NEWS AND NOTES

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COOPER ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY ANNUAL MEETING

The 54th Annual Meeting will take place in Northern California at Humboldt State University, Arcata, from June 19-23, 1984. The meeting will precede the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists (June 24-28) at the same location. The Cooper meeting will include a variety of events in addition to the scientific program. This will include early morning field trips, and two days of field trips on June 22 and 23, to include pelagic birding, rafting on local scenic rivers, and tours of Redwood National Park. Two workshops will be held on Tuesday afternoon, June 19. One, on scientific writing will be organized by Peter Stettenheim, and another organized by Ralph J. Gutierrez, on the Spotted Owl's impact on the rate of logging of Pacific Northwest old-growth forests. An evening poster session will be featured along with local wine tasting. Dr. Barry R. Noon (Department of Wildlife Management, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 95521) will be local chairman. Deadline for abstracts for papers, poster presentations, or motion pictures is May 1, 1984. For further information, write C. J. Ralph, Program Chairman, Redwood Sciences Laboratory, USDA Forest Service, 1700 Bayview Dr., Arcata, CA 95521.

CHAIR OF ORNITHOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI CHANGES HANDS

Dr. Oscar T. Owre and Dr. Colin J. Pennycuick were the guests of honor at the formal installation ceremony of the latter as Maytag Professor of Ornithology at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, on October 17, 1983. A special medal struck for the occasion was awarded to both incoming and outgoing Maytag Professors. University of Miami President, Edward T. Foote II, read the following citation for Professor Owre:

Oscar T. "Bud" Owre has been associated with the University of Miami for over 45 years. First as a student, then as a faculty member and distinguished researcher on the biology of birds. Bud has ... stimulated and expanded the vision of four generations of students. He has carried out extensive field work in the neotropics, India, Australia, and Africa, but has always returned to study the birds of his beloved South Florida. He is the authority on South Florida birds, their functional anatomy and the effects of introduced species on the region. In recognition of his international eminence he was appointed as the first Robert E. Maytag Professor of Ornithology in 1969 and held the chair until becoming Maytag Professor Emeritus this year. He continues to be active as Professor of Biology.

Professor Owre was further honored with the presentation of a permanent plaque mounted with a Maytag medal as a gift from his colleagues in Biology at Miami. Professor Jay M. Savage, Chairman of the Department of Biology, presided over the formal installation of Dr. Pennycuick as the second Maytag Professor of Ornithology. President Foote read the following citation as part of the ceremony.

Dr. Colin J. Pennycuick, formerly of the University of Bristol in Great Britain, accepted the appointment to fill the chair of Maytag Professor of Ornithology in the UM Department of Biology effective in the Fall Semester 1983 .... Professor Pennycuick is a graduate of Cambridge University and has served on the faculty at the University of Nairobi (Kenya) and as Deputy Director of the Serengeti Research Institute, Tanzania. He is the leading authority on the physiology and aerodynamics of flight in large birds .... [His] current research, supported by the Royal Society, is on the flight characteristics of the Andean Condor.

Dr. Pennycuick is a former pilot. He utilizes gliders to follow his flying subjects and has developed a series of specialized electronic instruments to record and evaluate data in flight. Pennycuick plans to utilize these techniques for the study of the large birds of South Florida and the Caribbean region including flamingos, storks, frigate birds and pelicans, as well as large birds of prey. The Maytag chairs of lchthyology and Ornithology were established by a bequest of the late industrialist and Miami trustee Robert E. Maytag. Through a separate gift he also established the Maytag Endowment for Biology to support exceptional students in biology during their graduate careers.

FRANK M. CHAPMAN FUND

The Frank M. Chapman Memorial Fund gives grants in aid for ornithological research and also post-doctoral fellowships. While there is no restriction on who may apply, the Committee particularly welcomes and favors applications from graduate students; projects in game management and medical sciences are seldom funded. Applications are due on 15 January. Information on form and content of applications may be obtained from the Frank M. Chapman Memorial Fund Committee, The American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024.

SAPO NATIONAL PARK IN WEST AFRICA

Sapo National Park is the first to be established of three proposed national parks and four nature reserves selected in late 1978 and early 1979 with the assistance of the I.U.C.N. and the World Wildlife Fund. The park is situated in southeastern Liberia and covers a total land area of 505 sq. miles of primary lowland rainforest. Sapo is 440 miles by road from Monrovia, Liberia's capital city. There are also regular local air services from Monrovia to Greenville in the South and to Zwedru in the North. The park is not yet penetrated by motor roads.

Sapo supports species of large and small mammals, many species of reptiles, and approximately 300 species of birds. The park is presently protected by a staff numbering 22. Four are trained Liberian graduates of the College of African Wildlife Management in Tanzania, two are U.S. Peace Corps volunteers and the others are ex-hunters and farmers who are well-acquainted with the forest environment in that part of the country.

The official establishment of Sapo National Park in May 1983 is a major breakthrough for wildlife conservation practices in Liberia and its development may stimulate the creation of the other national parks and nature reserves. Emphasis in the early management of the park is being placed on research on the biological resources of the region, under the direction of the Forestry Development Authority. For further information contact: Division of Wildlife and National Parks, Forestry Development Authority, P.O. Box 3010, Monrovia, Republic of Liberia, West Africa.

GUIDE TO COMPUTER SEARCHING OF ZOOLOGICAL RECORD

BioSciences Information Service (BIOSIS) announces the availability of "How to Search Zoological Record Online," a new user aid designed to increase understanding of Zoological Record Online (ZR Online)--the world's largest zoological data base. This free reference tool introduces the reader to the basics of computer searching, describes the components of ZR Online, and provides a few helpful hints for searching the online file. "How to Search ZR Online" is also a user fact sheet that answers several important questions about the data base, such as who uses it, subjects covered, and what types of literature sources are monitored for inclusion in ZR Online.

Produced jointly by Biosciences Information Service and the Zoological Society of London, ZR Online is the machine-readable version of Zoological Record, which provides worldwide coverage of the zoological literature. ZR Online, which has separate subfiles devoted to particular animal groups, is updated bimonthly. It is currently searchable on the Lockheed DIALOG Information Service System (File 185). The data base includes 163,000 records, representing Volumes 115, 116 and part of Volume 117. When Volume 117 is completely loaded to the file in December of 1983, ZR Online will contain 186,000 records. For a free copy of"How to Search ZR Online" contact BIOSIS User Services, 2100 Arch St., Philadelphia, PA 19103-1399; (215) 587-4800; toll free (800) 523-4806, continental U.S., outside of Pennsylvania.