Andrew Vitz grew up around Cincinnati, Ohio where, as a young child, he was captivated by butterflies. This early appreciation for nature has grown into a life long passion for avian ecology and conservation. Andrew received a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Biological Conservation. Following his Bachelor’s degree, Andrew spent 4 years working as a seasonal field biologist. These positions not only solidified his interest in songbird ecology but took him to Hawaii, Florida, New Hampshire, New York, Nevada, Costa Rica, and the Ligonier Valley of Pennsylvania where he worked on Louisiana Waterthrush at Powdermill.

Andrew received a M.S. and Ph.D. in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University. His graduate research investigated the consequences of forest management on songbird populations. Specifically, Andrew examined the post-fledging ecology of mature forest birds. Despite its importance in juvenile survival and recruitment into the breeding population, very little is understood concerning this period. Through his Master’s project he documented substantial use of regenerating clearcuts by mature-forest birds during the post-fledging period. He extended this research for his Ph.D. where he used both an observational and experimental study to examine fledgling survival and habitat selection of Ovenbirds and Worm-eating Warblers.

In addition to his Ph.D. research, over the last several years he has been actively involved in research examining the habitat suitability of shade coffee plantations and primary forest for Cerulean Warblers and other Neotropical migrants in the Venezuelan Andes. This research documented significantly higher densities of migrants in shade coffee plantations compared to primary forest, and this relationship was most pronounced for Cerulean Warblers. In addition, several species using these shade coffee plantations demonstrated improved body condition throughout the season and relatively high over-winter and annual survival rates. These results strongly suggest that shade coffee plantations provide high quality habitat for over-wintering Neotropical migratory birds.

Andrew’s long term goal is to provide meaningful contributions to the discipline of conservation biology. He is especially interested in conducting research on Neotropical migratory birds allowing for the unique opportunity to link conservation efforts throughout the Americas. Specifically, his interests are in bird/habitat relationships, winter/breeding/post-fledging ecology, migratory routes and connectivity, and the regulation of populations. Here at Powdermill he plans to address some of these themes both using Powdermill’s unique long-term banding dataset and by developing new avenues of research.