Scott McWilliams
University of Rhode Island (USA)
Title
Nutritional ecology of migratory birds: insights gained by integrating physiology and ecology
Abstract
Wildlife research too often treats animals as “black boxes” in that it ignores how animal physiology and nutrition affect how we
manage wildlife populations and their habitat(s).
Two case studies are presented that demonstrate how studies of integrative physiology that are appropriately informed by the
natural history, ecology, and conservation of wild vertebrates can provide the foundation upon which sound conservation and
management practices are built.
The first case study focuses on arctic-nesting geese and how studies of the nutritional requirements of goslings can help us
predict how elevated CO2 may affect arctic ecosystems.
The second case study focuses on migratory songbirds and how diet selection influences fatty acid composition of the birds which in
turn affects the bird’s energy expenditure during intense exercise such as flights. The implication is that management practices
that change the quality of migratory stopover sites can affect the energetic cost of migratory flights and hence the daily
requirements of these songbirds.
Education
| PhD
| Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Biology,
University of California, Davis. December 1993.
Major: Ecology; Areas of Specialization: Behavioral, Avian,
Quantitative, and Physiological Ecology.
Dissertation: Behavior and ecology of Cackling Canada and Ross'
geese during spring. Advisors: Dennis G. Raveling (deceased), Catherine A. Toft.
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| MSc
| Department of Animal Ecology, Iowa State University, Ames. December 1986.
Major: Animal Ecology; Minor: Statistics
Thesis: Foraging behavior and ecology of larval small-mouthed salamanders (Ambystoma texanum). Advisor: Marilyn D. Bachmann.
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| BA
| Department of Biology, Hiram College, Ohio. June 1980 (with honors).
Majors: Biology and Psychology, Minors: Environmental Studies and Secondary School Science Education.
Undergraduate research: (1) evolutionary ecology of Cichlid fish in Mexico, (2) behavioral ecology of horned screamers in the Amazon Basin, Colombia, (3) ecological diversity and distribution of avifauna in India. Advisor: James Barrow.
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Professional experience
| Postdoctoral Fellow:
| Department of Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison
(Advisor: W.H. Karasov) NSF project: Digestive responses of passerine birds to increased demand for food (May 1994 - Dec. 1997).
Wildlife Management Institute project: Nutritional ecology and physiology of goslings (May 1995 - 1998).
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| Postdoctoral Associate:
| Section of Evolution and Ecology and Center for Population Biology,
UC Davis. (Advisor: C. Toft) State of California project: Effects of goose grazing on species composition and nutrient quality
of wet meadow and pasture plants (January-May 1994).
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Research interests
- Nutrition, physiology, ecology, and behavior of wild vertebrates, especially amphibians, waterfowl, and neotropical songbird migrants
- how natural or anthropogenic environmental change impacts the physiological and behavioral ecology of migratory birds
- physiological and ecological implications of body size, especially in herbivorous gamebirds
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Recent most relevant publications (these and others available in pdf format at
http://nrs.uri.edu)
- McWilliams, S.R., C. Guglielmo, B.J. Pierce, M. Klaassen. 2004. Flying, fasting, and feeding in birds during migration: a physiological ecology perspective. JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY 35:377-393.
download pdf, 0.2 MB
- McWilliams, S.R. and J.O. Leafloor. 2003. Effects of elevated CO2 on keystone herbivores in Arctic ecosystems. In: J. Ehleringer, T. Cerling, and D. Dearing (eds) A history of atmospheric CO2 and its effects on plants, animals, and ecosystems. Springer-Verlag.
download pdf, 1.8 MB
- McWilliams, S.R. and W.H. Karasov. 2005. Migration takes guts: digestive physiology of migratory birds and its ecological significance. In: P. Marra and R. Greenberg (eds) BIRDS OF TWO WORLDS. Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington, D.C.
download pdf, 0.4 MB
- Servello, F. E. C. Hellgren, and S. R. McWilliams. 2005. Techniques for wildlife nutrition research. In E. Braun, ed. Research and Management Techniques for Wildlife and Habitat. The Wildlife Society, Washington, D.C.
- Pierce, B.J., S.R. McWilliams, T. O’Connor, A.R. Place, C. Guglielmo. 2005. Effect of dietary fatty acid composition on depot fat and exercise performance in a migrating songbird, the red-eyed vireo. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY 208:1277-1285.
download pdf, 0.2 MB
- Pierce, B.J.and S.R. McWilliams. 2005. Seasonal changes in composition of lipid stores in migratory birds: causes and consequences. CONDOR 107:271-281.
download pdf, 0.1 MB
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Referee for:
Auk, Biology Letters, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Condor, Ecology, Functional Ecology,
Ibis, Journal of Avian Biology, Journal of Comparative Physiology, Journal of Experimental Biology,
Journal of Wildlife Management, Northeastern Naturalist, Oecologia, Physiological and Biochemical
Zoology, Western North American Naturalist, Wildlife Biology, Wildlife Monographs, Wilson Bulletin,
Zoology
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