Scott Sillett is a research wildlife biologist and head of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. He investigates the ecology and behavior of both migratory and resident species. His research emphasizes experimental and multi-decade studies of wild bird populations. He collaborates with scientists and students at the Smithsonian, Colorado State University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, the National Park Service, the University of Georgia and The Nature Conservancy.
Sillett's projects include:
Behavioral and demographic responses of migratory birds to environmental variation
Integrating knowledge of local adaptation, ecosystem engineering and anthropogenic effects into conservation efforts for island birds
Ecology of bird populations throughout the annual cycle
Sillett is part of an interdisciplinary group of researchers who conduct extensive monitoring of bird demography and environmental conditions. This work is unique in North America in both its duration and intensity. Sillett helped pioneer the study of bird populations throughout the annual cycle and was the first to demonstrate that global climate cycles and mortality during migration affect population dynamics. His research also explores how conservation and habitat restoration can benefit from understanding how humans have shaped biodiversity over thousands of years.
Sillett earned a B.A. from the University of Arizona in 1989, a M.S. from Louisiana State University in 1992, and a Ph.D. from Dartmouth College in 2000. He was a postdoctoral scholar at the U.S. Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center from 2000 to 2001. Sillett joined the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center in 2002.
In his spare time, Sillett enjoys bird watching, gardening, hiking, traveling, fishing, astronomy, and reading science fiction and history. He lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, with his wife.
Gatti, Nicolas, Gomez, Miguel, I., Bennett, Ruth E., Sillett, T. Scott, and Bowe, Justine. 2022. "Eco-labels matter: Coffee consumers value agrochemical-free attributes over biodiversity conservation." Food Quality and Preference, 98, Oxford; England: Elsevier Science Limited. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104509.
2022
Cheek, Rebecca G., Forester, Brenna R., Salerno, Patricia E., Trumbo, Daryl R., Langin, Kathryn M., Chen, Nancy, Sillett, T. S., Morrison, Scott A., Ghalambor, Cameron K., and Chris Funk, W. 2022. "Habitat‐linked genetic variation supports microgeographic adaptive divergence in an island‐endemic bird species." Molecular ecology, 31, (10) 2830–2846. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16438.
2022
Doser, Jeffrey W., Leuenberger, Wendy, Sillett, T. Scott, Hallworth, Michael T., and Zipkin, Elise F. 2022. "Integrated community occupancy models: A framework to assess occurrence and biodiversity dynamics using multiple data sources." Methods in Ecology and Evolution, Hoboken; New Jersey: Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13811.
2022
Gamboa, Maybellene P., Ghalambor, Cameron K., Sillett, Terence Scott, Morrison, Scott A., and Funk, William Chris. 2021. "Adaptive divergence in bill morphology and other thermoregulatory traits is facilitated by restricted gene flow in song sparrows on the California Channel Islands." Molecular ecology, Hoboken; New Jersey: Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16253.
2021
Buechley, Evan R., Oppel, Steffen, Efrat, Ron, Phipps, W. Louis, Carbonell Alanis, Isidoro, Alvarez, Ernesto, Andreotti, Alessandro, Arkumarev, Volen, Berger-Tal, Oded, Bermejo Bermejo, Ana, Bounas, Anastasios, Ceccolini, Guido, Cenerini, Anna, Dobrev, Vladimir, Duriez, Olivier, Garcia, Javier, Garcia-Ripolles, Clara, Galan, Manuel, Gil, Alberto, Giraud, Lea, Hatzofe, Ohad, Iglesias-Lebrija, Juan Jose, Karyakin, Igor, Kobierzycki, Erik, Kret, Elzbieta et al. 2021. "Differential survival throughout the full annual cycle of a migratory bird presents a life-history trade-off." Journal of Animal Ecologyhttps://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.134492021
Rushing, Clark S., Ryder, Thomas Brandt, Valente, Jonathon J., Sillett, T. Scott, and Marra, Peter P. 2021. "Empirical tests of habitat selection theory reveal that conspecific density and patch quality, but not habitat amount, drive long-distance immigration in a wild bird." Ecology Lettershttps://doi.org/10.1111/ele.137292021
Bennett, Ruth E., Sillett, T. Scott, Rice, Robert A., and Marra, Peter P. 2021. "Impact of cocoa agricultural intensification on bird diversity and community composition." Conservation Biologyhttps://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.137792021
Rushing, Clark S., Van Tatenhove, Aimee M., Sharp, Andrew, Ruiz-Gutierrez, Viviana, Freeman, Mary C., Sykes, Paul W., Jr., Given, Aaron M., and Sillett, T. Scott. 2021. "Integrating tracking and resight data enables unbiased inferences about migratory connectivity and winter range survival from archival tags." Ornithological Applications, 123, (2). https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithapp/duab010.
2021
Sillett, T. Scott, Hochachka, Wesley M., and Taylor, Sabrina S. 2021. "The inaugural issue of Ornithology." Ornithology 138 (1):https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukaa0832021
Germain, Ryan R., Hallworth, Michael T., Kaiser, Sara A., Sillett, T. Scott, and Webster, Michael S. 2021. "Variance in within-pair reproductive success influences the opportunity for selection annually and over the lifetimes of males in a multibrooded songbird." Evolutionhttps://doi.org/10.1111/evo.141662021
Rick, Torben C., Sillett, T. Scott, Ghalambor, Cameron K., Hofman, Courtney A., Ralls, Katherine, Anderson, R. S., Boser, Christina L., Braje, Todd J., Cayan, Daniel R., Chesser, R. Terry, Collins, Paul W., Erlandson, Jon M., Faulkner, Kate R., Fleischer, Robert C., Funk, W. C., Galipeau, Russell, Huston, Ann, King, Julie, Laughrin, Lyndal, Maldonado, Jesús E., McEachern, Kathryn, Muhs, Daniel R., Newsome, Seth D., Reeder-Myers, Leslie, Still, Christopher et al. 2014. "Ecological Change on California's Channel Islands from the Pleistocene to the Anthropocene." Bioscience 64 (8):680-692. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biu0942014
Morrison, Scott A., Sillett, T. Scott, Ghalambor, Cameron K., Fitzpatrick, John W., Graber, David M., Bakker, Victoria J., Bowman, Reed, Collins, Charles T., Collins, Paul W., Delaney, Kathleen Semple, Doak, Daniel F., Koenig, Walter D., Laughrin, Lyndal, Lieberman, Alan A., Marzluff, John M., Reynolds, Mark D., Scott, J. Michael, Stallcup, Jerre Ann, Vickers, Winston, and Boyce, Walter M. 2011. "Proactive Conservation Management of an Island-endemic Bird Species in the Face of Global Change." Bioscience 61 (12):1013-1021. https://doi.org/10.1525/bio.2011.61.12.112011
Faaborg, John, Holmes, Richard T., Anders, Angela D., Bildstein, Keith L., Dugger, Katie M., Gauthreaux, Sidney A., Jr., Heglund, Patricia, Hobson, Keith A., Jahn, Alex E., Johnson, Douglas H., Latta, Steve C., Levey, Douglas J., Marra, Peter P., Merkord, Christopher L., Nol, Erica, Rothstein, Stephen I., Sherry, Thomas W., Sillett, T. Scott, Thompson, Frank R., III, and Warnock, Nils. 2010. "Conserving migratory land birds in the New World: Do we know enough?." Ecological Applications 20 (2):398-418. https://doi.org/10.1890/09-0397.12010
Faaborg, John, Holmes, Richard T., Anders, Angela D., Bildstein, Keith L., Dugger, Katie M., Gauthreaux, Sidney A., Jr., Heglund, Patricia, Hobson, Keith A., Jahn, Alex E., Johnson, Douglas H., Latta, Steve C., Levey, Douglas J., Marra, Peter P., Merkord, Christopher L., Nol, Erica, Rothstein, Stephen I., Sherry, Thomas W., Sillett, T. Scott, Thompson, Frank R., III, and Warnock, Nils. 2010. "Recent advances in understanding migration systems of New World land birds." Ecological Monographs 80 (1):3-48. https://doi.org/10.1890/09-0395.12010
Rushing, Clark S., Hostetler, Jeffrey A., Sillett, T. Scott, Marra, Peter P., and Ryder, Thomas B. 2017. [Dataset] "Demographic data used in spatial and temporal drivers of avian population dynamic across the annual cycle. (CSV)." Distributed by Smithsonian Research Online. https://doi.org/10.5479/data_nzp/10088/328002017
Sofaer, Helen R., Nagle, Lauren, Sillett, T. Scott, Yoon, Jongmin, and Ghalambor, Cameron K. 2020. "The importance of nighttime length to latitudinal variation in avian incubation attentiveness." Journal of Avian Biology, 51, (3). https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.02319.
2020
Marra, Peter P., Studds, Colin E., Wilson, Scott, Sillett, T. Scott, Sherry, Thomas W., and Holmes, Richard T. 2015. "Non-breeding season habitat quality mediates the strength of density-dependence for a migratory bird." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282, (1811). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0624.
2015