This award, presented for the first time in 2005, is funded by the Ned K. Johnson Fund of the AOU.

J. Michael Scott, July 2006
(Photograph by Sue McMurray)

The AOU Conservation Award was established in 2005 to honor persons who have made extraordinary scientific contributions to the conservation, restoration, or preservation of birds and their habitats. Dr. J. Michael Scott is one such person whose contributions to the conservation of birds around the world have been extraordinary. From his ground-breaking work on furthering our understanding of endemic Hawaiian birds, through his efforts on preservation of the California Condor ( Gymnogyps californianus ), to the development of the Gap Analysis Program conservation effort, he has consistently developed new tools for conducting scientifically based conservation assessments. Throughout his career, results of his work have had a significant impact and have influenced policy decisions regarding the conservation and protection of birds locally, nationally, and on an international scale.

Dr. Scott received his Ph.D. at Oregon State University under the tutelage of John A. Wiens. In Oregon, he studied resource allocation in seabirds and played an important role in the formation of the Pacific Seabird Group (PSG). He was the first chairman of the PSG and helped focus that organization on seabird conservation issues. Scott was one of the first endangered- species biologists hired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. From 1974 to 1984, he worked in Hawaii studying endangered Hawaiian songbirds. At a time when most ecologists were conducting single-species studies, Scott was assessing the distribution, abundance, habitat associations, and limiting factors of endangered forest birds across their entire historical range as part of the Hawaiian Forest Bird Survey. In doing so, he developed new techniques for surveying and estimating bird numbers in difficult conditions. The Hawaiian Forest Bird Survey, the first true large-scale Hawaiian conservation effort, has been characterized as "one of the most ambitious surveys of its kind ever attempted and a model for field surveys of rare and endangered species." Results of this work were used to establish six protected areas on three islands, including Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge on the Island of Hawaii, a refuge to help preserve the last free-flying Hawaiian crows and, most recently, a 46,400-ha addition to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. His co-authored monograph Forest Bird Communities of the Hawaiian Islands: Their Dynamics, Ecology, and Conservation received the Best Monograph Award from the Wildlife Society.

From 1984 to 1986, Dr. Scott led the conservation and research efforts on preservation of the California Condor. His work on the condor led him to believe that, as important as recovery efforts were for single species, waiting to save species until they were threatened with extinction would never provide the opportunity to prevent extinction at a global scale. Throughout his career, Scott has asked policy- and management-relevant questions. He and his students were among the first to review the long-term status of the listing and delisting process of the Endangered Species Program. Before this effort, assessments of the effectiveness of endangered-species programs had been done on a single-species basis. Similarly, they reviewed translocation efforts in three countries to assess the effectiveness of translocation as a conservation tool. Scott continues his work on endangered species, co-leading a national effort that conducted a 30-year retrospective on the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Under the umbrella of "The Endangered Species Act at Thirty" project, Scott and his colleagues, Dale Goble and Frank Davis, brought together a diverse group of academics, lawyers, and the full range of special-interest groups, including Defenders of Wildlife, National Homebuilders Association, National Center for Housing and the Environment, National Wildlife Federation, and National Cattlemen's Association. They asked: "What have 30 years of implementing the ESA accomplished, what have we learned, what are we protecting, and how might we improve future implementation of the ESA?" With other colleagues, he has documented the occurrence of conservation-reliant species (i.e., those species that depend on human intervention for their survival) and developed a legally and biologically defensible protocol to facilitate their recovery under the ESA. Results of this work are being used to inform the current congressional discussion on Endangered Species Act reform and have been used by state and federal agencies to inform their recovery policies and practices.

After moving to the University of Idaho in 1986, as leader of the U.S. Geological Survey's Idaho Cooperative Research Unit, he initiated the Gap Analysis Program (GAP). This program was an accumulation of the many conservation lessons that he had learned in working with endangered species in Hawaii and California. A nationwide effort, GAP assesses gaps in the protective network for species and ecosystems. A major assumption of this research conservation effort is that the best time to save a species is when it is still common. Results from the GAP project found that two-thirds of the mapped landcover types and similar numbers of vertebrate species have <10% of the area of their distribution in nature preserves and that many nature preserves are too small to maintain viable populations or maintain the integrity of ecological processes. Results of the GAP project have been used by private and state groups to protect natural areas and promote bird conservation across North America and throughout the world. The GAP studies are being used to inform conservation planning efforts globally, and completion of a GAP analysis project is now required of every signatory nation to the Biodiversity Treaty. Results of these projects across the country have provided much of the information for the congressionally mandated, comprehensive statewide wildlife conservation plans that exist today.

Dr. Scott has directed his avian conservation efforts not only to the research arena, but to all levels of society. He has served on science advisory boards of The Nature Conservancy, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and privately owned cattle ranches. In serving on these science advisory boards, he has consistently advanced the use of conservation science in making land-use decisions for bird protection. Scott received the Distinguished Service Award (1993) for his contributions to conservation Biology and the LaRoe Award (1998) for making a difference at the science-policy interface, both from the Society for Conservation Biology. He has also received honorary membership in the Cooper Ornithological Society and was elected a Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for his contributions to ornithology and conservation of birds.

In recognition of his extraordinary scientific contributions to the conservation of avian species throughout the world, the AOU presents J. Michael Scott with the AOU Conservation Award for 2006.

Award criteria. -The AOU Conservation Award recognizes extraordinary scientific contributions to the conservation, restoration, or preservation of birds and/or their habitats by an individual or small team (usually fewer than 10 people). Contributions from throughout the world and over any time course are eligible. Appropriate activities include: (1) applied research, restoration, and educational actions that conserve birds or preserve significant bird habitats; (2) scientific examination of the principles of avian conservation and application of new insights into species restoration; and (3) scientific evaluation, guidance, creation, and oversight of avian recovery programs or habitat-reserve restoration programs. The award consists of a framed certificate and an honorarium.

Howard P. Brokaw, 1991

Howard P. Brokaw (grandson of the great American artist Howard Pyle) has contributed to ornithology and bird conservation virtually throughout his 90 years of life. A passionate birder and inveterate traveler, he retired in the 1970s from a distinguished career in business to devote more time to the not-for-profit sector. He has served as Chairman of the boards of trustees of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (1981-1985) and the American Bird Conservancy (1994-2002), as Founding Trustee of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, as Treasurer of the International Council for Bird Preservation, and as President of the Delmarva Ornithological Society. In addition, he served on the governing boards of the National Audubon Society (two seven-year terms), World Wildlife Fund, Delaware Museum of Natural History, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary (27 years), RARE Center for Tropical Conservation, Asa Wright Nature Center, Brandywine Conservancy, and the Mid-Atlantic Law Center. In 1978, Brokaw was Project Director and Editor for the Council of Environmental Quality's book Wildlife in America .

In 1982, Brokaw was elected an Investing Trustee of the American Ornithologists' Union. At that time, the endowment assets of the AOU stood at $350,000 and were invested mainly in fixed-income instruments typical of many conservative institutions. Brokaw argued persuasively that the AOU should strive to grow its investments more aggressively and that it should distribute assets to AOU operations according to conservative spending policies typical of the best nonprofit foundations. Upon Brokaw's strong recommendation, and ­beginning just prior to the famous bull market of the 1980s, the AOU converted its endowment into a diversified portfolio consisting entirely of stocks-a strategy that continues to this day. Brokaw's reasoning is phrased in his typical, direct style: "Look, diversified stock portfolios simply outperform all other forms of investment instruments when measured in total return (dividends plus capital gains) over the long pull." Thanks to Brokaw, the AOU also instituted a fiscally responsible spending policy, limiting annual disbursements from the endowment to a fixed and conservative percentage of the running average of endowment value over the preceding five years. As a result of Brokaw's influence on the financial affairs of the AOU (and aided by several far-sighted gifts and bequests to the AOU during his 25-year tenure as an investing trustee), the AOU endowment today exceeds $6,500.000. For his lasting contribution to the AOU's long-term financial well-being and fiscal responsibility, and with congratulations on his 90th birthday, the AOU is pleased to award Howard P. Brokaw the Marion Jenkinson AOU Service Award for 2006.

Award criteria. -The Marion Jenkinson AOU Service Award was created by the Council in 1996 in honor of Marion Jenkinson Mengel, who served the AOU as Treasurer and in other capacities for many years. It is awarded to an individual who has performed continued extensive service to the AOU, including holding elected offices but emphasizing volunteered contributions and committee participation. Recipients are selected by the AOU Executive Committee. The award consists of a framed certificate.