Tracking global movements

The long-distance migrant shorebirds that we study all breed in the High Arctic and spend the long non-breeding season at lower latitudes, from Wadden Sea to tropical regions as Banc d’Arguin (Mauritania), Barr al Hikman (Oman), and the Bijagós Archipelago (Guinee-Bissau). By travelling the world, these birds have to deal with different global-change problems, most notably climate change at their Arctic breeding grounds. Through their migrations, the different human-induced problems that they face at different sites become connected. For example, the difficulty to arrive on time at their rapidly warming breeding grounds may be strengthen due to the loss of fueling sites further south (e.g. due to land reclamations). By tracking individuals these problems will be revealed to us, which could help us design conservation and mitigation programs.