Florida Scrub-Jays are non-migratory, cooperatively breeding birds endemic to fire-maintained Florida scrub habitat. Lifetime reproductive success is highest among individuals breeding in habitat that has burned within the last 10 years. However, such habitat is scarce and competition for it as breeding space is likely intense.
David L. Sherer holds a BS in Wildlife and Fisheries Science, Conservation Biology from Tennessee Tech University and an MS in Biology from the University of Central Florida. David investigated how an individual’s behavioral phenotype and the quality of habitat in which they were raised influenced exploratory behavior on a landscape consisting of habitat in various fire-history stages.
This program is an outgrowth of his master’s thesis: Variation in Prospecting Behavior and Drivers of Post-Fire Habitat Preference Among Juvenile Florida Scrub-Jays.
At 7:00 PM via Zoom . (Please visit website www.venturaaudubon.org for meeting link)
