Something to Crow About …
Ohio Wesleyan professor Edward H. ‘Jed’ Burtt, left, and senior Cody Kent collaborate on bird research. Kent presented information at a national ornithological meeting and earned honors for best undergraduate student oral paper. (Photo by Mark Schmitter)
DELAWARE, Ohio – A past, present, and even future Ohio Wesleyan University student are among those earning awards at the recent national meeting of the Wilson Ornithological Society and Association of Field Ornithologists. All three scholars have conducted research in collaboration with OWU professor emeritus of zoology Edward H. “Jed” Burtt Jr.
The future student, 17-year-old Kyle Davis of Sunbury, Ohio, will be a junior this fall at Big Walnut High School and plans to enroll at Ohio Wesleyan in fall 2016. Davis was a fifth-grader when he met “Dr. Jed,” a judge at the 2008 Big Walnut Science Fair. The two bird enthusiasts bonded over Davis’s project, “Owls and Their Wingspan.”
“Kyle has worked with me since that year and attended all the weekend netting days,” said Burtt, Ph.D., of his ongoing effort to band birds in northeast Delaware County. “Kyle was the only high school student at the national ornithological meeting and the youngest person to ever win the best poster award, originally intended as a competition among graduate students.”
Davis’s award-winning presentation examined “Changes in the Feather Microbiota in the Nest Lining of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) During the Reproductive Cycle.”
“I collected feathers from the nests of tree swallows from five different stages in the swallow nesting cycle beginning when the swallows first added feathers to their nest, when they laid their first eggs, when incubation started, when the first chick hatched, and when the nestlings fledged,” Davis stated in his research abstract. “The bacteria were removed from the feathers in nutrient broth, and samples of the broth were cultured on selective media.”
Davis, who plans to study pre-professional zoology and European history at Ohio Wesleyan, said his research has the potential to improve the lives of tree swallows.
“This is beneficial because we can see how the bacteria affect the birds and see if the birds do anything to prevent the bacteria from affecting them,” Davis said.
Current Ohio Wesleyan student Cody Kent, a senior from Nevada, Ohio, earned the Nancy Klamm Best Undergraduate Student Oral Paper Award at the national meeting for his research, “Feather Degrading Bacteria and Avian Plumage.” The project included collaboration with Burtt and Jack Stenger, a 2010 Ohio Wesleyan alumnus now pursuing a graduate degree at the University of Cincinnati.
“Cody gave the best presentation I have ever heard from a student at any level,” Burtt said. “It was very well-organized. The different hypotheses were clearly explained and tested. His statistics were flawless, and his delivery was smooth, friendly, and efficient. He had time for questions and handled them very well.”
Kent is studying pre-professional zoology at Ohio Wesleyan and expects to pursue an advanced degree after receiving his bachelor’s degree in May. His research indicates feather-degrading bacteria “do, in fact, place an important selection pressure on birds.”
“This pressure is likely to have a broad impact, influencing the evolution of color, the timing of molt, and behaviors, such as preening,” he states in his research abstract.
In addition to Davis and Kent, 2010 OWU graduate Stenger also received Wilson Ornithological Society recognition this year. Stenger earned a Paul A. Stewart Grant for his project, “Impact of Climate Change on the Migratory Behavior and Dispersal of Eastern Bluebirds during a 150-year Span.”
Burtt said Stenger previously presented at the national ornithological meeting as an Ohio Wesleyan undergraduate, earning a poster award in 2008. Stenger continues to hone and build upon his OWU foundation as he pursues a doctorate in the areas of ornithology, conservation biology, evolutionary ecology, and natural history.
“Jack, who is completing his first year as a graduate student at the University of Cincinnati, also won a teaching award at the university in his first year,” Burtt said. “He was invited to teach a May course as the instructor of record, not the teaching assistant, but the professor.”
Current Ohio Wesleyan students Emily Webb of Troy, Michigan, and Holly Latteman of Norwalk, Ohio, also attended the national meeting of the Wilson Ornithological Society and Association of Field Ornithologists, held May 29-June 1 in Newport, Rhode Island.
The Wilson Ornithological Society, founded in 1888, is a worldwide organization of people who share a curiosity about birds. Named in honor of Alexander Wilson, the Father of American Ornithology, the society publishes The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. Learn more at www.wilsonsociety.org.
The Association of Field Ornithologists, founded in 1922 as the New England Bird Banding Association, is dedicated to the study and conservation of birds and their natural habitats. It publishes the Journal of Field Ornithology. Learn more at www.afonet.org.
Ohio Wesleyan’s Department of Zoology offers courses ranging from molecular to organismal to ecosystem biology. Multiple versions of an OWU zoology major are available to support the varying career fields students may choose, including medicine, environmental work, genetics, biomedical engineering, neuroscience, and more. Learn more at https://www.owu.edu/academics/departments-programs/department-of-zoology/.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private, coed university offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, minors, and concentrations, and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world practice. OWU’s 1,850 students represent 42 states and 37 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.