"Flight of the Kuaka" Response (Questions 3 & 4)

Don Staps article, "Flight of the Kuaka," includes information and quotes from two wildlife biologists, Nils Warnock and Bob Gill.  Staps incorporates this information about these men into his writing to make it more real and factual.  In the second paragraph he gives a biographcial background for Warnock by stating that he is "codirector of the Wetlands Ecology Division at California’s PRBO Conservation Science" (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1510).  In fifth paragraph he does the same for Gill by explaining that he is "a wildlife biologist at the Anchorage, Alaska, office of the United States Geological Survey (USGS)" (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1510).  Staps gives these small backgrounds to make sure the reader knows that the two men are learned in their study and can be trusted with what they say.  Just like a college student must always cite their sources, an author, especially an author of scientific material, must always give credit and backgrounds for the people they interview and quote from.  These biographical backgrounds of Warnock and Gill are used in the text to ensure that the reader knows that they are knowledgeable about the flight of the godwit birds.  

Staps also includes dialogue said by these two men within his article.  He only does this four times, but each time he does it adds variety and liveness to the text.  In the very first paragraph when Warnock is quoted as saying to Staps, "Don’t hold him too tightly," (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1510) about the gotwit bird, it creates a picture and feeling for the reader.  Although, the quote is so small in the grand scheme of the article, it is so important to use quotes like this to make the reader feel as though the story is real and interesting.