Night vision system for observing activity of shorebirds on mudflats

芬迪湾的上海湾是迁徙半足类琵琶的关键中转区，每年7月下旬至8月下旬，有100多万只鸟在该地区迁徙。在该地区，沙嘴鸟广泛以无脊椎动物为食，特别是在泥滩上发现的端足类科罗芬涡虫。近年来，琵琶对栖息地的利用发生了一些变化，可能是为了应对食物基础的变化。这一事实，再加上观察到的种群数量下降，使我们了解这种物种在芬迪湾期间的食物习惯和觅食行为变得重要。我们最近发现了一种新的觅食行为，在这种行为中，鸟类似乎“吮吸”了底物，而不是更常见的啄食。这种情况主要发生在它们的主要猎物密度较低的地区，这表明这种新方法允许它们摄取其他食物。西方琵鹭也有类似的行为。我们目前正在进行一项研究，将观察到的行为与饮食习惯(使用血浆的稳定同位素分析进行测量)联系起来。然而，我们的行为观察目前仅限于白天。这是有问题的，因为人们知道琵琶在晚上觅食，而且相关物种已经被证明使用不同的觅食方法、栖息地，并在黑暗中觅食时选择不同的猎物。因此，我建议购买夜视系统，使我们能够将行为观察和对鸟类密度和栖息地使用的估计延长到夜间。这将由两个迷你单筒望远镜组成，它们可以连接在一起，形成放大7倍的双筒望远镜，用于计算远处的鸟类数量。当分离时，单筒望远镜将可连接到摄像机上，使我们能够记录行为以供以后分析。购买这套系统将有助于对琵琶觅食生态学进行更全面的研究，这反过来又有助于我们微调该物种的栖息地保护工作。此外，结果将被纳入正在进行的泥滩群落生态研究，并最终将有助于我们了解群落结构和功能的能力。

The upper Bay of Fundy is a critical staging area for migrating Semipalmated Sandpipers, with more than one million birds visiting the area each summer between late July and late August. When in the region, sandpipers feed extensively on invertebrates, especially the amphipod Corophium volutator, found on mudflats. In recent years, habitat use by sandpipers has changed somewhat, possibly in response to changes in the food base. This fact, coupled with an observed population decline, makes it important that we understand food habits and foraging behaviour of this species during their time in the Bay of Fundy. We have recently identified a new feeding behaviour, in which bird appear to "sip" the substrate as opposed to the more common pecking. This occurs mainly in areas where their main prey item is found at low densities, suggesting that this new method allows them to take other food. Western Sandpipers have been observed engaging in similar behaviour. We are currently conducting a study linking observed behaviour with food habits (being measured using stable isotope analysis of blood plasma). However, our behavioural observations are currently limited to daytime. This is problematic, because sandpipers are known to feed at night, and related species have been shown to use different foraging methods, habitat, and select different prey when feeding in the dark. Therefore, I propose to purchase a night vision system that will allow us to extend behavioural observations and estimates of bird density and habitat use to nighttime. This will consist of two mini-monoculars that can be attached together to form binoculars with 7x magnification for bird counts at a distance. When separate, the monoculars will be attachable to camcorders, allowing us to record behaviour for later analysis. Purchasing this system will facilitate a more complete study of sandpiper foraging ecology, which in turn will help us to fine tune habitat conservation efforts for this species. Further, results will be incorporated into ongoing studies of mudflat community ecology, and will ultimately aid in our ability to understand community structure and function.