Category: Meeting Minutes

This meeting and presentation took place both in person at the Liederkranz Club and concurrently online via Zoom.

LSNY President Peter Davenport called the meeting to order at 7:01 PM.

Peter welcomed attendees and recognized seven new members of the Society: Penny Ardley, Nicole Chandonnet, Ryan Fitzgerald, Christian Heath, Sandy Schiffman, Laura Waterbury, and Dr. Michael Wethington.

Peter reminded members of upcoming spring field trips, including the North Woods Spring Migration Walk (4/26) and the season’s first Birds and Brews outing (4/29). He encouraged members to participate in or support the annual Bird-A-Thon (5/2-5/3), noting the Society’s $20,000 fundraising goal in support of Great Gull Island research and programs.

He also noted pending Lights Out legislation before the New York City Council intended to reduce bird mortality from building illumination and informed members of an upcoming rally and opportunities for public comment. He highlighted an upcoming newsletter feature: Shelly Xiong’s project, MetBird, a more accurate bird-search tool for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection.

Lecture Program

Peter introduced the evening’s speakers, Mr. Neil Patterson Jr. (Tuscarora), Executive Director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment (CNPE) at SUNY-ESF, and Dr. Catherine Landis, CNPE Science Advisor. The CNPE bridges traditional ecological knowledge with Western science

Lecture Title: A Time to Heal: Indigenous Biocultural Restoration

Mr. Patterson and Dr. Landis presented on Indigenous stewardship, biodiversity, and environmental justice, emphasizing relationships among people, land, species, and systems of knowledge as a central theme of the evening.

Mr. Patterson discussed traditional ecological knowledge as living, relational knowledge grounded in reciprocity and long-term care for place. Drawing in part on Haudenosaunee perspectives, he described ecological restoration as tied to cultural renewal, healing, and rematriation, emphasizing matrilineal systems, traditional ecological knowledge, and the role of Indigenous women in restoring relationships and responsibilities to land. He also discussed governance principles, including the Great Law of Peace and the Dish With One Spoon agreement, as expressions of relational responsibility and stewardship. Extending these themes to contemporary environmental challenges, he touched on Indigenous understandings of climate and sustainability, including the concept of good mind thinking, and described traditional ecological knowledge and scientific ecological knowledge as complementary or “intellectual twin” approaches.

Building on this framework, Dr. Landis illustrated how those principles inform restoration in practice through work associated with the Onondaga Nation’s Thousand Acres, land returned through the Onondaga Lake Superfund settlement within historic Onondaga territory. Using examples from wetlands, mature forest, floodplain restoration, pollinator habitat, and culturally significant understory plants such as Solomon’s seal, trillium, and wild ginger, she showed how ecological healing and community healing are understood as intertwined. Historical vegetation and land-use patterns were discussed as guides for present-day restoration, including efforts to transform former agricultural fields into meadow and floodplain forest.

Turning from restoration to contemporary threats, Dr. Landis addressed concerns associated with the proposed Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP), including habitat loss, industrial impacts on wildlife and water resources, and implications for treaty rights and human rights. Framing these concerns within a broader environmental justice context, she drew on avian biodiversity research and ecological monitoring as tools for both conservation and advocacy, highlighting documentation of more than 140 bird species on these lands, including cerulean warblers, short-eared owls, northern harriers, and bald eagles, as well as other wildlife including northern long-eared bats. Bird populations were presented not only as indicators of biodiversity, but also as part of the argument for protection and stewardship.

Mr. Patterson concluded by returning to themes of healing through education and responsibility, including Indigenous land-rights education, institutional support for land return, and approaches to ecological renewal grounded in enduring relationships with land.

At approximately 7:54 PM, the Q&A session began with questions from the in-person audience and concluded with questions submitted via Zoom. Following the conclusion of the Q&A, Ms. Karen Becker thanked the speakers for a fascinating program. The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:20 PM.

The presentation and Q&A session were recorded in their entirety, along with President Davenport’s opening remarks. The recording is available through the Linnaean Society website and YouTube channel.

Respectfully submitted,

Michelle D’Mello

Recording Secretary

This meeting and presentation took place solely in person at the Liederkranz Club at 6 East 87^th Street, New York.

The evening began with a reception at 6 pm. This was a members-only event, and it was well-attended with approximately one hundred people including Society members, award winners, and invited guests.

At 7:30 pm, Board Member and Acting President Peter Davenport called the Society’s meeting to order.

Acting President Davenport welcomed all to this 148^th annual meeting of the Linnaean Society of New York, thanked everyone for coming, and made the following remarks:

In Memoriam

• He gave tribute to the Society members who have passed away in the past year:
  • Isabel Conte, member since 2008
  • Sally Garrett, member since 2003
  • Robert F. Haupt, member since 2004

State of the Society

• He observed that the state of the Society is strong and active, and drew attention to the 2025 annual report that had been distributed to all attendees as they arrived this evening. It included reports from Secretary Meredith Barchat, Treasurer Debbie Mullins and chairs of the following committees: archives, conservation, field trips, editorial, Great Gull Island, events and membership, programs, and website and technology.
• He noted that the Society’s membership is growing—more than one hundred new members have joined this past year.
• He observed that part of the Society’s strength is due to the work and vision of the board of directors, and he highlighted many of their contributions. He also noted some non-board members who have contributed to the workings of the Society, including Michelle Choy for her technical and logistical work for running the now-hybrid members meetings; past Board Member Eric Ozawa and past President Ken Chaya for their work as co-chairs of the conservation committee; and Dom Ricci, Junko Suzuki, and Suzanne Zywicki, the nomination committee members, for their dedicated and successful work recruiting members for the 2026/2027 board of directors. And finally, Peter recognized and thanked the two outgoing board members, Chuck McAlexander and Erika Piik, for their contributions and praised their work.

Voting: Election of Officers and a Motion to Amend the Bylaws

• Peter announced the names of the nominees for the board of directors, noted that their biographies were presented in the program handout, and asked each nominee to introduce himself/herself by standing up, and the audience applauded for each in turn.
• Voting will be done online via an email to all members. Polling will commence this evening following the meeting and will be open for 72 hours; it will end on March 12, 2026.

Linnaean Society of New York Awards

• Peregrine Falcon 50-year Member Award (members who joined in 1976):
  • Thomas W. Burke
  • John Flack
  • Fritz Mueller
  • Shiela G. Rosenburg
  • Richard ZainEldeen
• 2026 Natural History Service Award: This award is given to individuals who, through working with members of the public, have triggered a lasting interest in natural history. It is bestowed on Dr. Shannon Curley and Dr. Jose Ramirez-Garofalo for their work furthering research, development, and interest in Freshkills Park, a unique and special grasslands environment in Staten Island, New York City.
  • Dr. Shannon Curley
  • Dr. Jose Ramirez-Garofalo
• 2026 Shelda Taylor Award: This award honors K–12 teachers who have made a sustained and substantial impact by educating their students on aspects of natural history. This year’s award is given to Matthew Malina, a past NYC school teacher who is the founder and executive director of NYC H2O, a nonprofit organization whose mission includes inspiring and educating NYC students about their city’s local water ecology and how to protect it.
  • Matthew Malina
• 2026 Eisenmann Medal: The Eisenmann Medal is the highest award given by the Linnaean Society of New York. It is given to an individual for excellence in ornithology and encouragement of the amateur. This year the Society honors Dr. Trevor D. Price, professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago, for his research work on the origin of species, the underlying reasons for why each species has a restricted geographical range, and how ranges are being altered as a consequence of anthropogenic change.
  •   Dr. Trevor D. Price

At 7:56 pm, Acting President Peter Davenport turned to the lecture program and welcomed this year’s Eisenmann Medalist, Dr. Trevor D. Price, professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago.

Lecture: “A Bird’s Life in the Anthropocene,” presented by Dr. Trevor D. Price

Dr. Price began studying birds in India in the 1970s, and over these past 50 years human impact has had an accelerating effect on the habitat and environment there. Showing a map of the world that was color-coded for the magnitudes of the human footprint, he noted, “What really stands out is the Himalaya.” With the loss of habitat, many bird populations have been precipitously dropping, among them grassland birds such as the Great Indian Bustard—one of the rarest of the world’s birds with a remaining population of only about 150 individuals. He showed photos of banded Great Indian Bustard chicks and of two species of vulture chicks, another a group of birds experiencing serious population decline. He explained that the Indian government is making a concerted effort to keep these populations going and is working to improve protection of India’s national parks.

How are bird species adapting to environmental changes due to human pressures in the Anthropocene? Dr. Price has been studying one of India’s common, not endangered birds—the Hume’s Warbler—with a population estimated to be between 20 to 30 million. It lives in trees, spending its breeding season in the Himalaya and the winter in the plains of India. Dr. Price focused his talk on two aspects of human activity that are impacting the lives of the Hume’s Warbler in India: 1) climate change, and 2) anthropogenic noise.

Climate change has played a role in changing the breeding patterns of the Hume’s Warbler, Dr. Price’s research has found, based on decades of observations in the West Himalaya near Manali, Himachal Pradesh. Dr. Price described how the males arrive first, while snow still covers the ground, and the birch trees have yet to have leaves (the birches grow at an elevation of 3,000 meters and host the insects that the Hume’s Warblers eat). Once the snow has melted, the birds build their nests on the ground and begin breeding. Over the past 50 years, the region’s mean winter temperature has risen approximately two degrees Celius, and the region has been getting less snow. As a consequence, the snow melts faster, and Hume Warblers are breeding about eight days earlier. But winter storms still occur at the same time as in the past, resulting in a mismatch of weather to the timing of breeding, and Dr. Price showed some examples of what can happen to impact breeding in those situations. Additionally, he explained that climate change is causing greater variation in the intensity of storms, and that strong ones often wash out the nests, killing the chicks. If those chicks are born late in the breeding season, close to the start of the monsoon, there isn’t enough time for another nest, thus resulting in no offspring for that breeding pair for the year. (Hume’s Warblers produce only one brood per year). Despite these changing environmental conditions at the breeding grounds, they seem to be having only “very minor effects on reproduction” and no consequential impact on the population of the Hume’s Warbler. Dr. Price explained, “And the reason we know that is because we also study these birds in the winter in South India.”

Dr. Price’s research work indicates that habitat loss during the nonbreeding season is the limiting factor in the Hume’s Warbler’s population sustainability. During this seven-month period, individual birds will protect a territory of between 20 to 30 trees from others of its species and feed on insects in these trees. The number of insects has been correlated to the number of birds that will return in the next nonbreeding season. Even though Hume’s Warblers are resourceful and have moved into urban areas as more habitat has been lost with human development, there are fewer trees and insects overall, and fewer birds can survive. Dr. Price summarized, “So it doesn’t matter what happens in the breeding season, the winter is absolutely critical for these birds to persist.”

Human-generated noise has profoundly changed soundscapes in many of the places where Hume’s Warblers live, especially in urban environments. Dr. Price and colleagues have been evaluating the effects of loud, ambient, man-made noise on the territorial calls of the Hume’s Warbler. Dr. Price played a few recordings of territorial calls for the audience, showed their spectrograms, and showed a seven-by-eleven grid of spectrograms recorded between the years 1982 through 2022. His group has concluded that the Hume’s Warbler has been making subtle changes to the structure and frequencies of its calls in order to be heard and recognized over urban noise. The calls have changed six times in 40 years, and it takes only two or three birds to copy the innovator’s new call for that new call to spread across the species within 30 years. Dr. Price emphasized, “But it has to be learned.” The urban noise may have triggered the adaptation and, because it was a more effective call, it was learned, and its usage spread.

Following is Dr. Price’s abstract of his talk:

   Most of us want to preserve wildlife because we love being amongst it. However, in promoting conservation we need to convey the value of species to the wider population, and it is unclear how good a job we do at this, certainly less successfully than explaining threats from climate change. In this talk I hope to generate discussion on why the preservation of biodiversity is so important to humanity, and how that can be conveyed. I will illustrate problems and prospects by drawing on examples from the amazing birds of India (the eastern Himalaya are thought to be the 2nd most biodiverse place in the world), where I have conducted research over the past 50 years.

At 8:28 pm, the Q&A session began.

At the conclusion of the Q&A, Vice President for Programs Karen Becker thanked Dr. Price for a fascinating talk about the ways that birds are adapting to environmental changes in the Himalaya. Professor Price responded to Karen’s remarks with parting words, “I’m just going to say one more thing: Let’s all be optimistic. There’s absolutely no point in being pessimistic.”

Vice President for Administration Amanda Bielskas concluded the annual meeting with the raffle drawing and announced the winners of the silent auction.

At 8:48 pm the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted by Lisa Kroop, recording secretary

This meeting and presentation took place both in person at the Liederkranz Club and concurrently online via Zoom.

At 7:00 pm, Board Member and Acting President Peter Davenport welcomed all to the first members meeting of 2026 and called the meeting to order.

Peter made the following announcements:

• The February regular members meeting will be held at the American Museum of Natural History, not the Liederkranz Club. Advanced registration is required to attend, and instructions for registration will be on the Society’s website. The meeting will concurrently be broadcast via Zoom, and registration for attending via Zoom will also be posted on the Society’s website.
• The Society’s 148^th annual meeting will be held on March 10, 2026, at the Liederkranz Club at 6 East 87^th Street. Dr. Trevor Price of the University of Chicago will be awarded the 2026 Eisenmann Medal and will present, “A Bird’s Life in the Anthropocene.”
• Peter noted that there will be a raffle and a silent auction held during the annual meeting. Donations for the silent auction have started to come in, and the Society is still welcoming more. He suggested ideas for donations such as tickets for the opera or a sports event, a few days at a vacation home, handicrafts, or books. Peter encouraged people to contact him to inquire about donations (he can be emailed at the president’s email address that can be found on the Society’s website: https://www.linnaeannewyork.org/contacts/).
• He welcomed five new members to the Linnaean Society as of December 2025:
  • David Campbell
  • Nicholas Kaledin
  • Raymond Kraus
  • Channing Wistar-Jones
  • Patricia Wong
• He reported that the birdseed fund (for maintaining the Society’s birdfeeders in Central Park) has raised around $800, and the target is $2,000. He encouraged people to donate via the link that is in the president’s letter that was emailed to the membership on January 11, 2026.
• Peter expressed thanks to the newly formed nomination committee members, Dominic Ricci, Junko Suzuki, and Suzanne Zywicki. The committee is seeking members to fill the upcoming board vacancies, and he encouraged people to contact Dom, Junko, or Suzanne with suggestions.
• Peter thanked the Society’s board of directors for their work on restructuring some of the Society’s committees. He announced three new committees and thanked the new chairs: 1) the communications and content committee, chaired by Kristin Ellington, 2) the membership and events committee, co-chaired by Miriam Rakowski, and 3) the technology committee, chaired by Alan Drogin.
• Peter concluded his remarks about the Society’s business, encouraging members to register for the upcoming Birds and Brews trip to Bush Terminal Park in Brooklyn and to mark their calendars for May 2nd and 3rd for the birdathon fundraiser for Great Gull Island.      

At 7:05 pm, Peter turned the meeting over to Vice President for Programs Karen Becker to introduce the night’s speaker, Anya Auerbach, a PhD candidate in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at the University of Minnesota.

Lecture: “Understanding Evolution through Madagascar’s Spectacular Radiation of Birds,” presented by Anya Auerbach

Madagascar is the world’s fourth largest island and a biodiversity hotspot, with the vast majority of its species being endemic, as Anya Auerbach explained in the opening of her talk. Giving geological historical context, she illustrated Madagascar’s location relative to other landmasses with four maps representing 135, 100, 88, and 60 million years ago. In the approximately 90 million years since Madagascar has become an isolated island, the vast majority of its species have arrived by dispersals over the ocean from Africa and India. She noted the groups of mammals that came by ocean (tenrecs, lemurs, Eupleridae, and Nesomyid rodents), and that bats came by flight. In terms of birds, Madagascar is the only island other than New Zealand that has endemic orders of birds—Madagascar has two: Mesites (Mesitornithiformes) and Cuckoo-roller (Leptosomiformes), and Madagascar has three endemic bird families: asities, tetrakas, and ground-rollers.

Ms. Auerbach’s research work is on evolutionary biology and her focus is on the evolution of birds in Madagascar. Her studies seek to answer questions about how and why Madagascar bird species diversity has occurred, why it occurs in some places and not others, and why biodiversity is so unevenly distributed. She explained the concept of adaptive radiation (“exceptional diversity in response to ecological opportunity”) using the example of Hawaiian honeycreepers—birds that filled ecological niches after their arrival to Hawaii—that evolved into as many as fifty different species from their Asian rosefinch ancestors. She pointed out, however, that even with ecological opportunities, adaptive radiation doesn’t necessarily occur, citing as an example the monarch flycatchers that reached Hawaii. The question is, why does it happen sometimes, and sometimes not?

Madagascar’s three largest adaptive radiations of birds have occurred with the vangas, the tetrakas (known as the Malagasy warblers), and the couas. Anya noted that it is unusual to have multiple radiations in the same place, and she is interested in how this diversity of radiations in Madagascar evolved. Her research has focused on the vangas. She evaluated the diversity in morphology (shape), methods of feeding, and environmental niches, and she compared the data of the Madagascar species to their non-Madagascar relatives. She acquired the data for this analysis by taking direct physical measurements of bird specimens from the collections of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. 

Ms. Auerbach shared graphical representations of results from her studies. They show that Malagasy vangas are much more diverse than non-Malagasy vangas. She also showed a phylogenetic (evolutionary) tree which was color-coded to indicate ecological diversification by feeding methods: gleaning, sallying, and probing. She explained that the earliest Madagascar vangas foraged by gleaning, as did the non-Malagasy vangas (which still do today), but that the Malagasy vangas continued to evolve with new ways of foraging. These new behaviors opened up new ecological opportunities and resultant speciation over tens of millions of years.

Ms. Auerbach also did genetic studies of the subspecies of the Crested Coua (Coua cristata), an arboreal bird in the cuckoo family that lives in distinct, major biomes across Madagascar, to see how these different populations are related to each other. She presented figures from these studies and said that she still has more work to do to determine if any of these subspecies are species in their own right.

This past September, Ms. Auerbach made her first field trip to Madagascar. She was part of a team that collected data on birds, including physical measurements, standardized color photographs, and blood samples. She shared stories of her experiences, talked about how data were collected, and showed photos of the birds that were caught in the mist nets and photos of other wildlife. Some of the birds were: Red-tailed Vanga, Dark Newtonia, Pollen’s Vanga, Crossley’s Vanga, Madagascar Blue Vanga, Hook-billed Vanga, Velvet Asity, Common Sunbird Asity, one Pitta-like Ground-Roller, a few tetrakas (Malagasy warblers), a single coua, and one (very hard to catch) Cuckoo-roller. Ms. Auerbach said that the Cuckoo-roller was incredibly exciting—they rarely fly into nets and get caught, and there had been only one tissue sample of a Cuckoo-roller in collections, and now there are two.

Ms. Auerbach concluded her talk by thanking the many people in the US and Madagascar who provided both scientific and logistical support for her work.

Following is Anya Auerbach’s abstract of her talk:

   Madagascar is one of the most significant global biodiversity hotspots, with a fantastically unique array of organisms found nowhere else on earth. Many of these organisms form adaptive radiations – groups of closely related species that, like the more famous Darwin’s finches and Hawaiian honeycreepers, have evolved exceptional ecological diversity. Anya Auerbach’s research seeks to better understand this diversification process, focusing on the three major radiations of birds in Madagascar: the vangas, tetrakas, and couas. Anya combines a variety of approaches, including phylogenetics, biogeography, and morphometrics, and ultimately aims to use this system of multiple independent, co-occurring radiations to explore general patterns and processes of diversification and their repeatability.

At 7:55 pm, the Q&A session began with questions from both the in-person audience and from those on Zoom.

At the conclusion of the Q&A, Vice President for Administration Amanda Bielskas thanked Anya Auerbach for her talk.

At 8:17 pm the meeting was adjourned.

Anya Auerbach’s presentation and the Q&A session have been recorded in their entirety, along with Board Member and Acting President Peter Davenport’s opening meeting remarks. The recording is available for viewing on the Linnaean Society of New York website under the dropdown menu: Programs/Watch/ and on the Society’s YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@linnaeanny/videos

Respectfully submitted by Lisa Kroop, Recording Secretary

This meeting and presentation took place both in person at the Liederkranz Club and concurrently online via Zoom.

At 7:00 pm, Board Member and Acting President Peter Davenport called the Society meeting to order.

Peter made the following announcements:

• The Society’s 148^th annual meeting will be held on March 10, 2026, at the Liederkranz Club at 6 East 87^th Street. Dr. Trevor Price of the University of Chicago will be awarded the 2026 Eisenmann Medal and will present “A Bird’s Life in the Anthropocene.”
• Peter noted that there will be a silent auction during the annual meeting. He asked for donations for the auction, including services like serving as a tour guide, and items such as art work.
• He welcomed two new members to the Linnaean Society as of November 2025:
  • Kathryn Fair
  • Julia Manning
• He reminded members to pay their membership dues if they haven’t already done so, noting that dues help to pay for the Society’s technology services, rental space, and other expenses.
• Peter thanked Society members Will Papp, Kevin Sisco, and Ken Chaya for maintaining the bird feeders in Central Park. A request for donations to the feeder fund will go out next month.

At 7:03 pm, Peter turned to the lecture program and welcomed the night’s speaker, Dr. Dustin Partridge, Director of Conservation and Science at NYC Bird Alliance.

Lecture: “Cities as Habitat: Using Green Infrastructure for Bird Conservation,” presented by Dr. Dustin Partridge

The world is becoming increasingly more urban, as Dr. Partridge explained, and with growing development, more and more wildlife habitat is being lost, with consequential negative impacts on biodiversity. New York City, like many cities around the world, is situated in an area that was once richly biodiverse. Green infrastructure projects provide a means to conserve and restore biodiversity in urban environments. NYC Bird Alliance is actively involved in advocating for these projects, and Dr. Partridge’s talk focused on the science that demonstrates their benefits for wildlife conservation.

Despite New York City’s extensive built environment, it also has patches of wildlife habitats. Dr. Partridge noted that the largest remaining waterbird colony in the Northeast is in New York City. During bird migration, up to 25 million birds of 350 bird species move through the city each year, with many stopping to rest and feed. And during the spring and summer, some bird species successfully raise young. Dr. Partridge explained that green infrastructure projects provide a way to transform impervious surfaces such as rooftops and roads into something that can support life. He then described some green infrastructure projects and legislation that are contributing to protecting these birds.

The Broadway Malls Study: NYC Bird Alliance has been conducting a study of the effects of habitat on birds along the Broadway median (a narrow strip of land separating downtown and uptown traffic) in Manhattan from around 60^th Street to around 160^th Street. Using point count and transect survey data collection methods, researchers have documented the bird abundance and species diversity before and after habitat restoration. In this first year of study—from spring, summer, and fall of 2025—the species count increased from eight species before restoration to 39 species after restoration. The jump in diversity happened as soon as the site was restored. Habitat restoration enriched the bird population—right in the middle of Broadway. Dr. Partridge presented a slide that listed all the species before and after restoration. The study is ongoing and data are being reported on eBird.

Green roofs: Dr. Partridge explained that green roofs are highly engineered green spaces. There are two general categories of green roofs: 1) shallow substrate roofs that are lightweight, lowest maintenance, lowest cost, and usually planted with non-native sedum, and 2) deep substrate roofs that are heavier, require a lot of maintenance, are expensive to install, and resemble a regular garden with selections of plants and trees. Both types of green roofs significantly increase insect life as compared to conventional roofs, and the insects attract birds who forage and sometimes nest. Over 60% of passerines use green roofs as stopover habitat. However, not all green roofs are equally successful. Location, size, and type of vegetation all have an effect. For example, studies have shown that if a small green roof is located near a park, it likely will not attract many birds even when the roof is covered with native plants. There are five bat species in New York City, and all five have been recorded on green roofs, coinciding with the presence of moths. Green roofs also contribute energy savings, because they insulate the roof and mitigate heat island effects.  

Javits Center—bird-safe glass and green roofs: The Javits Center is an example of a conservation success story. Originally sheathed top-to-bottom in dark, reflective glass, 4,000 to 5,000 birds were being killed annually by collisions against the glass, and their dead bodies would be found on the pavement below—a visible demonstration to all who entered the building about what was happening. When the Javits Center was renovated in 2010, the glass curtain walls were replaced with bird-safe glass with low reflectivity and small embedded ceramic frit dots. Bird collisions were reduced by 90%. In addition, the Javits Center installed a nearly seven-acre green roof.  NYC Bird Alliance provided guidance on these renovations and is collecting data on the biological effects. The green roof is planted with sedum, not a rich habitat, but even so, in the first year, fifteen species were recorded foraging on the green roof, and now over 20% of New York City’s bird species are using this roof as habitat. The Javits Center has since built a new building with a green roof that can handle extra weight. Birds, insects, and bats are flourishing on this second green roof, which has a farm that produces 15,000 pounds of produce every year, an apple orchard, and a native plant habitat.

Dr. Partridge mentioned recent legislation enacted in New York City to protect birds. The research studies and support of partners like the Javits Center have helped with the passage of these laws. Local Law 15 requires that all new buildings install bird-safe glass up to 75 feet from the ground and up to 12 feet above a green roof. Local Laws 92/94 require all new buildings to have either a green roof or a solar roof, and there are green roof tax abatement incentives.

Dr. Partridge had emphasized earlier in his talk that “green roofs cannot replace ground-level habitat…green roofs should never be an excuse for bulldozing a habitat.” Instead, green roofs are an important substitute for habitat that has already been lost. He concluded his talk by saying that NYC Bird Alliance envisions a future where there will be green roofs throughout the city and in cities across the world, and that it is working towards that end.

Following is Dr. Partridge’s abstract of his talk:

 From a bird’s-eye view, New York City is a landscape of concrete and glass and a space dominated by impervious surfaces that offer little value to wildlife. Yet, up to 25 million birds migrate through the city each year. When thoughtfully designed, green infrastructure like green roofs and bioswales can serve as vital habitat patches in a densely built environment. This talk will explore which bird and bat species are using small urban green spaces, how to design green infrastructure for conservation impact, and present case studies that demonstrate its potential to support biodiversity in cities.

At 7:45 pm, Vice President for Programs Karen Becker hosted the Q&A session with questions from both the in-person audience and from those on Zoom.

At the conclusion of the Q&A, Karen Becker thanked Dr. Partridge for an extraordinary talk.

At 8:18 pm the meeting was adjourned.

Dr. Partridge’s presentation and the Q&A session have been recorded in their entirety, along with Board Member and Acting President Peter Davenport’s opening meeting remarks. The recording is available for viewing on the Linnaean Society of New York website under the dropdown menu: Programs/Watch/ and on the Society’s YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@linnaeanny/videos

Respectfully submitted by Lisa Kroop, Recording Secretary

This meeting and presentation took place both in person at the Liederkranz Club and concurrently online via Zoom.

At 7:00 pm, Board Member Peter Davenport called the Society meeting to order.

Peter made the following announcements:

• Next month’s meeting is on Monday, December 8^th—not on the customary second Tuesday of the month. It will again be held at the Liederkranz Club at 6 East 87^th Street and concurrently online via Zoom.
• He welcomed the new (October, 2025) members to the Linnaean Society:
  • Matt Beck
  • Isaac Brooks
  • Michelle DeFeo
  • Giselle Mora
  • Lisa Schwartz
  • Shelly Xiong
• He reminded members to pay their membership dues if they haven’t already done so. He noted that dues help to pay for the in-person meetings, the Society’s web-related services, and more.
• Editor Debbie Becker is welcoming contributions for the next Society newsletter. Her email address is on the Society website at https://www.linnaeannewyork.org/contacts/
• Peter welcomed all to come to the upcoming hawk watch. It is scheduled for this Friday, November 14, 2025, at Belvedere Castle in Central Park, and is being led by Gabriel Willow.

At 7:03 pm, Peter turned to the lecture program and welcomed the night’s speaker, Dr. Jean-Francois (JF) Therrien. He is the scientific director at the Tadoussac Bird Observatory in Quebec, Canada, and the graduate study director and senior scientist at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Kempton, PA.

Lecture: “Reverse Migration and the Extraordinary Migration Events at Tadoussac, Quebec, Canada,” presented by Dr. Jean-François Therrien

Dr. Therrien began by introducing the audience to Tadoussac, Quebec, a place with special geographic attributes that make it an important location for bird observation and research. It is approximately 130 miles northeast of Quebec City, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River at its confluence with the Saguenay River. The waters are rich with sea life because of upwelling effects which draw in many species of waterbirds. Sand dunes and cliffs go down to the shore, and boreal forests are just beyond. It is along a major bird migration flyway, and the Tadoussac Bird Observatory is located here.

Much of the Tadoussac Bird Observatory’s research focus is on bird migration, with a special interest in boreal species. There is a hawk watch program, and Dr. Therrien showed a slide with the raptor tallies from this fall’s migration as of November 1, 2025. He noted that the raptor species count distribution is somewhat different from what is seen in our region—for example, not many vultures are seen there, but Tadoussac counters have recorded 49 Northern Goshawks thus far this year, a number which is unheard of around here. In addition to observational counting, there are bird banding monitoring programs (including nocturnal banding of Boreal and Saw-whet Owls) and tracking studies using Motus transmitters. Dr. Therrien explained that they are tracking ten boreal species from Quebec to southern wintering grounds. His slide showed the ten species: 1) Northern Saw-whet Owl, 2) Horned Lark, 3) Gray-checked Thrush, 4) Swainson’s Thrush, 5) American Pipit, 6) Purple Finch, 7) Rusty Blackbird, 8) Blackpoll Warbler, 9) Pine Grosbeak, and 10) Pine Siskin.

On May 28, 2018, an extraordinary bird migration event was observed at Tadoussac Bird Observatory. Dr. Therrien showed examples of cover stories in the press at that time, including one from The New York Times, and then described what happened that day. Over half a million warblers turned around in their northern migration and flew southwest. Dr. Therrien displayed an eBird report. He explained that Ian Davis wrote a detailed description of the group’s observations and that some people refer to this eBird report as The List. Dr. Therrien noted some of the high counts, rounding off the numbers from the eBird list: “72,000 Tennessee Warblers, 50,000 American Redstarts, 100,000 Cape May Warblers, and the numbers keep going—Magnolia, Bay-breasted…”  He explained that since that 2018 event, the Tadoussac Bird Observatory has been formally monitoring this phenomenon, and has been developing a protocol for how to count and identify these massive streams of birds. Why this phenomenon happens is still being studied and analyzed. 

Dr. Therrien concluded his talk and welcomed all to come to visit the Tadoussac Bird Observatory. He described the bird festival that is held there every September and noted that the weather is very nice at that time, with a good diversity of birds: “…literally 23-to-24-hour birding; songbirds in the morning; the raptor count; pelagic tours; owl banding at night almost to sunrise…There’s something for everyone.”

Following is Dr. Therrien’s abstract of his talk:

   The Tadoussac Bird Observatory is located on a major migratory flyway in eastern North America. It witnesses annually hundreds of thousand raptors, songbirds and waterfowl transiting through the site from their breeding grounds across the boreal forest and arctic tundra to wintering grounds across the Americas and back. Beside spectacular Autumn flights, the site is also known for the spectacular Spring reverse migration events where a literal “River of Warblers” make migratory correction movements en route to their boreal breeding grounds. The presentation will provide an overview of research and monitoring activities going on at the Tadoussac Bird Observatory with a focus on the extraordinary migration events happening at the site.

At 7:40 pm, Vice President for Programming Karen Becker hosted the Q&A session with questions from both the in-person audience and from those on Zoom.

At the conclusion of the Q&A, Karen Becker thanked Dr. Therrien for sharing a delightful evening with us—the presentation was fascinating, exciting, and inspiring.

At 8:00 pm the meeting was adjourned.

Dr. Therrien’s presentation and the Q&A session have been recorded in their entirety, along with Board Member Peter Davenport’s opening meeting remarks. The recording is available for viewing on the Linnaean Society of New York website under the dropdown menu: Programs/Watch/ and on the Society’s YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@linnaeanny/videos

Respectfully submitted by Lisa Kroop, Recording Secretary

This meeting and presentation took place both in person at the Liederkranz Club and concurrently online via Zoom.

At 7:00 pm, Board Member Richard Davis called the Society meeting to order.

Richard made the following announcements:

• He welcomed all to this second hybrid in-person plus on-line meeting of the Linnaean Society.
• He reminded members to pay their membership dues if they haven’t already done so.
• Fall field trips are in full swing. Register for them on the Society’s website.
• The next regular members meeting will start at 7:00 pm, November 11^th, returning to the usual second Tuesday of the month. The cash bar will open at 6:30 pm. It will again be a hybrid event held in person at the Liederkranz Club at 6 East 87^th Street and concurrently online via Zoom.
• The Society is still searching to fill the open position of president. Richard asked the audience members to email the Linnaean secretary if they are interested in serving, or if they know of someone who might be. In the meantime, until a president is elected, the role will be filled month by month on a rotating basis by a board member or a past president.
• He welcomed the new (September, 2025), members to the Linnaean Society:
  • Robin Daly
  • Beverly DeVoe
  • Trustum DeVoe
  • Eliot Jenkins
  • Bruce Leibstone
  • Patrick Marcoux
  • Jane Marke
  • Catherine Pan-Giordano
  • Kimberly Schwab
  • Wendy Spence Schmidt
  • Terry Von Ploennies

At 7:02 pm, Richard turned to the lecture program and welcomed the night’s speaker, Dr. Rick Lankau, professor in the Department of Plant Pathology in the College of Agricultural & Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Lecture: “Forest Fungi and Forest Health: What Do We Know, What Don’t We Know, and How Can We Use This Knowledge to Preserve and Restore Healthy Forest in a Changing World,” presented by Dr. Rick Lankau

From the perspective of mycology, referring in particular to the fungi that interact with plant and tree roots, tonight’s topic connected mechanisms of what happens beneath the forest floor with the dynamics and implications of climate change.

Dr. Lankau began with an overview of fungi: what they are; where they fit in the phylogenetic tree; and the relatively recent understanding that they are more closely related to animals than plants. He then described the three major roles that fungi play in the world’s forests—as decomposers, as pathogens, and as mutualists—and how each of these roles contributes to the health of the forest. Decomposers help to make nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium accessible to plants through digestion (breaking down) of dead wood. Pathogens are thought to contribute to tree diversity in forests thanks to fungal species being specialists that target a single or a limited number of tree species. The specialist fungi create dead zones where seedlings of the targeted adult tree cannot grow, thereby opening up those areas to other tree species that are not affected by the same pathogen. Mutualists both extract food from the host plant and, in return, provide benefits to the plants such as soil nutrients, the ability to tolerate drought and temperature extremes, and defense against pathogens.

Dr. Lankau noted that the symbiotic relationship between fungi and plants is a very active area of research, including mycorrhizal fungi—an important focus of his talk. He explained that mycorrhizal fungi are characterized by connecting plant root tissue and the soil—they live both inside plant roots and out in the soil. He talked about the two major groups: 1) the arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM), an ancient fungi group (around 400 million years old) that is in almost all plants and dominates in warm regions of the world; and 2) ectomycorrhizae (EM), a more recent fungi group (50 million years old) that is less common, but serves a very important role in forests, especially in the colder climates of the world. The two overlap in the world’s temperate forests. Apart from their root-and-soil connection commonality, these two groups have functional differences, and Dr. Lankau talked about these, including their different rates of decomposing litter; the global habitats they favor; the species they colonize; and, how these differences may impact climate change and forest adaptations to climate change.

The “Wood Wide Web” is a colloquial reference to the idea of common mycorrhizal networks (CMN). Dr. Lankau explained the theory: “CMN occur when the same fungal individual forms mycorrhizal connections with multiple host trees, forming a physical connection between trees.” He offered his views on this concept: Laboratory studies have shown that fungi can connect to multiple trees and that nutrients and water can move between trees by CMN. Do these connections happen in nature? He thinks probably yes, though studies aren’t conclusive. More controversial is the idea of adult trees “feeding” seedlings. He feels it is possible—some lab studies seem to suggest this is so—but his view is that if it is happening, it is at a very low level. On the final concept—of mother trees recognizing and feeding their offspring—he thinks that is unlikely because currently there is no plausible explanation for how trees would recognize each other and, so far, there is not much evidence that this is happening. But should it eventually be determined to be happening, this might be an important mechanism for seedling survival in stressful conditions such as drought.  

Forests play a big worldwide role in the production and sequestration of carbon dioxide, a consequential greenhouse gas in the earth’s atmosphere that is driving global warming and climate change. Additionally, forests are under threat because of these changes. Fungal microbial processes are an active area of study to address the question: Can microbes help trees cope with climate change, improve tree health, and restore forests?

Dr. Lankau described some of the research his lab is doing to address these questions.  Because trees evolve slowly and don’t move easily or rapidly, an alternative option for survival might be to change the species of fungi that the trees associate with. His lab explored this idea by inoculating tree seedlings with microbes from different habitats than their own—microbes from places that were drier or wetter, hotter or colder—and then stressing the seedlings with different environmental conditions than those of their normal habitat. Results showed that the seedlings were resilient to temperature and moisture stressors when these alternative microbes were introduced. New directions of research are focused on the fundamental science of how these systems work, in order to understand why inoculation with different microbes improves resiliency.

Nurseries are a critical piece in the puzzle of reforestation projects. Approaches to fungi management are important to the success of these efforts. Dr. Lankau described his lab’s research in this area, and the way his lab works with nurseries to introduce best practices for fungi selection, inoculation, and, ultimately, tree reforestation survival.

Dr. Lankau’s final topic was his citizen science project, “Forest Fungi Project,” which involves mapping the fungi species in the eastern North American temperate zone. (Details can be found online at forestfungi.russell.wisc.edu.) He encouraged the audience to participate—to collect samples of tree roots and mail them to his lab for DNA analysis and tracking. The goals of the project are to identify which fungi associate with which trees, and in which climate conditions. This information is then used in experiments to identify which fungi lead to better outcomes for tree species survival. Ultimately, the combined results inform guidance and collaboration with nurseries and forest restoration efforts for tree survival success.

Following is Dr. Lankau’s abstract of his talk:

From the time the first plants established themselves on land, plants have relied on fungal partners for their survival. Today all plants interact with fungi in some way, ranging from beneficial symbionts vital for plant growth to deadly pathogens that can wipe out whole fields. Forests, in particular, rely on diverse fungal communities to cycle nutrients, promote tree growth and stress tolerance, and maintain diverse tree mixtures. In this presentation, Dr. Rick Lankau will discuss what is currently known about the roles fungi play in healthy forests and highlight where the biggest scientific gaps and controversies still exist. Then, Dr. Lankau will describe some of his current research investigating how fungal communities are distributed across the forests of the eastern US, how fungi may be promoting resilience of trees in the face of changing climates, and finally, how we can use our knowledge of fungal interactions to enhance restoration of forests.

At 8:01 pm, Vice President for Programming Karen Becker thanked Dr. Lankau for a really fascinating talk. She then hosted the Q&A session with questions from both the in-person audience and from those on Zoom.

At the conclusion of the Q&A, Karen Becker thanked Dr. Lankau again for an absolutely fascinating topic and talk. At 8:31 pm the meeting was adjourned.

Dr. Lankau’s presentation and the Q&A session have been recorded in their entirety, along with Board Member Richard Davis’ opening meeting remarks. The recording is available for viewing on the Linnaean Society of New York website under the dropdown menu: Programs/Watch/ and on the Society’s YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@linnaeanny/videos

Respectfully submitted by Lisa Kroop, Recording Secretary

This meeting and presentation took place both in person at the Liederkranz Club and concurrently online via Zoom.

At 7:04 pm, board member Gillian Henry began by welcoming all attendees to this first in-person meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gillian made the following announcements:

Membership renewals are due for the 2025/2026 year. They can be paid online via the link that has been provided in the email communications to all members. Alternatively, they can be paid by check and mailed. (For directions go to https://www.linnaeannewyork.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/2025-Renewal-by-Mail-Form.pdf).

The fall field trips have started and are listed on the Society’s website.

The homecoming picnic is being held on September 21^st (with a rain date of September 28^th) at Summit Rock in Central Park.

Next month’s regular members meeting will be not be held on a Tuesday as is customary, but rather on Wednesday, October 15^th. It will again be held in person at the Liederkranz Club at 6 East 87^th Street and will be concurrently streamed via Zoom.

The Society still needs to fill the vacant position of president. Gillian encouraged anyone who might be interested in serving as president to let a member of the board know.

Until the position of president is filled, board members and past presidents will be taking turns running the Society meetings. The October regular members meeting will be led by Board Member Richard Davis.

Gillian next welcomed 33 new members to the Linnaean Society:

Aubrey Almanza
Timothy Baird
Z Baird
Benjamin Bolduc
Elizabeth Braswell
Stephan Chenault
Teresa Colaizzo
Christine Connelly
Bob Curtis
Peter Drummond
Richard Dundy
Rory Edge
Pepper Evans
Andrea Fondulas
Brian Fox
Eric Frawley
Kristopher John
Anna Kressbach
Isaac Kresse
Hilli Kushnir
Vuong Mai
Nina Molina
Lisa Nasta
Eve Oppenheim
Diego Orlanski
Catherine Pan-Giordano
Michael Peczynski
Sandra Power
David Sgorbati
Nancy Taubenslag
Marta Torres Quiñones
Denise Vacva
Liam Wager

At 7:09 pm, Gillian turned to the lecture program and introduced the night’s speaker, Dr. Erik Katovich, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Connecticut.

Lecture: “How Do Wind Turbines and Oil and Gas Infrastructure Affect Birds? Empirical Evidence Based on Citizen-science Data,” presented by Dr. Erik Katovich

Dr. Katovich is an economist whose research focuses on “natural resource governance and the effects of resource booms and energy transitions on governments, firms, workers, and the environment.” And, he is a birder. Having a background in both, and because of recent media attention to claims about the effects of wind turbines on birds, he became interested in doing a study to help answer if, and by how much, wind turbines affect birds, and how that compares to the impact of gas and oil extraction by fracking.

Dr. Katovich explained that the energy sector has been changing rapidly over the past 20 years, with shale gas production increasing 20-fold between the years 2007 to 2020, and wind turbine production increasing 48-fold from the years 2000 to 2020. Also, these technologies use a lot of land and may have potentially consequential environmental impacts. Among the examples that he noted is the increase in light pollution from fracking operations, illustrated by a nighttime satellite image of North America. Some of the largest and brightest areas were in North Dakota, Wyoming, Texas, and Pennsylvania, where fracking sites are concentrated, compared to pinpoints of fainter light from the largest cities, including Los Angeles and New York.   

Using data from the 2000 through 2020 National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Counts in the lower 48 states and statistical methods of econometrics, Dr. Katovich explained his analysis of the impact of wind turbines and shale gas and oil operations on bird population numbers and bird species diversity. He presented figures and graphs to illustrate many aspects of his study and conclusions (with caveats that this study is looking at population levels­—it does not address bird collisions or avoidance behaviors):

After a shale oil/gas well is built, overall bird population numbers decline by 15%. Largest effects are seen on grassland/shrubland birds (a 24% decline), non-urban birds (a 23% decline), and migratory birds (a 37% decline).

After the installation of wind turbines, there are no statistically significant changes in bird population numbers or species counts.

When considering the effect of density (number) of shale wells or turbines built, results are similar but more negative for wells, particularly on species diversity. A 10% increase in fracking wells reduces bird counts by 0.26% (3.6 birds per well).

Breaking down the results by taxonomic orders produces the following:

Shale oil/gas wells: largest negative effects are for Strigiformes (owls), but other groups are negatively affected as well: Piciformes (woodpeckers), Falconiformes (falcons), Pelecaniformes (bitterns, etc.), Accipitriformes (hawks, etc.), and Passeriformes.

Wind turbines: no effect, including for Accipitriformes.

Shale wells: Negative effects persist after shale well installations.

Wind turbines: No negative effects persist after wind turbine installations.

Shale wells within IBAs (Important Bird Areas, identified by National Audubon Society): negative effects are larger when wells are within IBAs.

Wind turbines within IBAs: no effects.

He summarized the key takeaways:

Fracking significantly reduces bird populations.

Fracking reduces bird diversity where shale oil/gas wells are located within IBAs.

Wind turbines have no measurable impact on bird populations or diversity.

Dr. Katovich concluded by noting that we need energy as a society; that there are choices to be made about how it is produced; that each method has its own set of impacts on wildlife; and that we should be working to minimize those impacts. His final slide presented suggestions for what can be done with both fracking and wind turbine infrastructure to minimize harm to birds.

Following is Dr. Katovich’s abstract of his talk:

Rapid expansion of wind turbines and oil and gas fracking infrastructure has raised concerns over impacts on wildlife, especially birds. I combine citizen-science data from the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count with registries of all the turbines and shale oil and gas wells constructed in the United States between 2000 and 2020 to quantify the effects of turbine or shale well construction on local bird populations and biodiversity. In my talk, I will review the current scientific evidence on environmental impacts of wind and oil and gas infrastructure, describe the data and methods I use in my study, explain my results, and discuss options for reducing impacts of energy infrastructure on wildlife.

At 7:47 pm, Vice President for Programming Karen Becker thanked Dr. Katovich for a fascinating talk. She then hosted the Q&A session, starting with questions from the Liederkranz audience, and concluded with questions submitted via the Zoom Q&A function.

Following the conclusion of the Q&A, Karen Becker thanked Dr. Katovich again for an utterly fascinating talk and for leaving the audience with a note of optimism. At 8:20 pm the meeting was adjourned.

Dr. Erik Katovich’s presentation and the Q&A session have been recorded in their entirety, along with Board Member Gillian Henry’s opening meeting remarks. The recording is available for viewing on the Linnaean Society of New York website under the dropdown menu: Programs/Watch/ and on the Society’s YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@linnaeanny/videos

Respectfully submitted by Lisa Kroop, Recording Secretary

This meeting and presentation took place entirely online via Zoom.

At 7:00 pm, Treasurer and Past President Debbie Mullins called the Society meeting to order.

Debbie made the following announcements:

This is the last meeting of this program year.

The next regular members meeting will be held on September 9, 2025.

The Linnaean-organized Great Gull Island birdathon was held this past weekend and was a great success. A total of nine teams and individuals competed. There had been some high migration nights, so there was an abundance of birds. Results of the birdathon will be posted on the website later this month or in early June.

Despite the hazards of brightly illuminated buildings that confront migrating birds, the New York City Council failed to pass the Lights Out legislation that would require buildings to reduce exterior lighting during bird migration. Debbie noted that as individuals, we can all help mitigate the impact of light on birds by closing our blinds and turning off exterior lights on high migration nights. The BirdCast bird migration website provides nightly updates of migration intensity in local areas.

Debbie next welcomed eleven new members to the Linnaean Society:

Maureen Crilly
Daniel Deutsch
Anne Green
Anita Keire
Jessica Kirk
Scott Klavan
Mike Maxfield
Henar Minguez Nebreda
Jessica Newman
Concetta Pilotto
Joan Simpson Klavan

She invited all attendees who are not members to join, explaining that membership information can be found on the Society’s website at www.linnaeannewyork.org.

At 7:03 pm, Debbie turned to the lecture program and invited Vice President of Programming Karen Becker to introduce the night’s speaker, Judith Mirembe, a bird guide and researcher working in Uganda. She founded Shoebill Watch Uganda, a non-profit organization focused on protecting the Shoebill and other species. She is the Pioneer Chairperson and a founding member of the Uganda Women Birders Club, the editor of a newsletter about birding in Uganda called the Birdwatch, and she has worked with Nature Uganda as the research and monitoring coordinator of Ugandan bird populations.

Lecture: “In the World of Shoebills: The King of the African Wetlands,” presented by Judith Mirembe

Judith Mirembe joined the Society’s meeting from Uganda, where local time was 2:00 am. She began her talk by introducing the audience to the Shoebill, a bird that is endemic to a limited range in tropical central Africa—in Uganda and adjacent countries. She described these remarkable birds, which are classified as a monotypic family in the pelican order, and supplemented her commentary with photographs and videos.  Though its plumage is mainly gray, the Shoebill is an exotic-looking bird with an enormous bill of unusual shape. It is large, standing around five feet tall with a wingspan almost twice its height and weighing between 10 and 15 pounds.

The Shoebill’s habitat is in low oxygenated freshwater wetlands with floating vegetation that is strong enough to support the bird’s weight. Ms. Mirembe spoke about the bird’s foraging habits. It waits motionless for long periods of time until a lungfish (its most common prey) comes up to breathe. Then the Shoebill lunges for it, crushing the fish with its powerful bill, and swallows it whole.

She also talked about the bird’s breeding. Nest building starts near the end of the rainy season, when the water level is dropping and dry patches are exposed. One to three eggs are laid, though she has usually seen only one. She said that in Uganda only about 30% of chicks survive beyond the egg stage, and only about 40% of the chicks fledge; this phenomenon is worrying and not fully understood. Some possible factors include the pressure from warming temperatures due to climate change, resulting in habitat loss; wetlands conversion for agriculture and other development; and the poaching of eggs and chicks to supply the international illegal wildlife trade (the Shoebill is listed under Article 2 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, CITES).

Ms. Mirembe concluded with a mention of the International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of the Shoebill, issued in 2013. The Plan is directed at all nations where Shoebills have been seen. It summarizes what is known about Shoebills, and identifies the information that is still needed to help protect the species from further decline. (The current population is estimated at between 5,000 and 8,000 birds and is classified as “Vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN). She noted that the Plan was scheduled to be revisited every ten years, but this has not yet happened, and many of the recommendations from 2013 have not been implemented due to inadequate funding.

At 7:41 pm, Vice President of Programming Karen Becker thanked Judith Mirembe for her talk about a fascinating bird that lives in an interesting part of the world. She then hosted the Q&A session. There were many questions, some specific to Shoebills, others to birding in Uganda and conservation. When someone observed that there seems to be a strong community of female birding guides in Uganda, she recounted the history of the country’s evolution from barely any women birders and guides to the formation of the Uganda Women’s Birders’ Club in 2013, and the support of the Ugandan Wildlife Authority and international travel companies that enabled local women to be trained and mentored so they could participate in Uganda’s ecotourism economy.

At the conclusion of the Q&A, Karen Becker thanked Judith Mirembe again for an incredible talk sharing her research and passion for Shoebills and about women in birding, and at 8:17 pm the meeting was adjourned.

Judith Mirembe’s presentation and the Q&A session have been recorded in their entirety, along with Past President Debbie Mullin’s opening meeting remarks. The recording is available for viewing on the Linnaean Society of New York website under the dropdown menu: Programs/Watch/ and on the Society’s YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@linnaeanny/videos

Respectfully submitted by Lisa Kroop, Recording Secretary

This meeting and presentation took place entirely online via Zoom.

At 7:00 pm, Past President Ken Chaya called the Society meeting to order.

Ken made the following announcements:

• He welcomed all to the meeting.
• He welcomed the new members to the Linnaean Society:
  • Amy Chai
  • Catherine Crean
  • Jordan Douglas
  • Sheila Martin
  • Maria Mercurio
  • Judith Schechter
  • Laurel Nadler
  • Benjamin Smith
  • Jeffrey Train
  • Joe Zimmerman
• He invited all who are not members to join, explaining that membership information and directions for joining are on the Society’s website.
• The Tuesday morning spring migration walks in Central Park have begun. In addition to the Central Park walks, there are many other scheduled field trips. Ken invited everyone to visit the Society’s website for the listings and registration.
• The Great Gull Island birdathon is being held on May 10-11. It is a fundraiser event run by the Society in support of the study and protection of nesting Roseate and Common Tern colonies on this very special island. Information about participation in the birdathon is on the Society’s website.

At 7:03 pm, Ken turned to the lecture program and introduced the night’s speaker, Dr. Anurag Agrawal, James Perkins Professor of Environmental Studies at Cornell University in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Department of Entomology.

Lecture: “Convergence and Divergence in the Diversity of Insects Feeding on a Toxic Plant,” presented by Dr. Anurag Agrawal

Tonight’s lecture was a captivating presentation on milkweeds, monarch butterflies, and the conservation of this iconic butterfly species.

Starting with a description of the monarch butterfly, Dr. Agrawal explained that like all members of the Lepidoptera (an order of winged insects that includes butterflies and moths), it goes through a two-stage transformation from the caterpillar stage (a “feeding machine”) to the butterfly stage (the adult, more mobile, mating phase). In addition, the vast majority of the monarch species undertake an extraordinary migratory journey from central Mexico to the northeast United States and southeast Canada, and back again. (Some population pockets elsewhere do not migrate). Using a circular graphical representation, Dr. Agrawal described the annual cycle of the monarch’s migration. As we are currently in April, he started with that point on the wheel. The monarchs have left their overwintering sites and are reaching the southern United States, where they mate and the females lay eggs, starting the first generation. Each generation goes through four life stages: 1) egg, 2) larva (caterpillar), 3) pupa (chrysalis), and 4) adult (butterfly). The butterflies of this first generation will continue to fly north, mating and laying eggs from which the next (second) generation begins. This process repeats for a total of three to four generations. With the exception of the final generation, the adult butterflies live for about one month. As the fall season approaches, the final generation, receiving environmental cues of shorter daylight, cooler nights, and dried milkweed leaves, will go into reproductive diapause. Their wings and wing muscles will be smaller than those of the previous generations, their reproductive organs will not develop, and their flight direction will turn south. Travelling at a rate of 30 to 50 miles per day over distances of 1,500 to 3,000 miles, they will reach their overwintering sites in forested mountains around 30 miles from Mexico City. They will spend the next eight months, fairly dormant, perched primarily on oyamel fir trees, at an elevation of 10,000 feet. Warmer temperatures and lengthening daylight cue them to begin their journey north, starting the cycle over again with a new first generation.

Dr. Agrawal explained that the only host plants of the monarchs are the milkweeds (genus Asclepias), and that milkweed and monarchs have coevolved. Milkweed has developed defenses with physical barriers such as trichomes (leaf hairs) that help protect the leaves from being eaten, and chemical toxins such as cardiac glycosides that are present in the latex of the plants. Monarchs have coevolved with genetics and strategies to overcome the physical barriers of the plant and to survive the toxic effects of the cardiac glycosides. Dr. Agrawal showed a photo of a monarch larva excavating a milkweed leaf to form a trichome-free area for feeding, and photos of examples of toxic-free zones where monarch larvae had chewed leaf veins, thereby stopping the toxic latex flow. That’s not to say that all monarch larvae survive this tactic—30 to 40% are poisoned and die—but the remaining ones not only survive the poison, they pack it away into their bodies and ultimately into their wings as a defense against their own predators. He gave the example of the Blue Jay, a bird that learns that eating a monarch will result in vomiting soon after—12 minutes, in fact—as reproducibly demonstrated in experiments by Lincoln Brower, a researcher well known for his work on monarch butterflies and his “barfing Blue Jays.” During the Q&A session we learned that there are other birds, however, that have adapted to successfully eat monarch butterflies, one being the Black-headed Grosbeak.

Dr. Agrawal devoted the final section of his talk to the conservation of monarch butterflies. He stated outright, “Folks, any way you slice it, monarch butterflies are declining,” and then he presented a chart showing census data of wintering monarchs in Mexico from the early 1990s to the present. The trend tracks downward until around 2015, after which it levels off, suggesting, at least for now, a stabilization of the population. Nevertheless, population decline is concerning, and understanding the reasons for the decline are critical to protecting the monarchs. Dr. Agrawal provided five lessons from his ongoing research and evaluation of the scientific literature:

1. The importance of butterfly loss (disjunction) during the migration from the northern breeding regions to the overwintering ones is not fully understood. Habitat loss, lack of nectar plants, and lethal collisions with vehicles are among some of the possible factors.
2. The monarch butterfly population fluctuates broadly and appears to be strongly influenced by regional climate from year-to-year.
3. Parasites and predators play a large role in monarch populations and have links to their decline.
4. Sublethal effects of pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides are impacting monarch populations.
5. Planting native milkweeds has positive benefits, but data analysis has shown that milkweed availability is not a limiting factor, and this approach will not solve monarch population decline.

He emphasized that the decline of monarch butterflies is part of a much larger problem that is impacting many long distance migrating species.

Dr. Agrawal concluded by acknowledging the generous publicly-funded support that he has received through the National Science Foundation over the past twenty years. He noted that the National Science Foundation has been a critical fuel for the greatness of American science, and he hopes that it will continue.

At 7:51 pm, Vice President of Programming Karen Becker thanked Dr. Agrawal for an utterly fascinating talk. She then hosted the Q&A session, which covered many subjects, ranging from how the monarchs navigate to considerations about conservation, and more.

At the conclusion of the Q&A, Karen Becker thanked Dr. Agrawal again, and Ken Chaya returned to thank Dr. Agrawal for a wonderful talk. At 8:21 pm the meeting was adjourned.

Dr. Agrawal’s presentation and the Q&A session have been recorded in their entirety, along with Past President Ken Chaya’s opening meeting remarks. The recording is available for viewing on the Linnaean Society of New York website under the dropdown menu: Programs/Watch/ and on the Society’s YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@linnaeanny/videos

Respectfully submitted by Lisa Kroop, Recording Secretary