鈥淭he President鈥檚 Research Awards recognize the outstanding scholarly contributions that researchers make to their fields,鈥� said 91亚色 President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri. 鈥淣ot only are Professors Stutchbury and Pillai Riddell exceptional research leaders at 91亚色, but their research is making an impact at national and international levels.鈥�

Bridget Stutchbury

As the recipient of the 2016 President鈥檚 Research Excellence Award, Stutchbury has made significant contributions to outstanding research on the ecology, behaviour and conservation of birds. She studies the migratory behaviour of birds through the use of miniature tracking devices that are mounted on the backs of birds and then retrieved a year later after migration. Tracking the start-to-finish migration of individual songbirds for the first time has allowed her to map the complex connections between breeding and wintering sites and to link population declines to climate change, tropical deforestation and potential other threats. She has contributed to over 100 peer-reviewed scholarly publications with more than 5000 citations, including her most notable research paper published in 2009 in the prestigious scientific journal, Science.听

Her scientific and scholarly accomplishments have been acknowledged by a Canada Research Chair Tier 2 in Ecology and Conservation Biology (2002 to 2012). In 2007, her book Silence of the Songbirds, was nominated for a Governor General鈥檚 Award in non-fiction and inspired the 2015 award-winning documentary The Messenger.

鈥淚鈥檓 very proud that my research has been selected to showcase 91亚色鈥檚 diverse research culture. My colleagues provide an incredibly supportive and exciting environment in which to take chances and be innovative,鈥� said Stutchbury.

As the recipient of the President鈥檚 Emerging Research Leadership Award, Pillai Riddell听has established the first norms for the development of acute pain behaviours in healthy infants, within the context of primary caregivers through her (the Opportunities to Understand Childhood Hurt [OUCH] Lab at 91亚色. Internationally, the OUCH cohort is known to be the largest and most in-depth longitudinal study on healthy infants in pain to date.

Her program of research has been built on millions of dollars on funding from federal and provincial granting agencies. She has contributed to more than 60 peer-reviewed publications, 21 chapters/books, 26 invited talks, 38 peer-reviewed national/international symposia and 138 posters. Her research has attracted stellar graduate students from across the country and all six of her students currently hold Canada Graduate Scholarships from either the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) or the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Among her international accomplishments, she was a clinical research lead on the 2015 Clinical Practice Guidelines for Immunizations published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal with recent endorsements by the World Health Organization. Alongside this research activity, she has also held a number of leadership positions across departmental, faculty, and university committees. This includes her current chairship of 91亚色 Senate鈥檚 Academic Policy, Planning, and Research Committee.

Rebecca Pillai Riddell

鈥淚 am extremely grateful to have been enabled to grow my program of research in such a nurturing environment. I look forward to continuing to support 91亚色鈥檚 research intensification efforts both at home and abroad, 鈥漵aid Pillai Riddell.

The 91亚色 President鈥檚 Research Excellence Award recognizes senior established, full-time, active faculty members at the rank of professor, with distinguished scholarly achievements who have had a notable impact on their field(s) and made a substantial contribution to advancing the University鈥檚 international reputation for research excellence while significantly and positively contributing to one or more aspects of the 91亚色 community鈥檚 intellectual life.

The 91亚色 President鈥檚 Emerging Research Leadership Award recognizes full-time faculty members within 10 years of their first academic appointment, who have had a notable impact on their field(s) and made a substantial contribution to advancing the University鈥檚 international reputation for research excellence while significantly and positively contributing to one or more aspects of the 91亚色 community鈥檚 intellectual life.

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As with previous 91亚色 Circle Lecture & Lunch events, organizers have planned a full day of inspiring lectures by some of the University鈥檚 leading thinkers. For full details, download a PDF of the 91亚色 Circle schedule.

In her听lecture, 鈥淭he Bird Detective: Investigating the Private Lives of Birds鈥�, 91亚色 Professor Bridget Stutchbury (left), Canada Research Chair in Ecology and Conservation Biology, will explain why some birds readily divorce their partners, why females sneak out to have sex with neighbouring males and why some mothers sometimes desert their babies. Based on her book (2010), this lecture promises to raise the blinds on the secret lives of birds.

On a more serious note,听Stutchbury will examine听whether听bird behaviour can help species adapt to the drastic changes humans are making to the environment. Since the 1980s,听Stutchbury has studied the ecology and conservation of migratory songbirds. In addition to The Bird Detective, she is听author of the book (2007)听鈥� a听finalist for a Governor General鈥檚 Literary Award.

"The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano, the African, and the Abolition of the British Slave Trade" is the intriguing title of the presentation by 91亚色听history Professor听Paul Lovejoy (right), Canada Research Chair in African Diaspora History and听director of the听. In his听lecture,听Lovejoy will explore the pivotal role of Gustavus Vassa, better known by his African name, Olaudah Equiano (c. 1742-1797), in advancing the abolition of the British slave trade. Many scholars consider William Wilberforce (c. 1759-1833) and Thomas Clarkson (c. 1760-1846)听to be听the pioneers of the British abolitionist movement, but Lovejoy posits that it was Equiano who was听the听seminal influence听in advocating the abolition of slavery and the emancipation of those in slavery.

Lovejoy听is a member of the executive committee of the UNESCO 鈥淪lave Route鈥� Project, co-edits African Economic History and Studies in the History of the African Diaspora 鈥� Documents (SHADD), and is research professor and associate fellow of the Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation at the听University of Hull in the United Kingdom.

Acclaimed Canadian poet and 91亚色 Professor (left) will discuss her experiences as Canadian Athletes Now Fund鈥檚 first poet-in-residence during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Games. In her lecture, which is aptly titled, "My Gold Medal Experience: Olympic Poetry", Uppal听will describe听how she听celebrated with the Canadian athletes and their families by writing poetry about winter sports, the games, and the personalities and performances that captured a nation鈥檚 imagination.

How she designed and then 鈥渢rained鈥� for her position, how the athletes responded to daily poetry readings, and other initiatives she鈥檚 undertaken to bridge the sometimes separate worlds of sport and art, will all be addressed. In addition, Uppal will read a short selection of the some of the 50 poems written at the games and recently collected in the book Winter Sport: Poems (2010).

"A World of Suburbs? Finding the Heart of the Urban Century in the Periphery" with 91亚色 environmental studies Professor Roger Keil (right) will offer 91亚色 Circle members insights into urbanization. The 21st century has been heralded as an urban century. Indeed, urbanization is now the most tangible shared experience of humanity. Keil will explore what is behind the story of the "urban revolution". He will uncover听an important and perhaps astonishing truth: Most urban dwellers now live in the periphery. From the squatter settlements of the Global South to the wealthy gated communities of North America, from the tower block peripheries of Europe or Canada to the newly sprawling cities of Asia, a common theme emerges: where cities grow, they grow at the margins.

Keil is the director of the City Institute at 91亚色 and professor听in the Faculty of Environmental Studies.听Among his publications are In-Between Infrastructure: Urban Connectivity in an Age of Vulnerability (2010) and The Global Cities Reader (2006). Keil鈥檚 current research is on global suburbanism and regional governance.听He is the co-editor of the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research and a co-founder of the International Network for Urban Research and Action.

This free series includes two events annually 鈥撎齣n the spring and fall each year听鈥� and provides opportunities for learning and networking in a relaxed environment.

Lecture & Lunch events are open to members of the 91亚色 Circle and their guests, each of whom are offered a complimentary lunch sourced from 91亚色 Region as part of the day.

The 91亚色 Circle receives generous support from 91亚色's Alumni Office (program partner) and the Toronto Community News and Metroland Media Group 91亚色 Region (print media sponsors).

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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Stutchbury is one of 91亚色's 28 Canada Research Chairs. The program celebrates its November 24 and 25 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre through a two-day conference featuring the research of Canada's best and brightest minds.

Professor , Canada Research Chair in the , is participating in the plenary discussion, "Thinking Ahead: What Will Canada Look Like in 2050?", on November 24.

Professor Janine Marchessault, Canada Research Chair in , is participating in the Art, Technology and Society panel November 25.

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer.

The post VIDEO: Professor Bridget Stutchbury speaks about how her Canada Research Chair changed her research appeared first on Research & Innovation.

The clip is on Metro Morning's website and runs under 5:30 minutes.

Stutchbury is the and a Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Biology in 91亚色鈥檚 . She is the author of , which describes her journeys through forests and jungles studying the sexual antics and social lives of birds, and details the science behind their surprisingly sophisticated and often amusing behavior. The book, published by April 16, also explains how understanding birds鈥� behaviour will help to conserve increasingly-threatened species.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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Two pairs of purple martins, known for the purple-black feathers of mature males, are cohabiting in a colony house on the south edge of Grenadier Pond.

The birds are rare in southern Ontario, where populations have decreased by 46 per cent in the last 20 years. They feed on flying insects, and even one period of cold wet weather, when insects don鈥檛 fly, can lead to adult starvation in large numbers, says Bridget Stutchbury, Distinguished Research Professor in Biology in 91亚色's Faculty of Science & Engineering, who studies North American songbirds and did her thesis on purple martins.

Stutchbury says it鈥檚 rare for the species to move into a new colony house because they usually return to one where they鈥檝e previously nested and prefer to live with other pairs. The social nature of the bird could mean that more pairs will move into High Park. 鈥淭he idea that they鈥檇 be able to repopulate, I think it鈥檚 exciting,鈥� she says.

Although the creatures are admired for many reasons, there is one misconception about the species, says Stutchbury. The belief that martins have a voracious appetite for mosquitoes is a myth. 鈥淭hey might snatch the odd mosquito, but they鈥檇 much rather eat a nice juicy dragonfly,鈥� she says. They also favour moths and butterflies. 鈥淪ome people might think that they鈥檙e good insect control, but they鈥檙e mostly eating the kind of insects we might admire.鈥�

Stutchbury, a and a professor in the Department of Biology in 91亚色鈥檚 , is the author of . It describes her journeys through forests and jungles studying the sexual antics and social lives of birds, and details the science behind their surprisingly sophisticated and often amusing behavior. The book, published by April 16, also explains how understanding birds鈥� behaviour will help to conserve increasingly-threatened species.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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A at 91亚色, Stutchbury says the Canadian bird population has been declining by one to two per cent a year since the mid-1960s. She cited pesticide use and deforestation as a couple of the problems, and singled out the practice of forest clearing for coffee plantations as one of the primary concerns 鈥� another reason to support shade-grown coffee.

But far-off coffee plantations aren't the only problem. The same day the story on Stutchbury ran, NB Power advertised its 2010 herbicide application program on its transmission line rights-of-ways.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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鈥淏oth at the provincial level, and even at the national level, you have dozens of species of songbirds that are in serious decline,鈥� says Bridget Stutchbury, author of Silence of the Songbirds and : Investigating the Secret Lives of Birds.

Stutchbury, in 91亚色鈥檚 , was scheduled to be in Fredericton on Thursday to deliver a public lecture on the severity and the impact of the province鈥檚 songbird decline.

Stutchbury said the causes for the decline are plentiful. Pesticide use and deforestation are two. Coffee is one of the biggest culprits in the case of migratory birds, she said, because forests are cleared to make way for the coffee plantations, pushing the birds out of their refuges. 鈥淭he sun-grown coffee is grown the way we would grow corn, completely out in the open in these massive fields. Row after row after row of coffee plants and not a tree in sight,鈥� Stutchbury said.

Switching from sun-grown coffee to shade-grown coffee that鈥檚 grown in the forest would be a step in the right direction, she said. Reducing pesticide use and encouraging sustainable logging practices are other ways to stop the decline.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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The video is and runs for 2:20.

Stutchbury also took part in a phone-in show about local birds on CBC Radio鈥檚 鈥淢aritime Noon鈥� May 12 where she answered callers' questions about their backyard visitors.听 The segment begins at the 4:20 mark and runs to the end of the program. The .

Her efforts to use the book to promote conservation of bird habitats was also covered on

A rapid decline in the number of songbirds across North America should serve as a wake-up call about what is being done to the environment, a Canadian biologist warned Friday.

Bridget Stutchbury, Canada Research Chair in Ecology & Conservation Biology in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Science & Engineering, said a growing number of bird species will be at risk unless immediate action is taken to protect large natural areas that serve as breeding grounds.

鈥淭he facts can be shocking, and so shocking they are almost hard to believe,鈥� Stutchbury said in Fredericton. 鈥淲hen you talk about biodiversity loss, very realistic forecasts are that in the next 100 years we are going to lose 10 to 15 per cent of the world鈥檚 birds in terms of species.

Stutchbury said the decline is the result of a loss of habitat due to clear-cutting and urban sprawl, not climate change. She said Canada鈥檚 boreal forest serves as a bird nursery for the continent and must be protected to, in turn, protect birds.

鈥淯nless something radical is done in terms of setting aside protected areas for wildlife and plants, it鈥檚 all going to unravel because there are dozens of species on a straight-line trajectory to zero,鈥� she said.

It was also covered in :

Bridget Stutchbury was at Fredericton鈥檚 Conserver House on Friday to speak about the decline of the songbird population in Canada and what can be done to save them.

The 91亚色 scientist and author of Silence of the Songbirds, which was nominated for a Governor General鈥檚 Literary Award for Non-Fiction, recently authored a new book called The Bird Detective: Investigating the Secret Lives of Birds.

Stutchbury stressed the impact the drastic decline in the songbird population will have on biodiversity in the province.

Conservation Council of New Brunswick executive director David Coon and Stutchbury agreed there are simple things individuals can do to protect the environment and the birds鈥� habitat.

Stutchbury suggested buying local and organic products, recycled paper and shade-grown coffee. She said the issue is hitting close to home, as there are several New Brunswick songbirds on the list of declining species. 鈥淭he bird decline is so widespread, it affects all Canadians, no matter where you live,鈥� Stutchbury said. 鈥淏ut in the area of the Acadian Forest (in New Brunswick), we are seeing more.鈥�

Stutchbury鈥檚 comments were also reported on radio stations in Chatham, Owen Sound, Ottawa and Belleville, Ont. and Calgary, Alta., and in Bathurst and Fredericton, NB, and Bridgewater, NS.

Last but not least, her book was :

Reading these essays is almost as good as seeing the birds ourselves. The same is true of The Bird Detective, by Bridget Stutchbury.听An ornithologist at 91亚色, she has accumulated a wealth of knowledge on bird behaviour from her own research and that of other biologists, and lets us in on the secret lives of both birds and ornithologists.

Here is the rare academic who can make research accessible to the public without dumbing it down. But Stutchbury does more than that: she makes it exciting. Her description of birds鈥� sexual adventures, combined with Stutchbury鈥檚 ornithological adventures, propel the book forward, and made me wish I could travel along with her in the field.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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In her latest novel, The Year of the Flood, Margaret Atwood invents new animals to entertain us and get across her concerns about environmental and social collapse.

. . .

In The Bird Detective: Investigating the Secret Lives of Birds, Bridget Stutchbury, Distinguished Research Professor of Biology in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Science & Engineering and author of the Governor-General鈥檚 Literary Award-nominated Silence of the Songbirds, also uses animals to illustrate the effect humankind is having on nature. And she does it very effectively without Atwood鈥檚 black wit and disturbing scenarios.

The Bird Detective, in fact, is a cheery little book. Stutchbury delights readers with hundreds of amazing facts and stories about birds, mostly songbirds, which serve to make it all the more tragic that climate change, habitat loss, pesticide use, long-line fishing and other environmental sins are mixing up extraordinary behaviours that have evolved over thousands of years.

The complete review is .

The book was also reviewed by May 7:

As the outdoor reading season opens, Bridget Stutchbury鈥檚 new, informal work on bird behaviour, The Bird Detective: Investigating the Secret Life of Birds, just begs to be read under a backyard tree. The book could serve as beach reading too; marine birds such as the albatross and rhinoceros auklet put in appearances. But Stutchbury, a biologist in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Science & Engineering, has done much of her research on songbirds, and tales of their behaviour form the heart of the book.

Stutchbury examines big issues in the family life of any species 鈥� courtship, kids, infidelity and so on 鈥� and describes relevant research projects. Some examples come from her own work with her husband, evolutionary biologist Gene Morton, and some from other scientists.

Behind-the-scenes details set the book apart from typical wildlife guides. In one vignette, Stutchbury recalls conveying nestlings to and from weighing sessions by climbing ladders while clenching paper bags of baby birds in her teeth. The book takes a conversational approach to research, yet Stutchbury packs in a good number of intriguing findings while presenting the science clearly.

The complete .

The Bird Detective was published by April 16.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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In , Stutchbury roams forests and jungles studying the sexual antics and social lives of birds, and details the science behind their surprisingly sophisticated and often amusing behavior. The book was published by April 16.

Stutchbury, a and a professor in the Department of Biology in 91亚色鈥檚 , also explains how understanding birds鈥� behaviour will help to conserve increasingly-threatened species.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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