9403053 Winker This U.S.-Mexico award will support Dr. Kevin Winker of the Smithsonian Institution in a research collaboration with Dr. Patricia Escalante of the Instituto de Biologia of the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). The researchers are conducting research on the population dynamics, systematics, and habitat selection of neotropical birds in southern Veracruz, Mexico. For this project, they intend to establish a broad network of researchers along the coast by attracting and training young scientists and initiating timely, standardized research on the avifauna of the region. The network's geographic scope will help to establish a coastal database on avian distribution, abundance, habitat use, and species-and subspecies-level systematics. Through this network of collaborators, trained in modern, appropriate methods, significant progress can be made in addressing the larger issues (coastal distribution, systematics, habitat selection, and movement) that make this region very important from the perspectives of avian evolution and conservation. ***
