SCSCB members and other interested parties are invited to attend the sixteenth meeting of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB). The theme of this meeting is SHARED SPACES: The Right of Humans and Birds to Share the Earth. As such we will focus on discussions of this theme through workshops, symposia, round-table discussions and working group meetings. The overall goal for these discussions will be to exchange scientific and practical knowledge about birds, share ideas for resolving issues common to all islands, generate products the region can use, and encourage development of long-term programs that produce concrete results. The meeting will also include contributed oral paper sessions (especially papers associated with thematic discussions), morning, mid and post-conference field trips and an evening poster session. The Program Committee is currently considering or has confirmed the following topics for thematic paper sessions, discussions or workshops:

• Participatory natural resource management as a tool for bird conservation (one day workshop facilitated by CANARI)
• Protected areas management – planning, tools and techniques (one day workshop)
• Strategic planning workshop for Caribbean seabird conservation
• Threatened birds of the Caribbean conservation program
• IBAs and bird education and awareness initiatives – success stories and training for on-the-ground conservation
• Use of eBird and the Avian Knowledge Network in the Caribbean (Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology)
• Atlasing in the Caribbean
• Waterbird conservation in the Caribbean
• Organizing grassroots campaigns to oppose development projects that threaten bird habitat
• Research and monitoring - encouraging inter-island cooperation in managing shared species of concern
• Nature tourism and sustainable development – increasing benefits for conservation from tourism dollars
• Long-term capacity building in the Caribbean – strengthening local capacity for conservation, part 2
• Applied avian research
• Applications of GIS to bird research, monitoring and conservation

Working Group meetings will include Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival, West Indian Whistling-Duck, Media, Caribbean Parrot Conservation, Invasive Species, Caribbean Wildlife Art, and White-crowned Pigeon.

Two workshops are also scheduled for July 18th, the day before the meeting officially start—Western Hemisphere Network of Bird Banding Programs and Rallidae Banding Workshop. Click here for more information on these workshops.

If you are interested in helping to organize or chair one or more of the above sessions or would like to propose another topic for discussion or a symposium, please contact Lisa Sorenson (LSoren@bu.edu) and Andrew Dobson (adobson@warwickacad.bm), Co-Chairs of the Scientific Program Committee. To apply for a place in the scientific program, please submit an abstract to be received no later than May 14, 2007, preferably by Word attachment to e-mail or alternatively by fax or snail mail, to Dr. Lisa Sorenson, Dept. of Biology, 5 Cummington St., Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, e-mail: LSoren@bu.edu, fax:  617-353-6340

The program committee is especially interested in receiving abstracts related to the above themes. However, abstracts on any topic related to Caribbean ornithological research, management, conservation and outreach and education may be submitted. Papers may be given orally or as a poster. Please indicate clearly in your cover letter your preference for either an oral or poster presentation. Please also indicate which of the above themes your paper best fits. Oral presentations will be limited to 12 minutes in length with an additional 3 minutes for questions. Proposals for oral presentations will be evaluated and accepted on the basis of their quality and scientific merit until the schedule is full. Papers not accepted for oral presentation can be given as posters. Papers will be organized in appropriate sessions based on content of the abstract. Oral presentations should be delivered using Powerpoint (bring your file on CD or USB drive). Let us know if you have any special needs regarding your presentation.

Your abstract may be submitted in English, Spanish, or French. If you can, PLEASE submit the text of your abstract in two or more of these languages. This will help us minimize the time and effort required for translation and the potential for translation errors.

Abstracts should be submitted electronically by e-mail if at all possible. You will be notified of the status of your abstract and scheduling for the meeting by June 8th. For questions regarding abstracts or the scientific program, contact Dr. Lisa Sorenson (e-mail: LSoren@bu.edu, tel: 508-655-1940)

Abstracts must be limited to no more than 200 words (including title, author(s), address(es) and text) and should succinctly summarize your findings. Abstracts must be submitted by the deadline date of MAY 14 or they are not guaranteed a place in the program. In preparing your abstract, please follow the following style format:

A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF ANATID BAND RECOVERIES IN THE CARIBBEAN. Antonio Rodríguez, Denis Dennis and Martín Acosta, Dpto. Biologia Animal y Humana. Facultad de Biología, Universidad de la Habana, Habana, Cuba.

We analyzed band recovery data for the Anatidae from the Caribbean included in the USFWS database. These data comprise almost 40% of the total recoveries. We analyzed the information registered for the 3,897 bands recovered, both by species and by country. Most recoveries (all species together) were from Cuba (43.8%), followed by the Dominican Republic (22.7%) and the Lesser Antilles (13.9%). The species analysis showed that in the Caribbean Anas discors was the species with the most recoveries (90.5) . . .