Testimonies
Pas de contenu pour le moment
On 11 July 2022, in the grassy tundra northwest of Nome, Alaska, biologists Jesse Conklin and Dan Ruthrauff had found a brood of Bar-tailed Godwits. They fitted each of the three small chicks with a 0.75 g radio-transmitter, so that they could find the young birds again a few days later, still accompanied by their parents, but just a few days before they would become independent.
On 15 July, after a 3-mile hike from the original location and a long search, Jesse and Dan caught the grown-up godwits when they were an estimated 26 days old, weighed them (181, 186 and 200 g) and individually marked each with an engraved flag. From now on, they would be known as B3, B4, and B6. Then, they fitted the young birds with 5-g solar-powered Argos satellite-transmitters (Model PTT-100, Microwave Telemetry, Inc., USA) in the first attempt to track fledglings of this species on their first southbound migration across the Pacific Ocean.
Jesse and Dan returned home and we all watched, with great anticipation and a healthy portion of skepticism, the locations that popped up on the map. B3 and B4 never moved from the Nome area, their fate unknown, but on 5 August B6 flew from the Seward Peninsula across Norton Sound (nearly 200 km of open water) to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. This is the area where the entire population is known to prepare for migration, so our hopes were high.
More than two months went by, and our mood changed from nail-biting nervousness to mild despair. The signal of B6 remained strong, but the bird didn’t move, and the adult godwits presumably had already long left. Then, on a fateful Thursday, 13 October, B6 left the coast of Alaska and moved south. Eleven days later, and after a sudden live-saving west-ward turn going with strong winds, it made landfall on the east coast of Tasmania. Estimated at 13,436 km, this is the longest non-stop flight ever recorded for a landbird.
Jesse Conklin & Bart Kempenaers*
* Behavioural Ecology & Evolutionary Genetics Group, Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence
This project is a collaboration between the Max Plank Institute for Biological Intelligence in Seewiesen, Germany, the U.S Geological Survey, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with further support from the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership.
15.05.2023 Animal tracking applications The longest flight
On 11 July 2022, in the grassy tundra northwest of Nome, Alaska, biologists Jesse Conklin and Dan Ruthrauff had found a brood of Bar-tailed Godwits. They fitted each of the three small chicks with a 0.75 g radio-transmitter, so that they could find the young birds again a few days…
09.05.2023 Animal tracking applications Turtles in a hurricane
Turtles in the Gulf of Mexico experience major hurricanes. How they respond to such extreme events is a puzzle whose answers would contribute to the conservation of these threatened and endangered species. Telemetry provides some pieces to that puzzle. Photo: Juvenile green turtle in St. Joseph Bay (photo credit Margaret…
25.04.2023 Animal tracking applications Double-Crested Cormorants nesting in a small reservoir
Water birds need specific environments, but may use new areas. Double-crested cormorants are now nesting in the South-East of USA, including on small reservoirs, not only in the Great Lake system. Their behaviors can be studied using Argos satellite telemetry, to better protect a still recovering species. Photo: a double-crested…
13.04.2023 Animal tracking applications Green turtles’ uses of Marine Protected Areas on the West African coasts
Green turtles are found along the West African upwelling. A network of Marine Protected Areas has been established during the past 25 years. Its efficiency towards protecting green turtles can be studied using Argos satellite telemetry. Photo: green turtle with an Argos PTT (credit M. Varela) Marine Protected Areas…
27.03.2023 Animal tracking applications Cuckoos’ migration from South Korea to the South of Africa
Common cuckoos are found in Eurasia, from Europe to Korea. All over the continent, they migrate to Africa, while they parasite different birds’ nests. Tracking them using Argos helps understand the similarities and differences between all of them. The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), like the…
13.03.2023 Animal tracking applications Tracking eels to the Sargasso Sea
European eels are a critically endangered species. They have a complex life-cycle with their spawning area thought to be in the Sargasso Sea. A study managed to track them to their breeding place for the first time using pop-up tags. We’ve reported on this web…
28.02.2023 Animal tracking applications Why Arctic foxes travel long distances?
The Arctic foxes have been noticed as travelling very long distances over the whole Arctic regions. Long time series of tracks retrieved by Argos enables to analyse this behaviour to understand why they might go so far, and whether they are staying there, at which period of their…
16.02.2023 Animal tracking applications Eurasian Wookcocks’ migrations to breeding sites
Eurasian Woodcocks are birds which migrate across Europe. Their studies have long been led using rings, but the advent of small-enough satellite telemetry emitters now enables to follow them all along their migrations, from wintering to breeding sites, and to know more about the latter, in particular. …
03.02.2023 Animal tracking applications Black-tailed godwits are breeding in areas of intensive agriculture
Some bird species like the black-tailed godwits are nesting on ground, in grasslands. However, across all of lowland Europe, such areas have been transformed for intensive agriculture. Tracking by Argos helped to determine whether there is any space left in those highly cultivated areas for such farmland-specialists. …
19.01.2023 Animal tracking applications Tracking northern elephant seals in ocean eddies
Understanding how a marine species uses the features of its environment is important for conservation. The northern elephant seals are close cousins to their southern equivalents. A number of tracking data exists, enabling to study their behaviors in comparison with ocean eddies and other environment data from remote…
05.01.2023 Argos news & events Argos support: your daily operations partner
Last year we met with Charles Drieu La Rochelle, member of the user support team in France, to find out more about CLS Group’s excellent customer care. But, did you know that he’s part of a dynamic duo? We thought it was time to introduce the other…
02.01.2023 Animal tracking applications Selecting sites for Harpy Eagles’ releases
Harpy Eagles are threatened birds of prey of Central and South Americas. A study show why and how releases of rehabilitated or captive-born animals should consider home range characteristics and habitat preferences. The Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja), found in tropical lowland evergreen forest from south…
20.12.2022 Animal tracking applications Loggerhead turtles and Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas
Assessing whether an endangered species visits the protected areas – or not – is an important indicator of their relevance. Tracking of loggerhead turtles in the Mediterranean Sea show that modifying and adding protected area would be necessary for their conservation. Main photo: Nesting female tagged by night…
28.11.2022 Animal tracking applications Common Woodpigeons keep their breeding sites, change their wintering ones
Tracking animals help in understanding their behaviour, which can benefit to their protection, even for abundant species such as the common woodpigeons. Their behavioral plasticity, demonstrated by such study should help them in maintaining their population. The common woodpigeon (Columba palumbus) is a very abundant and…
17.11.2022 Animal tracking applications Beluga whales avoid ship noises
Beluga whales are Arctic cetacean very sensitive to noises, including underwater ship noises. For a long time, scarcity of such ships in the region meant it wasn’t a concern. With ice-free routes opening for longer period with global climate change, the question now arises. As…
20.10.2022 Animal tracking applications Do Juvenile Smooth Hammerhead sharks have a nursery in the Azores?
Smooth hammerhead sharks are a threatened species of shark – as most shark species. Locating their essential habitats, like the nurseries could make a difference in their protection. Argos can help by tracking juveniles. Sharks are among the most threatened marine species, as they are…
28.09.2022 Animal tracking applications A new tag to record diving behavior of large whales
A new tag dedicated to large whale has been developped and tested. It enables to record dive behaviors, using a software detection event to better summarize and compress the data to be used during long-range travels over several months. As we saw in a previous…
26.09.2022 Animal tracking applications Lost shark tag found thanks to the Animal Telemetry Network and the Argos goniometer
Marcus Drymon, Assistant Extension Professor at Mississippi State University Marine Fisheries Specialist and Dr. Greg Skomal, an accomplished marine biologist who we interviewed for Shark Week, were recently able to recover a lost shark tag thanks to NOAA’s Animal Telemetry Network (ATN) and an Argos goniometer loaned…
23.09.2022 Animal tracking applications Breaking news: Engineers and scientists collaborate to develop the first open-source Argos ear tag
For over a decade, researchers have been working on improving radio telemetry devices for polar bears. In 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the World Wildlife Fund, IDEO, and MistyWest teamed up to develop a new Argos-based polar bear ear tag. After two years of…
21.09.2022 Argos news & events Argos metamorphosis update: not one but two Argos-4 instruments to be launched in the coming weeks!
We are just few weeks away from the planned launches of two Argos-4 payloads, an advanced satellite instrument that will track the movement of wildlife, as well as critical environmental data around the world. Argos-4 will ensure the continuity of the Argos-2 & Argos-3 missions while…
12.09.2022 Animal tracking applications Hudsonian godwits cross the windy ocean
The Hudsonian godwit is a migratory bird travelling a marathon, transoceanic flight from South America to Arctic or sub-Arctic North America. Their flight paths tracked using Argos, in relation with variable winds, can help understand how they travel such long distances. Photo: a Hudsonian godwit equipped with an…
01.09.2022 Argos news & events Dog recovers lost Argos tag from a Leafscale Gulper Shark
At the end of March 2022, Cristina Rodríguez-Cabello researcher of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) in Santander (Spain), was working at her Centre when she received an unexpected yet exciting call from France. One of the archival tags she had attached to a deep-water shark…
31.08.2022 Animal tracking applications Lake charr ecotypes’ habitats differ
Lake charrs are freshwater fish found in the Laurentian Great Lakes (North America), among others. They nearly disappeared, but restoration was successful at least in Lake Superior. Understanding the different habitats of the lake charr ecotypes can help in restoring them in all of the Great Lakes. Photo:…
17.08.2022 Birds tracking Philippine eagles forage in human fragmented forests
Protecting critically endangered species aims to better assess where and when the main threats to these species occurs. Using satellite telemetry technology, Philippine eagles were tracked to define their home range and habitat use across their tropical forest breeding grounds and within human-occupied areas. Main Photo: A Philippine…
01.08.2022 Birds tracking Identifying reddish egrets stopover sites to protect their migrations
Migratory birds, especially those which depend on coastal wetland habitats, are among the threatened animals. Identifying the key sites in their life cycle, including the stopovers used during migration, is important for conservation efforts. Argos satellite telemetry can help by providing locations along the migrations and measuring residency…
26.07.2022 Argos news & events Shark week: Dr. Gregory Skomal talks tagging and what the future constellation will bring
“I think anyone who’s used Argos will have to admit that they’ve learned something revelatory. The more we use Argos to track animal movements, the more we see that their movements are far more complex and of greater scale than we ever imagined.” Featured photo credit:…
19.07.2022 Animal tracking applications Japan-nesting loggerhead turtles foraging habitats
Loggerhead turtles can forage either on continental shelf or in the open ocean. The North Pacific population, nesting whole in Japan show both behaviours. Their foraging areas are pinpointing using isotopic analysis and Argos tracking, to better define conservation measures. Photo: a loggerhead turtle with an Argos PTT…
05.07.2022 Animal tracking applications A nursery for juvenile reef manta rays
Reef manta rays are a vulnerable species. They grow up in protected shallow areas such as lagoons. Tracking them with Argos can help to confirm that a given lagoon is a nursery for this species Photo: a female juvenile reef manta ray sized 220 cm (wingspan; they…
20.06.2022 Animal tracking applications Juvenile grey-headed albatrosses learn to decode their environment
Uncovering how young animals learn to move efficiently and find food, is one of the many possible uses of satellite telemetry. Here, researchers from British Antarctic Survey satellite-tracked juvenile grey-headed albatrosses to understand the effect of environmental conditions during this critical early stage of development. Photo: a…
13.06.2022 Marine animals tracking Harp seal juveniles learn on their own
Harp seal juveniles leave their native ice pack to forage and migrate on their own. Tracking them and recording their dive can help understand how they manage their first year. Ultimately, the question is their plasticity with respect to environmental changes. Photo: a juvenile harp seal with…
