PROGRAM TITLE: Migratory Birds ACTIVITY STREAM: Assessment SCIENCE ELEMENT:Ecological Systems and Dynamics SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK (NZP) SCIENTIFIC MERIT: Recent evidence strongly suggests that populations of neotropical migratory woodland birds are on the decline. These declines are probably attributable to high rates of deforestation and forest fragmentation in both the tropical wintering grounds and the temperate North American breeding grounds. Migratory bird populations perform important ecological services such as predation on insects, pollination, and seed dispersal, and are an important indicator of the health of ecosystems on a global scale. Despite their importance, relatively little research has focussed on the specific causes of the declines in these land bird migrants. The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Program will examine the population trends of migratory land birds from an interdisciplinary and international perspective. When fully staffed, the center will house research ornithologists, geographers, and policy analysts. The center would support research on migratory land birds and land use in Latin America and the Caribbean, bird population trends in North America, and the implications these results have for habitat conservation. In addition, the center would make every effort to provide information to the public and decision makers in all Western Hemisphere countries that support substantial populations of Nearctic migrants. The center will work to catalyze and focus the efforts of people and groups outside the Smithsonian. Research on migratory birds and land use in Mexico initiated in 1982 has now been expanded. Outreach materials in both Spanish and English, which summarize the latest findings on migratory bird ecology and conservation, have been and will continue to be prepared and distributed. Working with scientists from the Fish and Wildlife Service, Canadian Wildlife Service, National Audubon Society, and Manomet Bird Observatory, a plan for improving population monitoring of tropical migratory birds is being developed. Smithsonian is working with a team from various organizations, both private and governmental, to develop a cohesive strategy for research and conservation of migratory birds. STAKEHOLDERS: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Latin American Governmental and Private Organizations, Canadian Wildlife Service, National Audubon Society, and theManomet Bird Observatory are all cooperating with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Program at SERC. POLICY RELEVANCE: This program contributes strongly to the U.S. Global Change Program's Ecological Systems & Population Dynamics integration theme. The program also attacks high-priority objectives of the IGBP Core Programs GCTE and GCEC. This program contributes to understanding the dynamics of growth and decline in representative temperate and tropical forest sites. Ultimately, it will also contribute to understanding the influences of disturbance for polar regions. Under predicting threshold responses, this program will contribute to modeling threshold responses for selected species and ecosystems. Under resource use and management relations, this program will contribute to the estimation of intangible costs of agriculture and forestry. PROGRAM CONTACTS:SI SGCR Representative: Ted A. Maxwell NASM MRC 315 Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C. 20560 202 357 1424 FAX: 202 786 2566 Email: tmaxwell@ceps.nasm.edu Bureau Representative: Ben Beck NZP MRC 551 Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C. 20560 202 673 4871 FAX: 202 673 4766