Four symposia formed centerpieces for the scientific sessions. These half-day sessions featured half-hour presentations by leading experts addressing four themes of special importance in modern ornithology: (1) Citizen Science: Two decades of progress and prospects for the volunteer in ornithology, (2) The impact of bird predation on arthropod populations and its implications for ecosystems, (3) Urbanization and birds: Impacts at multiple ecological scales, and (4) Behavioral ecology: Foundations and prospects.

Lab scientists were among the many who presented findings from their recent research. Lectures given by Lab staff ranged from the design and function of bird song to advances in nocturnal flight-call monitoring to host-disease dynamics in House Finches. Closing remarks for the much-lauded citizen-science symposium were given by Lab director John Fitzpatrick. In all, the AOU was host to some 545 oral or poster presentations.

The convention also featured workshop discussions about avian mortality associated with communication towers, a topic that attracted both local and national media coverage to the session. Workshops also included the role of the Internet in ornithological teaching, the next generation of breeding bird atlases, animal care and use committees and the Animal Welfare Act, and the uses of collection-based scientific data.

"The Lab is proud to have been an integral part of this monumental occasion in the history of ornithology," says John Fitzpatrick. "Congratulations to Lab staff, to Cornell University, and for the many attending students and scientists who made the 117th meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union a great success."

The American Ornithologists’ Union meets annually, and each meeting is hosted by a local committee at a center of ornithological research somewhere in North America. Next year’s meeting will be in St. John’s, Newfoundland, followed by meetings in Seattle (2001) and New Orleans (2002).