Syntheses > Avian Habitat Relationships> Northern Rockies Forest Fire

We have policy people, we have scientists, but there’s no link between them. There is a need for people who can play the role of translator.
- M. Palmer, on ESA’s New Vision for Ecology.Bioscience 54:712.

Analysis and synthesis are two sides of the same coin, but science has underutilized synthesis as a way to convert data into usable knowledge. We must learn to better balance the skills of analysis and synthesis in order to be truly effective scientists.
- Robert Costanza, http://www.in-cites.com/papers/DrRobertCostanza.html

Synthesizing current knowledge related to avian biology is an important part of the mission of the Avian Science Center. Without clear and useful syntheses, it is difficult for scientists and the public-at-large to apply science-based information to decision making about conservation issues.

Together, The University of Montana and Montana State University possess an exceptionally strong research faculty in avian ecology and management. This regional expertise provides a unique opportunity for integration, synthesis, and collaboration. The Avian Science Center is committed to synthesizing and disseminating research and monitoring results through both traditional publishing routes and through broader avenues. These efforts will make important scientific results more readily available to the greater community of professional land managers, agency biologists, policy makers, landowners, media and the public-at-large.

It is our hope that decisions affecting wildlife and their associated habitats can, to the greatest extent possible, be science-based. Our own syntheses integrate existing information from published research, not-yet-published scientific reports, and from our own monitoring and research results. The Avian Science Center disseminates this synthesized information through a variety of avenues including:

1) Peer-reviewed publications
2) Technical reports for managers and conservationists
3) News media
4) Professional workshops
5) Field demonstrations
6) World Wide Web