• Email:
omland@umbc.edu
• Twitter Handle:
@keomland
• Website/Blog/Etc:
omlandlab.umbc.edu
• My position with AOS:
Council Member
Diversity & Inclusion Committee, Co-Chair
• My current full-time title and institution:
Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
• My current career stage:
Senior Professional
• My lineage of mentors/labs:
Undergrad mentors Dick Holmes & Tom Sherry Dartmouth
PhD Ken Able SUNY Albany
Postdocs Scott Lanyon UMN & Rob Fleisher Smithsonian
• #badlyexplainyourjob:
#BahamaOrioleProject cons gen/pop ecol. Mentor grad & undergrad research. Teach tree thinking – SMH “ladder of progress”
• My favorite bird and why:
Bahama Oriole: for starters, it’s an oriole. Both sexes elaborate, both sexes sing, amazing habitat. BUT endangered & poorly understood
• I am involved with AOS because:
Because great people to work with & the work is important. Birds play crucial roles in the ecosystems of our planet.
• The best part about being a member of AOS is:
Going to meetings and seeing friends made over 30 yrs. Working with colleagues on committees & council.
• Birds are important to me because:
Get to hear and see birds everywhere on the planet. Easy for everyone to enjoy and relate to. Birds are mascots for conserving planet Earth.
• Advice I have to offer a student (master’s level or younger) in ornithology:
No need to hurry. Get field, lab &/or museum experience. Work hard and have fun with birds.
• One ornithology question or problem I would like to solve or see solved:
Reliable population estimates for all endangered birds in the Caribbean. AND understand role of interspecific gene flow in evolution.
• Fun random fact about myself:
High school job with GreenMtnNatForest. Learned forest bird songs from wildlife biologist Hispanic woman from LA in VT 1979=diversity hero.
• Something else birdy I’d like to share:
AOS needs to increase diversity to improve our science, reach out to diverse student body, & remain relevant & impactful. #AOSdiversity
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