National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network:
Integrating Ecology and Endocrinology in Avian Reproduction
(E-BIRD-USA)
|
National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network: |
|
|
|
|
|---|---|
| Date | September 16-18, 2005 |
| Location | Seattle, Washington |
| Organizers | Hubert Schwabl, Tom Martin, Pat Monaghan. |
| Hotel |
Silver Cloud Inn - University A block of rooms has been reserved for conference attendees. Let them know you are with the Maternal Effects conference. The hotel has an indoor saltwater swimming pool and an exercise room. Shuttle service to the conference facility will be available. This is a non-smoking facility. |
| Conference Site | Talaris Conference Center is located in a parklike setting with mature plantings, informal outdoor appointments and water features about a mile from the hotel. |
|
U.S. Participants' Travel Arrangements |
Air travel arrangements, Fedva Dikmen. If you are driving and plan to request reimbursement (mileage, road food), please be sure to save your receipts. (No reimbursements will be processed without original receipts!) |
| Maternal Effects listserv |
https://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/maternal-effects Read archived messages for information about the workshop that has already been sent to participants. Log in with the temporary password that appears at the bottom of the email you received welcoming you to the list a few weeks ago. |
| Poster Guidelines | The workshop planners encourage poster proposals! The deadline for poster proposals was August 15, 2005. Download the guidelines in MS Word format or PDF format. |
|
|
|---|
One of the most important recent developments in studies of the evolution of life histories is the recognition that the state of the parent during offspring production has a profound and permanent effect on offspring morphology, physiology and behavior. Such intergenerational environmental effects, mediated through the parent, are known as ‘maternal effects’. Particularly surprising has been the discovery that parents can tailor the phenotype of their offspring, to suit prevailing environmental conditions; offspring sex, growth rate, and competitive behavior can be altered in response to changes in environmental factors such as food availability, predation risk, social density and the level of competition. However, we know very little about the mechanisms and constraints that underlie such effects, the costs and benefits involved, or the time scales over which different effects operate. This is important since rapid environmental change may disrupt a delicately balanced interplay between organism and environment. Birds are particularly useful in such studies. The avian egg is a sealed system, easily assessable for study, into which the female puts a complex cocktail of substances that influence the developing embryo. Maternal hormones have been shown to be of great importance here. In this workshop, we aim to bring together endocrinologists and behavioral
ecologists to:
|
|
|
|---|
| Bettina Almasi, Susanne Jenni-Eiermann, Alexandre Roulin & Lukas Jenni Variability of Circulating Corticosterone Levels in Nestling in Barn Owls: Genetic and Environmental Effects and Differences in Costs and Benefits: In many species, the level of circulating baseline corticosterone of nestlings and their ability to respond to acute stress varies individually. This variability may be caused by environmental conditions (food supply) or it may be linked to the genotype. Therefore, the trade-off between costs and benefits of elevated glucocorticoids to nestlings may vary according to environmental conditions or genotype. In a cross-fostering experiment with barn owls, we investigated whether basal corticosterone levels differed between genotypes of the mother, the father or the chick, and whether there are differences in costs (reduced growth) and benefits (begging and getting food from parents) of artificially elevated corticosterone levels between genotypes. |
| Thierry Boulinier, Vincent Staszewski, Karen McCoy & Torkild
Tverra Maternal Transfer of Antibodies in a Seabird-Ectoparasite System: Potential Interactions with Corticosterone: A form of inducible response that is especially important to study in natural populations is the maternal transfer of antibodies from one generation to the next following exposure to a parasite. It has only been reported recently in natural systems, and the evolutionary implications of this intergenerational transfer have been hypothesized but remain untested. As part of a project aiming at testing the adaptive value of this transfer in natural host-parasite systems, we are wondering how this response could be affected by a stress hormone like corticosterone. Using observational and experimental approaches with the natural biological system constituted by a colonial seabird, the kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), and some of its parasites, we first found that (1) the proportion of kittiwake nests containing Borrelia antibody positive eggs is related to the local prevalence of the parasite vector of Borrelia and is temporally autocorrelated, (2) the plasma level of antibodies in 6-day old chicks is correlated with the concentration of antibodies in the egg yolk, and (3) the maternaly transfered antibodies can be functional. As local infestation by parasites and interannuel variation in food availability can affect corticosterone levels in kittiwakes, a next step is to assess how corticosterone can mediate the maternaly induced response to parasite. |
| Stephanie Correa, Patricia Johnson & Elizabeth Adkins-Regan Maternal Progesterone and the Primary Sex Ratio: In birds, maternal steroid production in the preovulatory follicle is limited primarily to progesterone during the time of meiosis I, when the offspring’s genetic sex is determined. We are testing the hypothesis that elevation of maternal progesterone is the mechanism for manipulating the primary sex ratio in birds. We experimentally manipulated maternal progesterone during meiosis I in chickens and zebra finches. In chickens, we injected hens with a low or high dose of progesterone or an oil control before the first ovulation of a sequence. The high progesterone group produced 25% males while the low progesterone and oil groups produced 63% and 61% males, respectively. In zebra finches, we implanted females with 4mm lengths of silastic tubing, filled with 1:1 progesterone to cholesterol or cholesterol alone. There was no effect of progesterone- containing implants on the primary sex ratio. In a second zebra finch experiment, we are injecting females with progesterone or oil during the estimated time of meiosis I for the third egg of the clutch, five hours before the predicted oviposition of the second egg. We will present the results of the injection experiment and evaluate the progesterone hypothesis in light of our results in two avian species. |
| Marco Cucco, Giorgio Malacarne & Aurélie Tanvez Testosterone and Carotenoids in the Avian Egg: Are There Complementary but Opposing Effects? In bird species, maternal effects can be observed all along the breeding period and even at the earliest stages. Indeed, yolk contains various maternal nutritious elements which are dependent on the mother and/or maternal environment. By experiments on Grey Partridges and on Canaries, we aimed to study the consequences on chicks development of two essential but antagonistic components: Testosterone and ß-carotene. To do so, we manipulated yolk and/or diet with T and/or ß-carotene and witnessed chicks development. Our results show a positive effect of ß-carotene diet enrichment on chicks growth and cellular immunity whereas an increase of yolk T tend to reduce chicks cellular immunity when they are fed with a rich ß-carotene diet. [Poster] |
| Britt Heidinger Influence of Parental on Offspring Phenotype: The influence of parental phenotype on offspring phenotype (parental effects) commonly varies as a function of parental age in part because parents are expected to increase reproductive investment with age. Although empirical studies generally support this expectation, the underlying physiological mechanisms are poorly understood. The stress response is one mechanism that may be important in regulating age-related changes in reproductive investment. When the value of current reproduction is high relative to the value of future reproduction, as it is in older parents, the stress response is expected to be suppressed so critical resources are not diverted away from reproduction. We tested this prediction in a free-living population of a long-lived seabird the common tern (Sterna hirundo) using a standardized handling stress protocol. We also investigated whether exogenously elevated corticosterone (CORT) levels suppressed parental behavior. We found that while baseline CORT levels did not vary with age, the magnitude and amount of CORT released throughout the stress response declined significantly with age. In addition, we found that parents that received CORT injections spent significantly less time at their nests than adults that received control, oil injections. Taken together, these results suggest that modulation of the stress response may be an important mechanism mediating age-related changes in reproductive investment with potential fitness consequences for offspring. [Poster] |
| Jodie Jawor Preliminary Investigation of Co-variation between Egg Components and Ornamentation in Female Northern Cardinals, Cardinalis cardinalis: Maternal effects are aspects of the maternal phenotype or rearing environment that influence the phenotype of developing embryos and young. Two important sources of maternal effects in birds are steroid hormones (particularly testosterone, T) and carotenoids, both of which are stored in egg yolks. Interestingly, both T and carotenoids have also been shown to influence the expression of ornamental plumages in adult birds. Potentially, females could display to conspecifics the ability to produce eggs, and ultimately offspring, of a certain quality via their ornamentation. Here I present preliminary data concerning co-variation between plumage ornaments in female northern cardinals - the red, carotenoid-based underwing coverts, and the black, melanin-based face mask - and the presence of T and two kinds of carotenoids in yolks. Female cardinals display their underwing coverts to males and the female’s black face mask is thought to play a role in intrasexual interactions. Studying a population of cardinals in southern Indiana, I quantified the size and brightness of these ornaments. I also collected fresh eggs and quantified the concentration of two carotenoids, astaxanthin and β-carotene, via HPLC. I determined yolk steroid concentrations via RIA. I then compared brightness of the female underwing coverts to yolk carotenoid concentrations and the size and brightness of the face mask to yolk testosterone. Eggs varied in carotenoid concentration, and I found a positive, non-significant association between female underwing covert brightness and the concentration of yolk astaxanthin. T also varied among females and among eggs from a single female. However there was no correlation between face mask expression and yolk T. These findings are suggestive that female ornamentation could provide information on maternal effects, and further studies are planned to investigate these patterns and their potential influences on male mate preferences.[Poster] |
| Lukas Jenni, Bettina Almasi, Claudia Müller,
Alexandre Roulin & Susanne Jenni-Eiermann Effects of Elevated Corticosterone Levels on Postnatal Development in Barn Owl and European Kestrel: From laboratory studies, it is well known that stress exerted on animals during postnatal development may have long-lasting and profound effects on many aspects of their future life. The available studies in wild birds usually investigated the effects of nutritional stress and, therefore, could not reliably separate the effects of reduced food supply from those of elevated glucocorticoids, as nestlings may experience when their (stressed) mothers deposit high corticosterone levels in their eggs. We showed that elevated corticosterone during a few days (implants) in free-living nestlings of barn owls and kestrels had negative effects on several growth parameters, T-cell mediated immunocompetence and the stress response to handling. We also followed the fledged birds with radio-telemetry to estimate effects of elevated corticosterone during the nestling phase on learning to hunt, the time of attaining independence and survival. |
| Toni Laaksonen,
Freya Adamczyk, Markus Ahola, Erich Möstl & Kate Lessells Do Yolk Hormones Mediate Sexual Conflict Over Parental Investment? Male and female parents have different optima in the investment they should make in their offspring, as it would be useful for one parent if the other one would bear a higher share of the total parental investment. Very little is known about the ways in which one parent could make the other to work relatively more. Recent research in birds indicates that hormone levels in developing eggs affect the subsequent begging behaviour of the chicks, which again affects parental feeding response. This might give females a chance to manipulate the parental investment of their male partners by altering the level of hormones in the eggs. We will present results of an experimental test of this idea in a wild population of pied flycatchers. In the experiment the environmental and genotypic correlations between offspring and their parents are broken down through cross-fostering the eggs. We will present how much of the variation in relative parental investment by the male and the female is explained by pre-hatching hormonal levels of the young. |
| Oliver Love, Eunice Chin, Katherine Wynne-Edwards & Tony Williams Stress Hormones: A Link Between Maternal Condition and Sex-Biased Reproductive Investment: In species in which offspring fitness is sex-specifically influenced by maternal reproductive condition, sex allocation theory predicts that poor quality mothers should invest in the evolutionarily less expensive sex. Despite accumulating evidence indicating that females can modulate sex-specific investment in offspring in relation to maternal quality, few mechanisms have yet been proposed as to how this is achieved. We explored a hormonal mechanism for sex-biased maternal investment by measuring and experimentally manipulating baseline levels of the stress hormone corticosterone in laying wild female European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and examining effects on sex ratio and sex-specific offspring phenotype adjustment. Here we show that baseline plasma corticosterone is negatively correlated with energetic body condition in wild laying female starlings and subsequent experimental manipulation of baseline corticosterone in laying females (at the upper range of natural baseline levels) increased both maternal and yolk corticosterone without altering maternal condition or egg quality per se. Elevation of maternal corticosterone resulted in both female-biased hatching sex ratios, due to elevated male embryonic mortality, and lighter male offspring at hatching which subsequently grew more slowly during postnatal development; female offspring were unaffected by the manipulation in both years of the study. Although we detected no sex-specific treatment effects on body mass at fledging, cell-mediated immune responses, as measured by the phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) test, were lower in males from corticosterone-implanted mothers compared with control-born males; female offspring remained unaffected. Elevated maternal corticosterone therefore resulted in a sex-biased adjustment of offspring quality favorable to female offspring via both a sex ratio bias and a modulation of male phenotype at hatching. In birds, deposition of yolk corticosterone may benefit females by acting as a bet hedging strategy in stochastic environments where the correlation between environmental cues at laying (and therefore potentially maternal condition) and conditions during chick-rearing might be low and unpredictable. Together with recent work in other vertebrate taxa, these results suggest that maternal stress hormones provide a mechanistic link between maternal quality and sex-biased maternal investment in offspring. |
| Joel McGlothlin Effects of Maternal Testosterone on Development of an Attractive Plumage Trait: Ornamental traits may be more effective when accompanied by behaviors directed toward obtaining mates, which may often be mediated by testosterone. Such an association may be favored by selection and stabilized by physiological effects on ornament development. Although many studies have focused on how adult testosterone levels affect the development of sexually selected traits, maternal effects are also likely to be important. If maternally derived yolk testosterone positively affects the expression of the plumage trait, offspring with larger ornaments should also have genes that lead to the production of higher testosterone. In dark-eyedjuncos, we experimentally manipulated maternal plasma testosterone, which leads to an increase in the amount of testosterone deposited in the yolk. We compared the development of an attractive plumage trait, tail white, from hand-reared nestlings from mothers with elevated testosterone and controls. Because tail white and the ability to elevate testosterone are positively correlated in wild-caught males, we predict that maternal testosterone will lead to enhanced expression of tail white. Results of this study will provide evidence on the likelihood that mothers may affect the mating success of their sons by adjusting yolk testosterone. [Poster] |
| Wendt Müller, Cor Dijkstra & Ton G.G.
Groothuis Maternal Yolk Hormones Benefit the Chick’s Position in Among-Nest Competition: Avian eggs contain considerable amounts of maternal androgens, which influence physiology and behavior of the hatchling. These findings and the large extend of within-clutch variation of yolk androgens have mainly been interpreted as a possibility for the mother to mediate sibling competition within her brood. However, the adaptive significance of among-clutch variation, which is often even larger than within-clutch variation, has unlike that of within-clutch variation little been studied. To this end, we manipulated yolk androgen concentrations in the eggs of black-headed gulls and investigated their role in a between-nest context by means of behavioral observations. In this semi-precocial species chicks participate in defending the natal territory and food against intruding neighbors from early age onwards, making it a highly appropriate species. We found that black-headed gull chicks not only benefit from yolk androgen mediated effects on the chick’s begging behavior, as previously shown, but also from enhanced competitiveness in an among-nest context. Chicks hatching from androgen treated eggs were more involved in the chick’s defense of the territory and tended to show more kleptoparasitic behavior. Higher amounts of yolk androgens such as found in high breeding densities may therefore play an important role by adjusting the chick’s behavior to the level of territorial interactions post-hatching. |
| Jan-Åke Nilsson, Johan Nilsson & Martin Stjernman The Influence of Incubation Environment on Survival and Growth Rate of Blue Tit Nestlings: Females might indirectly affect the phenotype of their young not only by differential allocation of substances to the egg but also by providing different environments for the developing embryo during incubation. To test how a potentially colder nest environment might affect survival and growth rate among blue tit (Parus caeruleus) nestlings, we artificially cooled nest boxes with cooling elements. In experimental nest boxes, temperature was reduced by 5-7ºC for most of the day. We found the length of the incubation period and hatching success to be equal for experimental and control nests. After hatching, the experimental brood was cross-fostered to unmanipulated parents and experimental parents received unmanipulated broods. We did not find any difference in survival until fledging between any of the categories, however nestlings incubated in cold environments had a significantly lower growth rate compared to control nestlings. Previously unmanipulated broods, tended by manipulated parents also had a lower growth rate. Thus, even though cooled females had a high hatching success, they had to pay a cost in terms of ability to invest in maternal care at later stages and embryos incubated in cool environments had to pay a cost in terms of reduced growth rate potential. |
| Jesko Partecke, Gergely Hegyi, Bart Kempenaers & Hubert Schwabl Among-population Variation in Levels of Yolk Steroids in European Blackbirds (Turdus merula): We investigated yolk androgen concentrations in forest and urban populations of the European Blackbird (Turdus merula). Forest and urban blackbird populations experience different environmental and social conditions. For example, compared to forest birds urban birds breed in considerably higher densities that likely result in high frequencies of social interaction compared to forest birds. Previous studies predict that yolk androgens are positively correlated with aggressive interactions of the females during egg formation. Contrary to this prediction, the clutches of urban blackbirds had lower overall yolk androgen concentrations (androstenedione, 5α-dihydrotestosterone, testosterone) than the clutches of forest blackbirds. We propose that 1) yolk androgens might not be a simple reflection of competition-induced female androgen production, and 2) lower yolk androgens in urban birds are an adaptation to higher risk of disease at high breeding densities. [Poster] |
| Jesko Partecke & Hubert Schwabl Long-term Effects of Yolk Testosterone on the Adult Phenotype in House Sparrows (Passer domesticus): Steroid hormones are not only involved in the translation of environmental conditions into a change of the phenotype of adult organisms, but the same steroids also determine sexual differentiation in morphology, physiology and behavior during early embryonic development. Yolk steroid hormones have been proposed to provide a hormonal link between generations in that females influence the phenotype of their offspring. Maternal steroids affect embryonic and nestling development, whereas less is known about their long-lasting organizational effects on adult phenotype. Such permanent organizational effects may be mediated by mechanisms similar to or distinct from those of embryonic steroids during sexual differentiation. The overall hypothesis is that exposure to maternal steroid hormones during embryonic development permanently alters physiology and behavior. In a common garden experiment we investigated to what extent and how exposure to maternal steroids in the egg causes long-lasting organizational effects on adult phenotype. House sparrows originating from testosterone-manipulated and control eggs were hand-raised and monitored until their first reproductive season under identical conditions. We performed experiments testing for possible variation in behavioral performance in non-reproductive and reproductive contexts, quantified seasonal pattern of metabolic rates, determined the timing of gonadal recrudescence and measured sexual selected morphological parameters such as the size of male throat badge and seasonal changes of beak color. Our results demonstrate a decisive role of maternal yolk hormones in causing permanent changes of adult phenotypes within the same sex. |
| Maria Sandell & Michael Tobler Effects of Yolk Testosterone Manipulations on Growth and Immune Responsiveness of Jackdaw Chicks: So far mainly beneficial effects of maternal androgens, such as enhanced nestling growth, competitiveness and survival have been revealed. However, there is a trade-off between beneficial effects of high androgen levels and potential costs. It is still unclear what the nature of these costs may be and whether it is incurred by the mother or the offspring. One cost of steroid hormones, which might apply to maternal androgens, is their immunosuppressive effect. Especially testosterone, one of the predominant maternal egg hormones, may have the potential to affect immune function. We have tested this idea in a natural population of jackdaws (Corvus monedula). Eggs were injected with high physiological doses of a combination of androstenedione and testosterone. We measured the chick’s immune responsiveness as the wing-web swelling resulting from injection with the mitogen phytohaemagglutinin (T-cell mediated immunity) and the strength of antibody response to diphtheria-tetanus vaccine and lipopolysaccharide (humoral immune response). We have also measured stress response of nestlings together with daily mass gain and the development of morphological characters. The results of these experiments test whether maternal testosterone can have immunosuppressive effects on nestlings that outweigh its beneficial effects. |
| Nanette Verboven, Neil Evans, Ruedi Nager & Pat Monaghan The Influence of Poor Embryonic Conditions on Growth and Development of Male and Female Offspring: Most commonly males are more vulnerable to adverse conditions experienced during embryonic development. This could be due to larger resource requirements, or higher costs associated with the development of the male phenotype, arising, for example, from high concentrations of circulating androgens. We studied the influence embryonic conditions on the growth and development of male and female offspring in a sexually size dimorphic species, the lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus). Embryonic conditions were experimentally manipulated through a combination of increasing egg production effort and supplementary feeding of females at the time of egg formation. This resulted in eggs of different quality, such that extra eggs laid by unfed females were smaller and contained more yolk testosterone. To investigate if conditions during embryonic development influence male and female offspring differently, experimental eggs of were cross-fostered into the nests of unmanipulated parents. Several aspects of growth and development of male and female chicks hatching from poor and good quality eggs were studied, including energy expenditure, nutritional state and feather development. The results suggest that higher male nestling mortality reported for lesser black-backed gulls might be due to higher nutrient requirements of offspring of the larger sex. [Poster] |
| Nikolaus von Engelhardt, C. Dijkstra & Ton G.G. Groothuis Long-term Effects of Elevated Yolk Testosterone on Offspring Morphology, Physiology, and Behaviour in the Zebra Finch: Female birds vary the amounts of androgens deposited in their eggs in relation to factors such as the position in the laying sequence, food and mate quality. It has been shown that yolk androgens affect both embryonic and nestling development and survival. The adaptive significance of yolk androgens may, however, not only lie in their effects early in life but also in long-lasting consequences for offspring. We experimentally elevated yolk-testosterone levels in eggs of zebra finches within the natural range and studied the long-term effects on offspring morphology, physiology and behaviour. Testosterone positively affected offspring attractiveness in both sexes. During a breeding attempt with an untreated female, T-males produced less undirected, but not less directed song than C-males. T-males produced more different types of notes than C-males. There was no difference in the colouration of T-males and C-males. During the first days after pairing T-males increased the time spent nest building less than C-males, but their nest-weights increased more. After their mates had laid their first egg, T-males increased the time spent on the nest later but more than C-males. In a competition test, birds from control eggs (C-birds) monopolized nest boxes more often than birds from testosterone-treated eggs (T-birds) when placed together in a cage next to a cage with a bird of the opposite sex. During this test, T-males had higher nightly metabolic rates than C-males while T-females had lower metabolic rates than C-females. Our results show that by differential deposition of androgens in their eggs mothers can modify offspring reproductive behaviour. Such non-genetic matenal effects can influence the evolution of morphological and behavioural traits and are therefore of great importance. Because male attractiveness itself influences androgen deposition in egg yolk, the effects of androgens on offspring attractiveness are particularly intriguing. [Poster] |
| Haruka Wada, Tom Hahn & Creagh Breuner Ontogeny of the Stress Response and Regulation of Corticosterone Exposure in White-crowned Sparrow Nestlings (Zonotrichia leucophrys nuttalli): Elevation of corticosterone in response to stress is known to increase survival in adults by redirecting behavior and physiology. However, the ontogeny of the stress response and the role of corticosterone in developing wild animals have been largely ignored. Detrimental effects of corticosterone on growth and immune function enhance the importance of regulation in corticosterone secretion during development. We investigated this aspect in altricial white-crowned sparrow nestlings; Zonotrichia leucophrys nuttalli. Blood samples were collected at 0, 15, 30, and 60 minutes after capture and corticosteroid binding globulin (CBG) and serum corticosterone levels were measured to calculate both total and free (unbound) corticosterone levels at age 1-3 days, 4-6 days, and 7-10 days post hatch. Nestlings showed a stress non-responsive period in total corticosterone levels for the first three days. However, when free corticosterone is estimated, the non-responsive period is extended into the next three days, lasting two thirds of the nestling period. We are also currently investigating the changes in 2 intracellular corticosteroid receptor numbers in brain with age: high-affinity, low capacity, mineralocorticoid receptor and low-affinity, high capacity, glucocorticoid receptor. [Poster] |
| Liana Zanette, Michael Clinchy & Bethany Kempster Seasonal Changes in Juvenile Song Sparrow Corticosterone and Δ15N are not Food-dependent: Recent work has suggested that egg quality may be more important to the condition of nestlings than their rearing environment. We collected song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) nestlings from the wild and hand-reared them in captivity under identical conditions except for feeding regime; half of the nestlings were fed ad libitum, the other half were food-restricted. We measured nestling morphology, baseline corticosterone levels, and Δ15N over the breeding season. We found that morphological measures declined over the season for the food-restricted birds, but were consistently high for the birds fed ad libitum, indicating that morphology is limited by the amount of food delivered directly to the nestlings. By contrast, both baseline corticosterone and Δ15N increased for all birds regardless of how much we fed them, which is consistent with the hypothesis that birds experience increasing physiological stress as the breeding season progresses. However, given our experimental design, it is clear that these stressors were not related to the environment experienced directly by nestlings. Instead, we suggest that maternal effects were involved and that stressors for adult females increased over the season, leading to higher levels of corticosterone and Δ15N in eggs, which was then passed on to nestlings. |
| Date | Activities |
|
Friday (Sept 16, 2005) |
Arrival & Hotel Check-In Silver Cloud Inn
(University)
7:00p-7:15p Welcome & Introduction - Hubert Schwabl, Tom Martin & Pat Monaghan 7:15p-9:00p Session 1: Maternal Effects Chaired by Pat Monaghan
Dessert buffet following. |
|
Saturday (Sept 17, 2005) Talaris Conference Center |
Continental Breakfast is available at the hotel (from 7:30a) and at the Conference
Center.8:30a-12:45p Session 2: Maternal Hormones and the Avian Egg Chaired by Ton Groothuis
10:30a–11:00a Break
1:00p–2:00p Lunch & Poster Session2:00p–6:00p Session 3 Chaired by Hubert Schwabl
4:00p–4:30p Break
 7:00p Dinner at
Ivar's Salmon House
|
|
Sunday (Sept 18, 2005) Talaris Conference Center |
Continental Breakfast is available at the hotel (from 7:30a) and at the Conference
Center. 8:30a–10:30a Session 4: Maternal Effects & Development Chaired by Kate Lessells
10:30a–11:00a Break11:00a-1:00p Session 5: Maternal Effects and Sexual Dimorphism Chaired by Alex Badyaev
1:00–2:00p Lunch & Poster Session2:00p–6:30p Session 6: Maternal Effects - Integration & Timescales Chaired by Tom Martin
3:30p–4:00p Break
5:30p-6:30p Integration, Problems, Prospects Chaired by Hubert Schwabl, Tom Martin & Pat Monaghan 
7:00p Barbecue at Talaris |
|
| ||
 |
Talaris Conference center is a little more than 1 mile (1.5 km) from Silver Cloud. The hotel shuttle is available if you wish to ride over (about 6 minutes). If you prefer to walk (about 20 minutes):
| |
|
| |
| Current Weather | from the Weather Channel |
| Public Transportation |
SeaTac Airport information includes links to the
baggage claim
area; and information on
shuttles
and taxicabs that serve the airport. UPDATES TO THIS INFORMATION WILL BE SENT TO THE MATERNAL-EFFECTS EMAIL LIST: On Thursday (9/15), a volunteer will meet the incoming 4:50p flight at Baggage Claim area 1 and get arriving participants to our van. On Friday (9/16) a volunteer will be stationed at Baggage Claim area 1 from approximately 11:00a until approximately 5:45p to help you get from SeaTac to the Silver Cloud. She will have shuttle vouchers and will connect you with our vans. Both volunteers will have signs (NSF/NSERC/ESF MATERNAL EFFECTS WORKSHOP) and be wearing nametags identifying themselves as event volunteers. International flights (including British Airways, SAS, etc.) are served at Carousel 1. Domestic flights are served as follows: American Airlines (Carousel 2). Northwest (Carousel 8), Continental (Carousel 9), Alaska (Carousels 13 and 14) and United (Carousels 15 and 16). (This is not an exhaustive list.) Metro Transit, the county-wide bus system, serves SeaTac with routes 174 and 194 to downtown Seattle. Amtrak, rail schedules from Vancouver, B.C. to California and points east. Washington State Ferries is the largest in the United States, serving 8 counties, the province of British Columbia, and approximately 30 million riders each year. Seattle Monorail is the quickest way from downtown to the Seattle Center and its surrounding neighborhood. |
| Tourist Information |
from
Experience Washington Seaplane tours from Kenmore Air |
| Broadcast Media |
KUOW-FM, a National Public Radio affiliate. KPLU-FM, jazz and Public Radio International content. KING-FM, mostly classical music. KEXP-FM, eclectic mix. |
| Print Media |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, one
of two major dailies. Seattle Times, the other major daily. Seattle Weekly, best restaurant listings. The Stranger, best clubs/music listings and Dan Savage. |
|
What's Nearby or Reasonably Close |
University Village Shopping Center, home of two
dozen informal and formal eating establishments (including a brew pub), and shops
for everything from camera and computer supplies to gourmet cookware and clothing
for every occasion. University of Washington neigbhorhood (aka the U-District) is home to the UW, as well as many of its students, staff, and faculty members. University Way NE ("The Ave") is home to coffee shops, restaurants (including Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Greek, burgers, pizza, and a brew pub), bookstores, and theaters. There's a Farmers Market every Saturday from 9a-2p on the corner of the Ave and NE 50th. The Burke-Gilman Trail is a 14 mile (22.7 km) walking/biking corridor that runs from the neighborhoods of Fremont to Kenmore. Along the way, it passes near both the Silver Cloud Inn and the Talaris Conference Center. The University of Washington Waterfront Activities Center rents boats and canoes. The Golf Range is also open to non-UW users. Foster Island in the Arboretum is a serene adventure, a 30-acre chunk of 230-acre wetland wildlife preserve that's home to several great blue herons, bitterns, American coots, goldfinches, and many more species accustomed to being walked by, driven by, and kayaked by! Morning commuters across 520 can catch glimpses of turtles similarly making slow progress, stuck nose to tail on semi-submerged logs just beneath the concrete span. Matthews Beach is Seattle's largest freshwater bathing beach. Magnusson Park is a also great place to birdwatch. Visitors to Woodland Park Zoo's Willawong Station walk-thru aviary have an opportunity to feed birds in a controlled, safe environment while learning about responsible care for birds both in the wild and at home. The aviary houses approximately 200 free-flying birds, primarily small colorful Australian parrots. |
|
Local Events (9/16/2005-9/18/2005) |
Seattle Peace Concert at
Gasworks Park;
free, local bands. Seattle Symphony performs Tchaikovsky's Fourth. Fiestas Patrias celebrates Seattle's Latino communities and cultures. |
| Bird Resources |
Seattle Audubon's BirdWeb page Seattle Audubon Society homepage The Falcon Research Group keeps track of urban and rural peregrines. Washington Ornithological Society |