Student-led bird banding innovation spearheads continuation of data collection despite COVID-19
March 16, 2021
Two fisheries and wildlife undergraduate students, Hannah Landwerlen and Evan Griffis, designed and built a box that allows bird banding to be performed safely during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Jen Owen, associate professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
As the novel coronavirus pandemic began shuttering many business operations worldwide in March 2020, uncertainties abounded. There were more questions than answers, from personal and community health concerns to navigating new restrictions in the workplace.
Like many scientists, Jen Owen, an associate professor in the Michigan State University Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, endeavored to continue her research uninterrupted. She wondered how it could be done safely to avoid data gaps.
Posted on February 20, 2021 | Views: 580
cwebb2021-02-20T07:45:07-08:00
: A rich archive of data has illuminated the secret lives of birds…
The year was 1902. Paul Bartsch, a mollusk researcher at the Smithsonian Institution, wondered whether the aquatic snails he was studying could be spread from one body of water to another by aquatic birds. To find out, he needed to track the movements of birds. Bartsch hatched a plan. He fastened lightweight aluminum rings inscribed with the year, a serial number and a Smithsonian return address around the legs of 23 nestling black-crowned night herons that he captured along the Anacostia River outside Washington, D.C. And then Bartsch waited for news of the banded birds where they were sighted, what had become of them.
What Scientists Have Learned from 100 Years of Bird Banding scientificamerican.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from scientificamerican.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.