D. Ryan Norris
2006 recipient of the Ned K. Johnson Young Investigator Award
(Photograph by Amy Newman)
The Ned K. Johnson Young Investigator Award recognizes outstanding and promising ornithological research contributions made by persons early in their career with the hope and expectation that such individuals will provide future leadership in ornithology within and beyond North America. The AOU is proud and confident of its selection of Dr. D. Ryan Norris as the second recipient of the Ned K. Johnson Young Investigator Award.
Dr. Norris's research has focused on the population dynamics and behavioral ecology of migratory animals. His integration of diverse techniques and approaches (field observations, biogeochemistry, radiotracking, rigorous statistical testing, and modeling) to address multiscale problems while emphasizing the use of novel methods has provided important insights into complex problems in a variety of migratory animals, ranging from wolves to birds.
The research career of Dr. Norris, as well as his interest in migratory animals, began when he was an undergraduate at the University of Waterloo, where he studied the spatial dynamics of a migratory gray wolf ( Canis lupus ) population. This work culminated in two excellent publications. Norris completed an M.S. degree at York University with Professor Bridget Stutchbury. He used radiotracking to examine the effect of fragmentation on the movement patterns and extrapair mating behavior of Hooded Warblers ( Wilsonia citrina ), a small Neotropic-Nearctic songbird. His time in Stutchbury's laboratory culminated in six publications, and he continues his interest in the effects of habitat fragmentation on the behavior and mating systems of birds and other taxa. Norris immediately entered the Ph.D. program at Queen's University to work with Professor Laurene Ratcliffe and Adjunct Professor Peter Marra. Norris's Ph.D. dissertation, Geographic Connectivity and Seasonal Interactions in a Long-distance Migratory Bird , was extraordinary and resulted in eight publications, including a cover article in Science , an important paper in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B , and a lengthy paper in Ornithological Monographs, no. 61 , published in fall 2006. This last work, which used stable isotopes to examine carry-over effects and migratory connectivity in American Redstarts ( Setophaga ruticilla ), was cutting-edge research that continues to provide fundamental insights into the population biology of migratory birds. Norris has integrated multiple and diverse fields, including ecology, behavior, population modeling, and biogeochemistry. After finishing his dissertation, Norris was awarded both an Izaak Walton Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship and an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of British Columbia. There, he applied his knowledge of isotope biogeochemistry and modeling to begin a collaboration with Peter Arcese, examining issues of West Coast seabirds, specifically how fisheries and climate change have influenced Marbeled Murrelet ( Brachyramphus marmoratus ) populations.
In fall 2006, Norris began an Assistant Professorship in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph, Canada, where he is in a position to expand his multidisciplinary research and mentoring approaches to tackle both basic and applied conservation challenges.
Award criteria. -The Ned K. Johnson Young Investigator Award recognizes outstanding and promising work by a researcher early in his or her career in any field of ornithology. Candidates excel in research and show distinct promise for leadership in ornithology within and beyond North America. They must have received their doctorate within five years of being nominated, must not have received the award previously, and must be a member of the AOU at the time of nomination. The award consists of a framed certificate and an honorarium provided through a gift to the endowment of the American Ornithologists' Union honoring Ned K. Johnson, a lifelong supporter and former President (1996-1998) of the AOU. This award, presented for the first time in 2005, is funded by the Ned K. Johnson Fund of the AOU.