Zoom link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82918923435?pwd=OTVLL08yR0s2dVpWRUtpM2dWNUV4Zz09

Zoom opens at 7:15pm. Meeting starts at 7:30pm.

Backyard bird feeding is now more than a billion-dollar industry nationwide, and with this activity comes many benefits, such as drawing attractive small birds to our yards and provisioning them with valued resources.  However, there may be dark sides to bird feeding, and this could include the spread of disease at our feeders that attract dense populations of avian visitors.  Here I will discuss the first field experiment of its kind to investigate the extent to which routine bird-feeder cleaning can impact disease severity and spread in a common feeder-visiting passerine (the house finch).

Kevin McGraw is Professor and Associate Director for Facilities in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University.  He came to ASU in 2004 and leads a research team that investigates two main areas – the evolution of exaggerated traits in animals and urban behavioral ecology.  His group’s primary foci have been on the control and function of ornate colors of birds (especially finches and hummingbirds), and how birds acclimate and adapt to the many ways in which humans modify city environments.  Students in his lab have also studied elaborate coloration in animals such as chameleons, butterflies, and jumping spiders.  He has mentored many students in research during his 15 years at ASU, including 7 post-doctoral researchers, 8 PhD graduates, 2 current PhD students, and over 300 undergraduates.  

MAS chapter elections will be held before the program begins.