Begin forwarded message: From: Ellen Paul <[email protected]> Executive Director The Ornithological Council Ornithological Council Website: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET "Providing Scientific Information about Birds"
Date: February 7, 2006 8:45:33 AM CST Subject: Preliminary news about the President's budget request for research The President's budget request for Fiscal Year 2007 was released today. For funding agencies of interest to ornithologists, the President has requested that Congress appropriate the following amounts (NSF reported here; others to follow in separate e-mails). These are better numbers than those of the FY2006 request. Note the large increase for Emerging Frontiers, underscoring NSF's commitment to cutting-edge science. Readers are reminded that the request is just that. What comes out of Congress in September (or later, if the Congress again fails to pass a budget by the end of the current fiscal year) could look very different. National Science Foundation Research and Related Activities $4.666 billion (including $7 million carryover from FY2006) (Increase of $327 million over FY2006) Biology Directorate (part of Research and Related Activities): $607.85 million (Increase of $31.16 million or 5.4% over FY2006) Subdirectorates: Molecular and Cellular Bio: $111.22 million (Increase of $2.95 million or 2.7% over FY2006) Integrative Organismal Bio: $100.47 million (Increase of $0.35 million or $0.3% over FY2006) Environmental Bio: $109.61 million (Increase of $2.90 milllion or 2.7% over FY2006) Biological Infrastructure $85.90 million (Increase of $4.10 million or 5.0% over FY2006) Emerging Frontiers $99.16 million (Increase of $18.26 million or 22.7% over FY2006) Plant Genome $101.22 million (Increase of $2.50 million or 2.5% over FY2006) NEON (National Ecological Observatory Network) Increase of $6 million for research and development efforts in sensor development Ornithologists take note! The formal NSF BIO budget request document spotlighted two NSF-funded ornithology projects as Research Highlights: ORNIS: Five Million Birds in Your Computer With over 70 million amateur and professional ornithologists, bird watching remains one of the most popular outdoor activities in the United States. ORNIS (ORNithological Information System), an NSFsponsored information network developed at the University of Kansas, links together 33 ornithology collections from the U.S., Canada and Mexico into one "virtual" museum that allows users to extract information on nearly five million bird specimens. The information identifies places where living birds are found and habitats that might be suited for recolonization. ORNIS linked to similar information networks for other animal groups will create a biodiversity knowledge resource for tracking climate change and emerging diseases, like West Nile Virus. Hummingbird aerodynamics: Scientists Reveal Aerodynamics of Tiny Bird's Flight Hummingbirds are unique among birds for their ability to hover for long periods of time. Using a sophisticated digital imaging technique, researchers from Oregon State University, University of Portland and George Fox University have determined the aerodynamics of hummingbird flight. The team found that hummingbirds support 75 percent of their weight during the wing's down stroke and 25 percent on the up stroke. This contrasts with other birds, which use the down stroke to support 100 percent of their weight during slow flight and short-term hovering. The finding provides new insight into evolutionary trends that led to sustained hovering in birds and may provide engineers with a new model for future miniature autonomous flying vehicles. http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=104263 forward by Jim Williams, Wayzata, Minnesota
