Postdoctoral Associate: Endangered Bird Conservation in the Western U.S., Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Postdoctoral Associate: endangered bird conservation in the Western US

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Cornell University

Ithaca, New York

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) is a pioneer of purpose-driven science and Cornell University’s second largest college. We work across disciplines to tackle the challenges of our time through world-renowned research, education, and outreach. The questions we probe and the answers we seek focus on three overlapping concerns: We believe that achieving next-generation scientific breakthroughs requires an understanding of the world’s complex, interlocking systems. We believe that access to nutritious food and a healthy environment is a fundamental human right. We believe that ensuring a prosperous global future depends on the ability to support local people and communities everywhere. By working in and across multiple scientific areas, CALS can address challenges and opportunities of the greatest relevance, here in New York, across the nation, and around the world.

The Cornell Lab is a global leader in ornithological research & conservation and is currently home to a vibrant community of several dozen postdoctoral associates working across all programs. We strive to provide a supportive and collaborative environment for this community that fosters personal growth and career advancement. Within the Lab, the Yang Center (https://bioacoustics.cornell.edu) is defined by its application of bioacoustic techniques to biodiversity conservation. Ecological research, hardware and software engineering, and global capacity building are the Yang Center's pillars of bioacoustic innovation.

The incumbent will join a lab group in the Yang Center run by Dr. Connor Wood (connormwood.com) to advance the conservation of two highly imperiled bird species: the Pinyon Jay and the Spotted Owl in Southern California. Both have declined by 50% or more in recent decades, as cohesive monitoring programs have been lacking. The incumbent will lead the analysis of data from nascent passive acoustic monitoring efforts for both species to facilitate proactive habitat restoration efforts and other measures to help arrest or even reverse ongoing population declines.

Position Function

Both the Pinyon Jay and California Spotted Owl are under consideration for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and broad-scale passive acoustic survey data is being collected in summer 2024 for both species and again in 2025 for the owl. Thus, data will be immediately available for analysis and this position will fill critical data deficiencies associated with both species.

For the Pinyon Jay, key objectives include: 1) relate acoustically-derived bird observations to detailed vegetation data in order to assess landscape-scale patterns of site occupancy, 2) use occupancy and detection estimates to inform the development of a scalable Pinyon Jay survey protocol capable of meeting regulatory requirements associated with ESA listing, and 3) combine concurrent acoustic and point count survey data to develop a scalable, acoustically-based Pinyon Jay abundance index. Pending the acquisition of additional funding, the incumbent could explore management tradeoffs between the pinyon-juniper woodland-obligate Pinyon Jay and sagebrush obligates such as the Brewer’s Sparrow.

For the Spotted Owl, key objectives are: 1) analyze two years of passive acoustic survey data to provide a first-ever regional assessment of the distribution of Spotted Owls in Southern California, 2) contribute to a range-wide population assessment of the California Spotted Owl (Southern California and Sierra Nevada populations), and 3) inform future monitoring of Spotted Owls in Southern California.

The scope of the project provides an opportunity to make direct contributions to conservation and basic ecology. We will collaborate with NGOs, federal and state agency biologists and managers (e.g., U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management), and academic researchers specializing in ecology, statistics, and computer science. In addition to working with external partners, the postdoctoral associate will be working closely with scientists in the Yang Center and in the Lab’s Center for Avian Population Studies. We encourage postdoctoral associates to explore related research questions and collaborate on projects conducted in the Lab and with partners.

This is a one-year position with annual exten