"Geese In Space" Takes Off With Ducks Unlimited
Memphis, November 2---Scientists from Ducks Unlimited are monitoring the southward migration of twenty-four Canada geese. The geese have been outfitted with light weight satellite transmitters with tiny antennas. Armchair scientists are invited to take part in the trip by Clicking Here to follow the migration.
Dramatic Population Decline
Dr. Bruce Batt, chief biologist at Ducks Unlimited, is directing the study with Dr. Richard Malecki of the NY Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Cornell University. The project is now in its second year. The biologists will use the collected data to track the movements of Atlantic Flyway Canada geese. They hope to learn more about where the geese go during migration, where they spend the winter and when they move from one location to the next. Batt and Malecki are trying to uncover the reasons behind a precipitous population decline that started in 1987. "This is one of the last frontiers in goose biology. Even the most basic information about their numbers and where they breed is lacking. We need to know these fundamentals so we can refine our management," explained Batt.
Research Background
"The research is already proving valuable. Last year, the geese we tagged in Greenland didn't stop in the Maritimes at all. Instead they flew directly to Long Island, New York," said Mark Gloutney, Ducks Unlimited's conservation program manager in Atlantic Canada. The geese that did touch down in the Maritimes stayed longer than anticipated, possibly a result of last year's mild fall weather. Gloutney also said eight of the 24 geese tagged last year died, primarily during migration. This is a very low survival rate. Researchers are watching this year's survival rate with a keen eye.
Data Relay
This August, twenty geese from Labrador and four geese from New Foundland received transmitters. Weighing only 35 grams, the radio transmitters are attached to the birds with a flexible harness. The radio sends signals to satellites that circle the globe. The data is sent to a receiver on Earth and then transferred by Internet to the researchers' computers. The signals are timed to provide a location of the geese every third day.
Geese in Space
This year, twelve of the twenty-four birds are being tracked on the "Geese in Space" web site at www.ducks.org. See video footage of the birds and track them as they move through Atlantic Canada southward along the east coast of the United States. Questions about the research can be emailed directly to a waterfowl biologist involved in the study.
Ducks Unlimited's partners in the study include the Knox Foundation, Tudor Farms Incorporated, the NY Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Cornell University and the National Environmental Research Institute in Denmark.
Click Here to follow the migration.
You can follow these birds throughout this coming fall, winter and spring by continuing to visit our website at www.ducks.org. For more information, or to schedule an interview, please call Tildy La Farge at 901-758-3859.