SCHUBOT CENTER FOR AVIAN HEALTH

The Schubot Center for Avian Health is an academic center within the CVMBS. Our mission is to conduct research into avian health and conservation issues, spanning pet, wild, and exotic birds. Our research spans disease ecology, parasitology, genetics, behavior, toxicology, pathology, and more. We are also involved in diagnostic test and vaccine development research. Our members teach undergraduates, graduate students, and DVM students about avian health and conservation issues. Our Avian Health Complex—with aviaries, isolation facilities, a laboratory, a clinic, and a classroom—is the largest and best equipped of its kind in the United States, currently housing over 200 birds used for teaching, outreach, and research.

Dr. Sarah A. Hamer, with her African Gray parrot, Togo

The new graphic element for the Schubot Center for Avian Health features the Whooping Crane, the Scarlet Macaw, and the Monk Parakeet.

Center members show local children how to safely trap, identify, process, band, and release wild birds at a local park.

Highlights from FY20 include:

The Schubot Center membership is growing with over 60 Texas A&M University members including faculty and staff, postdoctoral associates, graduate students, DVM students, and undergraduate students from eight different departments across three colleges. Members contribute to member meetings, research presentations, outreach events, and provide a collaborative support network throughout the year spanning diverse avian topics.

In the inaugural year of the Schubot research mini-grant program, we awarded up to $2,500 in research funds to each of 8 successful applicants, including undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, and faculty across five different departments and three colleges. Additionally, we also started a new travel grant program, providing up to $1,000 to defray costs of presenting avian research at conferences; three winners were selected.

We were proud to recognize three trainees on being selected as the 2020 Schubot Avian Health Director’s Award in honor of Dr. Ian Tizard (Schubot Director from 1999–2017). The award recognizes avian research accomplishments and contributions to the Schubot Center. The 2020 recipients include: Spencer DeBrock (MS student in Veterinary Integrative Biosciences), Amanda Beckman (PhD student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology), and Skye Sneed (DVM student).

We have continued our successful Schubot Seminar Series, bringing in external and internal speakers each semester for seminars. This past year, we hosted several external speakers including Dr. Sonia Hernandez of the University of Georgia to discuss urban White Ibis and the human health interface; Dr. Jeb Owen of Washington State University to discuss avian immunology; Barbara Heidenreich, an animal behaviorist who gave workshops on positive reinforcement methods to train our birds in the aviary; and Dr. Judilee Marrow, veterinarian at the Houston Zoo, who discussed the conservation of Attwater’s prairie chickens. Schubot Center members were given the opportunity to interact with each speaker to discuss collaborations and careers.

Our members organized several outreach activities, including bird banding events at local parks, aviary tours, ‘Darwin Day’ annual biology celebration, and workshops for visiting teacher and student groups, although group activities are now stopped with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Center member Kiera Merrit uses positive reinforcement techniques to train birds at the aviary. Schubot Center members educate other students about bird science with handson demonstrations at a local park.