Conserving Birds in Human-Dominated Landscapes
The Center for Biodiversity and Conservation’s Eleventh Annual Spring Symposium

and

Biodiversity and the Evolutionary Roots of Beauty
The 2006 Mack Lipkin Man and Nature Series Lecture

Conserving Birds in Human-Dominated Landscapes
Thursday and Friday, April 27 and 28, 2006
American Museum of Natural History (77th Street Entrance)
New York City

The subject of conserving rare birds in the wild has long been the focus of research, debate, and action among scientists and resource managers. Recently, there has been growing recognition of diverse avian responses to broad-scale human activities in urban centers, agricultural areas, coastal communities, working forests-the wide array of landscapes we call home. Within these human-dominated systems, shifts are occurring in bird abundance, distribution, behavior, life histories and, ultimately, evolutionary potential. This conference focused on unique challenges to, and key opportunities for invigorating bird diversity in the areas most heavily impacted by human activities.

Conservation decision-making in these landscapes will necessarily involve ecological and evolutionary considerations as well as an open discussion of ethical and aesthetic implications. It is our hope that by capitalizing on potential synergy between human activity and bird diversity in areas that have, in many ways, been irrevocably altered, we stand to improve our stewardship of the diversity of birds across the full spectrum of global landscapes, from inner-city green spaces to the center of the Amazon Basin. This symposium provided a unique perspective-examining new approaches for managing bird diversity in human-dominated areas, and explored possibilities for improving conservation in the face of an increasingly developed and industrialized world.

Audience: Researchers, conservation practitioners, educators, students, land-use planners, urban planners, developers, the agricultural community, and bird enthusiasts.

Biodiversity and the Evolutionary Roots of Beauty
The 2006 Mack Lipkin Man and Nature Series Lecture
Thursday, April 27, 2006
7:00-8:00 pm
American Museum of Natural History (81st Street / Planetarium Entrance)
FREE ADMISSION (reservations are recommended as seating is limited)

Throughout history, individuals and cultures have been captivated by the unusual and rare in nature, as well as by the extraordinary diversity of the natural world. What does this fascination say about who we are? And how does it influence our attitudes and actions toward the preservation of biodiversity? Ecologist Gordon H. Orians examined the intricate relationship that exists between people and nature, and explored the concept that our aesthetic responses to different aspects of our environment is deeply rooted in our evolutionary history.

The 2006 Mack Lipkin Man and Nature Series Lecture honors the late physician Mack Lipkin, Sr., who dedicated his life and career to advancing the most humane and caring practice of medicine, and was an inspiration to a generation of medical students and physicians. Dr. Orians was selected as the 2006 Mack Lipkin Man and Nature Lecture Fellow in recognition of his significant contributions as both a scientist and role model.

"Conserving Birds in Human-Dominated Landscapes" was sponsored by the
American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and
Conservation in collaboration with the Mack Lipkin Man and Nature Lecture
Series. Additional support is provided by the Cornell Laboratory of
Ornithology, National Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary.

M.C. Escher's "Day and Night" © 2005 The M.C. Escher Company-Holland. All rights reserved. www.mcescher.com

Copyright © 2006, American Museum of Natural History