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Mark's research interests lie in the evolution, biogeography, and conservation of Neotropical birds, with local work in the midwestern United States. He has been conducting avian inventories across the planet and has deposited >7,000 audio recordings at the Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds.
Recent Publications
In a field site in Cuzco Department, Peru in 2009
My research has ranged from the social organization of manakins, systematics, stable isotope analyses for elucidating intra-breeding season movements of Sedge Wrens, and avian song rates and the implications for estimating populations. For over 30 years I have conducted avifaunal inventories throughout the world, especially in South America. These inventories have elucidated the distribution and status of many poorly-known species and have been used for delineating priority areas for the preservation of biological diversity. I have used behavioral (>7000 of my sound recordings are deposited at the Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds, Cornell University), genetic, and morphological data from these surveys to clarify relationships in a number of groups (e.g., woodpeckers, furnariids, Cistothorus wrens, Glaucidium pygmy-owls).
2011
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2011. Preliminary survey of the avifauna at Dong Nai Culture and Nature Reserves, Dong Nai province,Vietnam. Forktail. 27:114-117.
.
2011. Molecular phylogenetics, vocalizations, and species limits in Celeus woodpeckers (Aves: Picidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 61(1):29-44.
.
2011. Foothill avifauna of the upper Urubamba Valley, dpto. Cusco, Peru. Cotinga. 33:34-45.
2010
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2010. River-Based Surveys for Assessing Riparian Bird Populations: Cerulean Warbler as a Test Case. Southeastern Naturalist. 9(1):95-104.
.
2010. A multi-gene estimate of phylogeny in the nightjars and nighthawks (Caprimulgidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 55(2):443-453.
.
2010. Survey of riparian bird species along the Buffalo National River, Arkansas May/June 2006. Bluebird. 77:136-142.
.
2010. First nesting of the Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) away from the lower Mississippi River in Missouri. Bluebird. 77:143-144.
.
2010. A review of Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula) reports in the North American interior, with comments on historical records of dark Anas ducks. North American Birds. 64:518-522.
2009
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2009. Origins of Late-Breeding Nomadic Sedge Wrens in North America: Limitations and Potential of Hydrogen-Isotope Analyses of Soft Tissue. The Condor. 111(1):188-192.
.
2009. Song Rates, Mating Status, and Territory Size of Cerulean Warblers in Missouri Ozark Riparian Forest. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 121(2):283-289.
2008
.
2008. Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis) early winter status at Prairie State Park, Barton County, Missouri. Bluebird. 75:26-29.
.
2008. Taxonomy, vocalizations, syringeal morphology and natural history of Automolus roraimae (Furnariidae). Bulletin of the British Orithologists' Club. 128:187-206.
.
2008. Biodiversity in China: lost in the masses? Harvard Asia Quarterly. 11:12-23.
2007
.
2007. The need for proper vouchering in phylogenetic studies of birds. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
2006
.
2006. Ornithological surveys of two reserves in Guangxi Autonomous Region, China, 2004-2005. Forktail. 22:140-146.
2005
.
2005. West Nile virus survey of birds and mosquitoes in the Dominican Republic. Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases. 5:120-126.
2004
.
2004. West Nile Virus in the New World: Potential impacts on bird species. Bird Conservation International. 14:215-232.
2003
.
2003. Avifauna of the northern Paraguayan Chaco. Ornitologia Neotropical. 14:247-262.
.
2003. West Nile virus transmission in resident birds, Dominican Republic. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 9:1299-1302.
2002
.
2002. The Mexican Sheartail (Doricha eliza): Morphology, behavior, distribution, and status. Wilson Bulletin. 114:1-8.
Education
- B.S. in biological sciences, University of Arizona, 1977
- M.S. in zoology, Louisiana State University, 1982
Professional Positions
- 1993 - Present. Collection Manager of Ornithology, University of Kansas Natural History Museum & Biodiversity Institute, Lawrence.
- 1982 - 1993. Collection Manager of Ornithology, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.
Professional Societies
- American Ornithologists' Union
- Cooper Ornithological Society
- Wilson Ornithological Society
- Kansas Ornithological Society
- Audubon Society of Missouri
Grants
- U.S. National Science Foundation 2004 – National Science Foundation, ORNIS: A Community Effort to Build an Integrated, Distributed, Enriched, and Error-checked ORNithological Information System [with A.T. Peterson and D. Vieglais], $1,500,000
- U.S. National Science Foundation – West Nile Virus Monitoring in the New World Tropics, 2002-2004. (with A. T. Peterson and D. Vieglais) $100,000
- U.S. National Science Foundation – Improvement of the Ornithological Collections, University of Kansas Natural History Museum. 1996-present. (with A.T. Peterson) $153,000, plus $36,000 supplement
- Missouri Dept. of Conservation – Survey of Cerulean Warblers. 2003-2004. $6400
- U.S. National Park Service – Survey of Riparian Avifauna of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. 2002-2003. $6500
Foreign Field Experience
Canada, Mexico, El Salvador, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Guyana, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Lesser Antilles (St. Martin, Dominica, Guadaloupe, St. Lucia and St. Vincent), Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Bhutan
Publications
2011
.
2011. Preliminary survey of the avifauna at Dong Nai Culture and Nature Reserves, Dong Nai province,Vietnam. Forktail. 27:114-117.
.
2011. Molecular phylogenetics, vocalizations, and species limits in Celeus woodpeckers (Aves: Picidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 61(1):29-44.
.
2011. Foothill avifauna of the upper Urubamba Valley, dpto. Cusco, Peru. Cotinga. 33:34-45.
2010
.
2010. River-Based Surveys for Assessing Riparian Bird Populations: Cerulean Warbler as a Test Case. Southeastern Naturalist. 9(1):95-104.
.
2010. A multi-gene estimate of phylogeny in the nightjars and nighthawks (Caprimulgidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 55(2):443-453.
.
2010. Survey of riparian bird species along the Buffalo National River, Arkansas May/June 2006. Bluebird. 77:136-142.
.
2010. First nesting of the Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) away from the lower Mississippi River in Missouri. Bluebird. 77:143-144.
.
2010. A review of Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula) reports in the North American interior, with comments on historical records of dark Anas ducks. North American Birds. 64:518-522.
2009
.
2009. Origins of Late-Breeding Nomadic Sedge Wrens in North America: Limitations and Potential of Hydrogen-Isotope Analyses of Soft Tissue. The Condor. 111(1):188-192.
.
2009. Song Rates, Mating Status, and Territory Size of Cerulean Warblers in Missouri Ozark Riparian Forest. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 121(2):283-289.
2008
.
2008. Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis) early winter status at Prairie State Park, Barton County, Missouri. Bluebird. 75:26-29.
.
2008. Taxonomy, vocalizations, syringeal morphology and natural history of Automolus roraimae (Furnariidae). Bulletin of the British Orithologists' Club. 128:187-206.
.
2008. Biodiversity in China: lost in the masses? Harvard Asia Quarterly. 11:12-23.
2007
.
2007. The need for proper vouchering in phylogenetic studies of birds. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
2006
.
2006. Ornithological surveys of two reserves in Guangxi Autonomous Region, China, 2004-2005. Forktail. 22:140-146.
2005
.
2005. West Nile virus survey of birds and mosquitoes in the Dominican Republic. Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases. 5:120-126.
2004
.
2004. West Nile Virus in the New World: Potential impacts on bird species. Bird Conservation International. 14:215-232.
2003
.
2003. Avifauna of the northern Paraguayan Chaco. Ornitologia Neotropical. 14:247-262.
.
2003. West Nile virus transmission in resident birds, Dominican Republic. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 9:1299-1302.
2002
.
2002. The Mexican Sheartail (Doricha eliza): Morphology, behavior, distribution, and status. Wilson Bulletin. 114:1-8.