A day at the museum | #BOUasm25

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A day at the museum: collections-based ornithological research in a changing world

Conference theme, aims and scope

There are millions of avian specimens in museums throughout the world. Each one is a rich repository of data about the individual animal and the environment it experienced while it was alive. Many of these environments no longer exist, making museum specimens unique and irreplaceable archives of a changing world. How are researchers unlocking these data, and what exciting questions are they using them to answer?

This is not, however, just about the past. We also need to think about what avian material we might want to collect now and into the future, so we can track the impacts of future environmental changes on wild birds. We need to help shape the museums of the future.

Ultimately collections past, present and future are made to facilitate research on wild birds in a changing world. To unlock existing collections and plan future ones, therefore, we need to better understand the art of the possible. In other words, what are the current and future directions in collections-based ornithological research, and how do we unlock collections and plan future collecting to support these?

Addressing this question will be the primary aim of the conference. We will bring together researchers to explore the frontiers of collections-based ornithological research, including innovative approaches being developed to unlock the data in collections, and exciting new directions in environmental change research. The conference will also include a discussion session on the future of ornithological collecting – what should we be collecting and why, and how do we support collections to ensure they are both safe and accessible to the research community now and into the future?

Keynotes

The call for keynote nominations is now closed. Keep an eye out for keynote speaker announcements!

Key dates

The call for abstracts will open in early 2025.

Registration will open in summer 2025.

Parallel conference format

The BOU aims to run inclusive and accessible events. One way we seek to achieve this is by delivering our conferences in parallel on a freely accessible social media platform. From 2025 onwards, this will be Bluesky.

All presenters at our conferences will be invited to post a summary of their presentation on Bluesky, and will be provided with helpful guidelines to support them in doing so. No conference registration, or Bluesky account, is required to view these presentations.

Social media has broadened the reach of our conferences, attracting a significantly larger and more diverse audience than meetings without this element.

You can view previous BOU conferences on Bluesky here:
BOU2024
BOUasm24
BOUsci24

Scientific Programme Committee

Ken Norris | Chair | Natural History Museum, UK
Alex Bond | Natural History Museum, UK
Shane Dubay | University of Texas at Arlington, USA
Catriona Morrison | University of East Anglia, UK & BOU Meetings Committee
Gavin Thomas | University of Sheffield, UK
Andreanna Welch | Durham University, UK

Images
Tring bird collection (banner) | © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London
Skin curation (top small) | © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London
Tring bird collection (bottom) | © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London/a>