Subeditors and Their Role in BNA
A Note from the Editor, Alan F. Poole
To help revise two of the more technical sections of BNA Online – the Systematics article (which deals mostly with taxonomical concerns) and the Appearance article (which focuses upon Molts and Plumages) – the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has contracted with outside experts to most efficiently report on the most current research of the day: Peter Pyle, from the The Institute for Bird Populations, and Michael Patten, Director of Research at the Sutton Avian Research Center, University of Oklahoma. We’re most fortunate to have their help. Peter has probably looked at more bird feathers than anyone since Roxy Laybourne; he’s the author of numerous papers on the molts and plumages of North American birds, including the recently published 2–volume ID Guide by Slate Creek Press. Michael is equally well-versed in the taxonomic literature of American birds, and publishes regularly on a variety of species, with a focus on sub-species taxonomy. Together these two have covered over 50 BNA species in 2 years, and we expect to revise nearly that many annually over the life of the project.
Subeditor Biographies
Michael Patten, Director of Research at the Sutton Avian Research Center, University of Oklahoma
Michael A. Patten is an Assistant Professor at the Oklahoma Biological
Survey and Director of Research at the Sutton Avian Research Center,
both at the University of Oklahoma. His research interests are
evolutionary ecology, biogeography, and systematics, chiefly of birds,
although he has worked on mammals, herpetofauna, spiders, Odonata, and
Diptera. Current projects include studies of the impacts of
deforestation on tropical bird communities of Mexico and ecological
speciation in the Song Sparrow complex. Address: Oklahoma Biological
Survey, University of Oklahoma, 111 E. Chesapeake Street, Norman,
Oklahoma 73019. Email: mpatten@ou.edu.
Peter Pyle, Staff Biologist, The Institute for Bird Populations
Peter's emphases at IBP involve establishing criteria for
identifying, ageing and sexing birds as it applies to studies on
population demography using mark-recapture analyses. In conjunction
with these projects Peter has developed a special interest in bird molt
and how it can be used to age birds, has published many papers and
three books on this topic, and has taught many workshops on this
subject in North and Latin America. He has previously worked as a
marine biologist on the Farallon Islands and continues to conduct
at-sea work on marine birds and mammals. To date he has authored over
80 papers in scientific journals and has been a co-author on over 50
additional scientific papers. He has also authored several
popular articles and over 50 scientific reports. He is a Research
Associate at the California Academy of Sciences and B.P. Bishop Museum
and has been a member of the California Bird Records Committee for over
20 years. email: ppyle@birdpop.org
Pyle, P. 2008. Identification Guide to North American Birds. Part 2.
Slate Creek Press, Point Reyes Station, CA. 848 pp.
Pyle, P. 2005. Molts and plumages of ducks. Colonial Waterbirds
28:207-218.
Pyle, P., M.J. Schramm, C. Keiper, & S.D. Anderson. 1999. Predation
on a white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) by a killer whale
(Orcinus orca) and a possible case of competitive displacement.
Marine Mammal Science 15:563-568.
Pyle, P. 1997. Identification Guide to North American Birds. Part 1.
Slate Creek Press, Bolinas, CA. 742 pp.
Contact Peter for a full list of >130 titles.
