Symposium number: 20

Title: ECOLOGICAL PLASTICITY IN BIRDS: MECHANISMS AND CONSEQUENCES

Principal organizer: Claudia Mettke-Hofmann
MPI for Ornithology, Dept. of Biological Rhythms and Behaviour, Von-der-Tann Str. 7, 82346 Andechs, Germany
email: mettke@orn.mpg.de

Second organizer: Russell Greenberg
Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC 20008, USA

First keynote speaker: Claudia Mettke-Hofmann & Russell Greenberg
MPI for Ornithology, Dept. of Biological Rhythms and Behaviour, Von-der-Tann Str. 7, 82346 Andechs, Germany
Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Title of first keynote paper: Behavioural plasticity: mechanisms and evolutionary consequences.

Second keynote speaker: Eulalia Moreno
Estacion Experimental de Zonas Aridas (CSIC), General Segura, 1, 04001 Almeria, Spain
Title of second keynote paper: Ecological plasticity and morphological design: mechanisms and evolutionary consequences.

Contributed talks

Symposium description: Bird species differ diversely from one another in such ecologically-related attributes as abundance, distribution, habitat use, feeding preferences, sexually selected and other life-history traits, competitive abilities and predator avoidance. This symposium aims to show that specific differences in these attributes are manifestations of a more general phenomenon: ecological plasticity. Ecological plasticity can be defined broadly as the ability of organisms to respond to changes in their environment. So it is related, in turn, to degrees of specialization on resources and habitat. It may be assumed that ecologically more plastic species are better able to cope with changes in environmental constraints. Thus, under conditions of socially-mediated competition, ecologically more plastic species can compensate for subordinate status and denial of resources better than less plastic species. Furthermore, species-rich families comprise more ecologically plastic species than species-poor families.
What makes one species more plastic than another? As diverse as differential ecological plasticity are its underlying causes. Differences in morphology, brain structure, personality traits, and specific behavioural/cognitive patterns such as neophobia, or propensity towards innovation, are all related to inherent degrees of ecological plasticity. The symposium will give an overview of the mechanisms and consequences of differences in ecological plasticity by combining results from various disciplines, and will outline directions of future research.

back to list of symposia

Home | Scientific Programme | Officers | Venue | Accommodation | Tours | Past Congresses