About this Research Topic
The International Partners in Flight Science Committee (hereafter PIF Science) formed in 1990 with the goal of creating an open forum for collaboration among scientists from universities, non-government organizations, government agencies in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and the Neotropics/Central America and others dedicated to advancing scientific concepts and approaches for landbird conservation at range-wide and regional scales. The cornerstone of PIF Science has been the development and maintenance of the Avian Conservation Assessment Database (ACAD) and the Population Estimates Database. These tools have been integrated and applied to help inform research and conservation action. Some examples include: PIF Science species assessments in the ACAD have been used to shape priority species lists for State Wildlife Action Plans and have informed listing processes for species at risk in the United States and Canada and data from these tools have helped to collaboratively develop a tri-national (Mexico, Canada and the US) vision for landbird conservation. Each of these initiatives and their products are maintained through strong, collaborative partnerships. The focus of this Research Topic is to introduce and give background on the Partners Science Committee and describe the methods and conservation value of PIF Science’s flagship tools: the ACAD and Population Estimates Database. We will include examples of the two databases’ applications to local, regional, and hemispheric conservation planning and implementation and their updates and integration of new data over time. Despite its widespread application, a detailed methodology of the database and scoring has not been updated in the peer-reviewed literature since 2000 and is described only in the grey literature. There is a need for peer-review so the new methods can be formally reviewed and cited. Alongside PIF Science’s long-standing ACAD and Population Estimates databases, PIF Science continues to ask new questions and conduct new analyses and is working to expand the reach of the tools and to develop new ones to be more inclusive and useful beyond their historic scope. Through this Research Topic there will be a venue to also highlight current applications of PIF Science tools and to explore opportunities for improvement, new applications and discussions around how future efforts can be shaped to make the PIF Science partnership and its tools more relevant to a broader international audience to be more effective in full annual cycle bird conservation efforts and partnership development.
Partners in Flight (PIF) is a dynamic and welcoming network of more than 150 partner organizations distributed throughout the Western Hemisphere. PIF is engaged in all aspects of landbird conservation from science, research, planning, and policy development, to land management, monitoring, education, and outreach. The mission of PIF is keeping common birds common and helping species at risk through voluntary partnerships. The PIF International Science Committee is an open forum of scientists from universities, NGOs, and agencies in the U.S, Canada, Mexico, and Central America and others dedicated to advancing scientific concepts and approaches for landbird conservation at range-wide and regional scales.
In this issue, PIF Science hopes to highlight the conservation products and tools of the committee and their broad use and applicability across multiple scales. Some technical aspects and updated methods of products such as the ACAD have not been peer-reviewed in 20 years, so we hope to gain peer-reviewed publications on these products. PIF Science is always looking for technical expertise on bird species or species groups or statistical analyses for participation in the committee across Canada, the U.S., and the Neotropics. We hope this Frontiers in Bird Science research topic will serve as a platform to showcase PIF Science work, the application of various PIF Science products to support bird conservation and invite new, diverse partners and expertise from across the western hemisphere to better reflect geographic representation and diverse perspectives in conservation efforts and planning for our shared migratory birds.
Partners in Flight (PIF) is a dynamic and welcoming network of more than 150 partner organizations distributed throughout the Western Hemisphere. PIF is engaged in all aspects of landbird conservation from science, research, planning, and policy development, to land management, monitoring, education, and outreach. The mission of PIF is keeping common birds common and helping species at risk through voluntary partnerships. The PIF International Science Committee is an open forum of scientists from universities, NGOs, and agencies in the U.S, Canada, Mexico, and Central America and others dedicated to advancing scientific concepts and approaches for landbird conservation at range-wide and regional scales.
In this issue, PIF Science hopes to highlight the conservation products and tools of the committee and their broad use and applicability across multiple scales. Some technical aspects and updated methods of products such as the ACAD have not been peer-reviewed in 20 years, so we hope to gain peer-reviewed publications on these products. PIF Science is always looking for technical expertise on bird species or species groups or statistical analyses for participation in the committee across Canada, the U.S., and the Neotropics. We hope this Frontiers in Bird Science research topic will serve as a platform to showcase PIF Science work, the application of various PIF Science products to support bird conservation and invite new, diverse partners and expertise from across the western hemisphere to better reflect geographic representation and diverse perspectives in conservation efforts and planning for our shared migratory birds.
Keywords: Partners in Flight, Partners in Flight Science Committee, Bird Conservation, Ornithology, Migratory Bird Conservation, Avian Conservation Assessment Database, ACAD, Population Estimates Database, Full Annual Cycle Conservation, Full Life Cycle Conservation
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
