XXI CONGRESS OF THE MESOAMERICAN SOCIETY FOR BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION AND VI INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF PARTNERS IN FLIGHT

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Costa Rica is one of the most famous and tourist friendly countries in the region, here you will find some information related to travel in Costa Rica

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BIRDING COSTA RICA

With over 900 species of birds this is a great destination to enjoy getting new lifers.

November 6, 2017 Thank you for PIF VI, Costa Rica Oct 30 to Nov 3 We have just finished a very successful sixth international meeting of Partners in Flight in San Jose, Costa Rica. This meeting would not have been possible without the help of multitudes. Below I will try to thank all those who made major contributions. In addition to those listed, many people made valuable scientific contributions to the meeting, so please check the schedule to find those. I can share abstracts of presentations that people are particularly interested in. Nine excellent plenaries contributed to the overall program. I want to particularly thank Pablo Elizondo of Costa Rica Bird Observatories who led the PIF local committee for the meeting and Sue Bonfield of Environment for the Americas who handled the U.S.-based financial arrangements. John Hannan helped us set up a funding mechanism for individuals at Razoo that produced about $5,000 towards travel scholarships for Mesoamerican participants, primarily from PIF members, especially the Western Working Group when the members challenged each other to contribute. Thank you all! Your financial support allowed us to provide scholarships to 30 students and biologists from 9 different countries, including Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, and most of the Central American countries. Zaida Piedra led the local committee for the Mesoamerican Society for Biology and Conservation (SMBC), handled all the hotel arrangements, and coordinated the PIF program with the SMBC program. Thanks to Zaida and the SMBC meeting committee for making sure that everything ran smoothly and for making all the PIF participants feel welcome. Here are others who made a big difference to the PIF portion of the meeting: Sponsors and Funders: Cornell Lab of Ornithology Costa Rica Bird Observatories Environment for the Americas Hummingbird Monitoring Network John Hannan Bird Conservancy of the Rockies American Bird Conservancy Western Working Group, Partners in Flight Rio Grande Joint Venture Redstarts and Ravens (Janet Ruth and Dave Krueper) Chuck Hunter Canadian Wildlife Service Pronatura Noreste Piccaro Family Trust Arizona Game and Fish Department University of Costa Rica Mapache Rent a Car Rainforest Adventures Jody Enck, Cayuga Bird Club C. John Ralph Mary Whitfield Steve Dryden Sarah Otterstrom Carol Beardmore Carol Beidleman Jennie Duberstein Jane Fitzgerald Thomas Albright David Younkman Lynne Mecum Geoff Guepel Daphne Gemmill Lisa Sorenson Sue Bonfield Greg Butcher Edwin Juarez Monica Iglecia Rodney Siegel Sarah Harris Steven Albert Jesus Franco Leaders of PIF VI Symposia, Workshops, and Contributed Papers: Evaluación del estado de Conservación de las aves de Centroamérica / Conservation Assessment for the Birds of Central America – Alianza Centroamericana para la Conservación de las Aves (ACCA): Luis Sandoval, Universidad de Costa Rica; Viviana Ruiz, Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Arvind Panjabi, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies Engaging Communities in Conservation – Susan Bonfield, Environment for the Americas Taller de capacitación en eBird – Viviana Ruiz, Cornell Lab of Ornithology Detectives de Aves-Internacional – Lily Briggs, Cornell Lab of Ornithology Supporting conservation implementation: integrating single species and ecosystem conservation initiatives – Alaine Camfield, Environment and Climate Change Canada - Canadian Wildlife Service; Ruth Bennett, Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Randy Dettmers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Bird Conservation in Mexico – Ernesto Ruelas Inzunza, Universidad Veracruzana; Efraín Castillejos Castellanos, Pronatura Sur; Claudia M. Macías Caballero, Pronatura Sur Contributed Papers: Waterbirds, Shorebirds, and Nicaraguan Grackle – Kacy Ray, American Bird Conservancy Las Colecciones Ornitologicas: Una Herramienta Para el Estudio de las Aves / Ornithological Collections as a Tool for Bird Studies – Ghisselle M. Alvarado Quesada, Museo Nacional de Costa Rica Thirteen years of collaboration to preserve the Golden-cheeked Warbler and Mesoamerican Pine-Oak Forest – Claudia Macías Caballero, Pronatura Sur and Mesoamerican Pine-Oak Alliance Expanding and Enhancing Conservation Efforts of Reddish Egret into Mesoamerica – Reddish Egret International Working Group: Kelli Stone, US Fish and Wildlife Service; Alfredo Álvarez, Pronatura Noreste; Clay Green, Texas State University; Jesús Franco, Rio Grande Joint Venture/American Bird Conservancy International collaboration and capacity building to conserve our shared birds – Jaime L Stephens, Klamath Bird Observatory Herramientas Web para Investigacion y Educacion en Ornitologia / On-line Tools for Research and Education in Ornithology - Silvia E. Bolaños-Redondo, Museo Nacional de Costa Rica Migration Stopover in the Neotropics: Filling a Black Hole in Full Annual Cycle Conservation – Kenneth V. Rosenberg, Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Nicholas J. Bayly, SELVA: Investigación para la Conservación en el Neotropico Del Conocimiento a la Ciencia para el Estudio y Conservacion de la Avifauna / Scientific Knowledge for the Study and Conservation of Birds – Oscar Ramírez-Alán, Escuela Universidad Nacional / Asociación Ornitológica de Costa Rica Bird Conservation Through Green Investments - Creating Effective Birdscapes for Migratory Birds – Andrew Rothman, EJ Williams, and Mike Parr, American Bird Conservancy Colibríes en un Mundo Cambiante: ¿Por qué su Conservación Importa? / Hummingbirds in a Changing World: Why Hummingbird Conservation Matters! – Susan Wethington, Hummingbird Monitoring Network (HMN); Maria del Coro Arizmendi, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) Ecotourism as a tool for bird conservation – Nathalie Carballo, National Chamber of Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism of Costa Rica (CANAECO) Tropical Deciduous Forest/Mangrove Conservation Investment Strategy - Partners in Flight, Western Working Group; Carol J. Beardmore, Sonoran Joint Venture; Edwin A. Juarez, Arizona Game and Fish Department; and Sarah M. Otterstrom, Paso Pacifico State of Rufous Hummingbird conservation and science – John D Alexander, Klamath Bird Observatory, and Sarahy Contreras Martinez, Universidad de Guadalajara-CUCSUR Priorities for shorebird conservation in Mesoamerica – Isadora Angarita-Martínez, BirdLife Americas, and Rob Clay, WHSRN Executive Office Sister Bird Club Network – Linking Birders through Neotropical Migratory Birds – Jody Enck, Ithaca, NY and Oliver Komar, Zamorano University, Honduras Contributed Papers: Biology of Nearctic-Neotropical Migratory Birds – David King, US Forest Service Multi-National Monitoring Programs for Waterbirds in Central America – Building a regional baseline for conservation action – Rob Clay, WHSRN Executive Office; Diana Eusse, Asociación Calidris; Matt Reiter, Point Blue Conservation Science La Diversidad Ornitologica en Ecosistemas Tropicales: Estudios a Largo Plazo / Ornithological Diversity in Tropical Ecosystems: Long-term Studies – Ghisselle M. Alvarado Quesada. Museo Nacional de Costa Rica Developing projects and project proposals within a conservation planning framework – John Alexander, Klamath Bird Observatory; Claudia Macias Caballero, Pronatura Sur; Sarahy Contreras Martinez, Universidad de Guadalajara-CUCSUR; David Younkman, American Bird Conservancy Contributed Papers: Bird Habitats and Communities - Pablo Muñoz, Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica

XXI CONGRESS OF THE MESOAMERICAN SOCIETY FOR BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION AND VI INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF PARTNERS IN FLIGHT
"Conservation of biodiversity in the hands of Mesoamerican women"

The SMBC Congress is held every year. In 2002, we celebrated the VI Congress of the SMBC in Costa Rica, then we returned in 2010 for the XIV Congress with the successful participation of hundreds of students and professionals. After seven years, we return to Costa Rica, hoping to once again contribute to the professional and technical development of our membership by celebrating the 21st Congress in the city of San José, Costa Rica. We wanted to expand our efforts and knowledge-sharing by combining with the Partners in Flight (PIF) international conference. PIF has been a partner of SMBC since 2008; it includes more than 150 partner organizations throughout the Western Hemisphere. They are committed to all aspects of terrestrial bird conservation from science, research, planning, and policy development to land management, monitoring, education, and outreach. Partners in Flight will meet in Costa Rica to promote interest in understanding and preserving birds throughout their annual cycle. PIF hopes to meet in Mesoamerica to increase partnerships with students and professionals across the region. In addition, they are interested in examining the relevance of science and bird conservation and biodiversity in the broader fields of sustainable development and human well-being.

  • At SMBC meetings

  • at SMBC meetings

  • living in mesoamerica

  • that occur in Mesoamerica

FEATURED SPEAKERS

WE ARE BRINGING THE EXPERTISE IN SCIENCE AND CONSERVATION

Dr. Alvaro Umaña

Alvaro Umaña Quesada, Ph.D., is Senior Research Fellow at the Tropical Agronomic Center for Research and Higher Education (CATIE) in Turrialba, Costa Rica, and he is recognized as a leader in policy formulation and in environmental economics.

Dr. Alice Boyle

Alice Boyle is an Assistant Professor at Kansas State University. Her main research interests are in the movement ecology of birds. Her interest in biology and birds began when living in Costa Rica in the early 90s, and since 2000, she has conducted research in of the wettest forests of the Caribbean slope

Dr. Bridget Stutchbury

Since the 1980s, she has studied migratory songbirds to understand their behavior, ecology and conservation. Her current research focuses on studying the incredible migration journeys of songbirds to help halt the severe declines in many species.

Dr. Winnie Hallwachs

Winnie Hallwachs is an ecologist with 35+ years experience in what is today Area de Conservacion Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica. Her dissertation research studied seed hoarding by wild agoutis in the context of their individual lives, and agoutis as inheritors of formerly megafauna-dispersed fruits.

Dr. Chris Wood

Chris Wood is the Assistant Director of Information Science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Much of his time is focused on eBird, which has grown from a small traditional citizen science project into a collaborative global enterprise.

Dr. Lourdes Mugica

Lourdes had been working in the Faculty of Biology, University of Havana for 36 years where she belongs to the Bird Ecology Group. Currently she is a Full Professor dedicated to teaching, avian research, environmental education and capacity building.

Dr. Carlos de la Rosa

Carlos de la Rosa is the current Director of the La Selva Biological Station for the Organization for Tropical Studies in Costa Rica. In his current position, Dr. de la Rosa and his team run one of the most successful research and education field stations in the world.

Here is also the full website for the SMBC