This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2003. The goal of the fellowship is to increase the participation of minority scientists at the postdoctoral level and to prepare them for positions of scientific leadership in academia and industry. To attain this goal, the fellowship provides opportunities for postdoctoral training and research of the highest quality to recent doctoral recipients. It is expected that Fellows supported through these fellowships will play important roles in training of the future workforce.
The research and training plan is entitled " The movement of wintering mixed-species bird flocks: investigating the relationship between heterospecific facilitation and landscape connectivity." The role of positive interactions between individuals of different species (referred to as 'heterospecific facilitation') may be underestimated in determining the movement behavior and the resulting connectivity of species in fragmented landscapes. This study investigates the role of Baeolophus bicolor as a facilitator of mixed-species bird flock movement and whether or not the presence of this species in mixed-species flocks may increase the connectivity of fragmented landscapes for other flock participants.
