SGER: Establishing a new system to monitor long-distance movements in small animals

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Understanding animal movement is essential in ecology and behavior. However, many important behaviors in an animal's life cannot be studied because no observational methodologies exist. Prime examples are insect and songbird migration, where it is often considered impossible to follow individuals over long migratory distances. This project will explore the use of a new telemetry system to monitor migration of small animals (down to 1 gram insects) over large ecological barriers such as oceans. A collaboration with an international Polar expedition provides the unique opportunity to determine whether small (300 gram) shorebirds (Bar-tailed godwits, Limosa lapponica) fly non-stop between their Alaska breeding grounds and New Zealand non-breeding quarters, a distance of roughly 11000 km. Eighty birds will be radio-tagged in Alaska and their departure times and directions monitored. The birds' arrival in their wintering quarters in New Zealand, approximately 7-10 days later, will then be monitored via automated receiver stations. If successful, applications of this new telemetry system range from studying dragonfly migration along the USA Northeastern seashore to Blackpoll warbler migration from New England to Venezuela. The project involves an international collaboration and development of a new technique that has wide implications for research. Students will have the opportunity to learn biotelemetry techniques for tracking animals and what new kinds of questions can be addressed using this procedure.