Three Rivers Birding Club
Bi-monthly Membership Meeting
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
6:30 - 9:45 PM
Phipps Garden Center, Shady Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA
Fifty people gathered on a cold and windy evening to socialize and to hear Dr. Robert Fleischer’s presentation. Jim Valimont opened the meeting at 7:30.
Paul Hess and Jim requested that if anyone learns when the “Legend of Pale Male” or “The Lord God Bird” would be playing locally in a theater to let them know ASAP so they can notify the membership.
Larry Helgerman promoted the CBC in Washington County to be held on Dec. 19. Good-natured bantering occurred among the audience concerning the superiorities of various CBCs. Last year the Pittsburgh CBC had the most counters in the state and consistently numbers 110 to 120 participants. This will be Jim’s last year as complier for the Pittsburgh CBC, a post that he has held for at least 35 years.
Sheree Daugherty, the new Program Director, announced that a slide slam would be the program for the next club meeting in February. Ian and Margaret Haigh were applauded for their efforts as the former co-directors. Jim reminded the audience that each presenter have a maximum of 15 slides for the program, but could show extra material if time permitted.
Steve Thomas, Outings Director, stated that Mike Fialkovich would lead a gull watch at the point when there are unusual gulls. Ask Mike to notify you when he decides the outing should be. There will be an outing at Sewickley Heights Park on February 19 as part of the Great Backyard Bird Count.
Mike listed several late or unusual species: Great Egret, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Cattle Egret, Red-headed Woodpecker, Yellow Palm Warbler, American Pipit, and Marsh Wrens. Other species included Tundra Swans, Surf and Black Scoters, Bald Eagles, Merlin, Forster’s Tern, Snow Bunting, Pine Siskins, Horned Grebes, Purple Finches, and Fox Sparrows. An unidentified hummingbird appeared during a home Penguin game. The state’s first Anna’s Hummingbird appeared north of Carlisle. Kate St. John saw Sandhill Cranes flying over Oakland, Sue Solomon had a late Hermit Thrush, and Jim Valimont reported the Dark-eyed Junco sub-species “Cassiar” at his feeder. Paul and Jim believe many earlier local reports of the “Oregon” sub-species were probably “Cassiars.”
Paul Hess introduced Dr. Fleischer, who is the Head of the Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics (CCEG) at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. Dr. Fleischer has either authored or co-authored over 160 peer-reviewed articles. He earned his doctorate by studying the evolution of House Sparrows. His wide range of research of DNA includes such diverse topics as penguins, Sandhill Cranes, Hawaiian birds, diseases, and Kangaroo Rats.
Dr. Fleischer’s topic was "Who’s Your Daddy? Extra-Pair Mating in Birds—How we Document It And Why They Do It.” After taking a fascinating course in molecular genetics, Dr. Fleischer was able to combine his interest of birds and wildlife with genetic analysis as the field was just developing. This was a form of CSI analysis before there were CSI labs. When he entered graduate school about thirty years ago, people believed that birds were strictly monogamous and admired them for it. Thus, this evening’s topic wouldn’t have been considered at that time.
Dr. Fleischer first explained the overall organization of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and its six centers. His center, the CCEG, emphasizes genetic applications to understanding animal behavior and ecology. Dr. Fleischer utilized charts, diagrams, and photos to explain and illustrate his points throughout his often humorous presentation. He carefully credited co-workers, students, and other researchers for their work.
Under the heading of “Looks Can Be Deceiving,” he presented the cases of the Eastern Kingbird and the Humboldt Penguin. Dr. Fleischer included e. e. cummings’s poetic tribute to the Eastern Kingbird, emphasizing its fidelity to its mate. Mike Murphy’s research had the surprising results that 60% of kingbird nests had extra-pair young (EPY) from the female mating with an additional male, and 42% of the young were EPY. The larger males and the earlier singers usually were the fathers. Mike Schwartz had observed 19.2% of female Humboldt Penguins mating with additional males. Mike analyzed 21 family groups and was amazed to find no EPY. A later study indicated that the females would eject the sperm from the extra males.
Dr. Fleischer explained “what is really going on.” Ninety percent of birds are socially monogamous, but more than 75% of over a hundred studied species are genetically promiscuous. A male might copulate with additional females (EPC) to gain more offspring; however, its mate might stray and there is less time to raise the young (perhaps increasing the death rate). A female might do EPC because her mate is infertile, for genetic improvement, to gain resources from an extra-pair male, or to reduce harassment by extra-pair males.
Dr. Fleischer next discussed how DNA is used to document extra-pair parenting (EPP) utilizing a drop of blood or a few small feathers from an individual. Using Mendel’s Law, scientists are able to compare parents and offspring. They found that non-Passeriformes (non-perchers such as loons and seabirds) have less EPP than perchers, and tropical songbirds have less EPP than temperate zone songbirds. The non-Passeriformes and the tropical songbirds have a greater need of both parents raising the young.
In conclusion, Dr. Fleischer noted that the issue of monogamous and promiscuous is quite complicated. The belief that birds are strictly monogamous is outdated, but it is not quite accurate that birds are socially monogamous but genetically promiscuous. He asked what is the relevancy of this issue for humans. He loves watching birds behave and loves watching them misbehave. Dr. Fleischer then answered many questions.
Submitted by Pat and Sherron Lynch
Co-Secretaries of Three Rivers Birding Club
