There are an estimated 3 billion fewer birds in Canada and the United States today than there were in 1970. Long-distance migratory species, like the Hudsonian godwit, are declining at the highest rates.
Flying more than 13,000 km each way from Chile to Alaska to breed and raise its young, the Hudsonian godwit sometimes flies for a week without stopping. Migratory animals like the godwit are immensely important for the ecological services they provide, the biodiversity they offer, and the cultural richness they inspire.
But changes in climate and land use are relentlessly threatening many migratory species.
The goal of Western's Centre for Animals on the Move is to minimize this threat, by providing information scientists and leaders can use to conserve Canada's natural heritage of migratory animals.
"Canada cannot be resilient to the effects of changing climate and human activity without studying the health and mobility of its migratory species," said Chris Guglielmo, director of the Centre for Animals on the Move and a leading expert on how migratory birds rest and refuel during long flights.
After tagging a number of godwits last year, Guglielmo is leading a return expedition to Alaska this spring to recover data for unparalleled insight into the flight and plight of this record-breaking species.
Advancing the field of animal movement
Home to the Advanced Facility for Avian Research, a world-class hub for interdisciplinary studies of bird physiology, neurobiology and behaviour, Western's research isn't just for the birds.
Long recognized as a global leader in animal movement and migration research, Western boasts a core team of scientists and social scientists unrivaled by nearly any other university or research institution in the world. While there is a focused strength in bird migration studies, researchers at the Centre for Animals on the Move also investigate insects, bats, fish and all other creatures, great and small.
"All animals move at some life stage, and Western has researchers interested in all types of movement, even at the nanoscale," said Guglielmo, pointing to Western biology professor Natasha Mhatre's black widow spider web vibration studies as an example. "We really lead the way in the field of migration research. You can't study wildlife biology or animal conservation in Canada if you don't understand movement ecology."
Leveraging the world's most powerful animal tracking tool
Researchers at the Centre for Animals on the Move use the Motus Wildlife Tracking System, a Birds Canada-run technology that automatically tracks animals using radio signals. A new Western-led project is transforming Motus with improved technology and expanded Canadian coverage to make it the most powerful land-based animal tracking tool in the world. From an initial 150 stations funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation in 2012, Motus has grown its network to more than 2,000 stations in 34 countries, supporting more than 900 projects.
"Motus on the Move, our new project, will allow researchers to study the movement and migration of birds, bats, insects and fish, both experimentally and over the long term," Guglielmo said. "This will boost research and conservation efforts for hundreds of Motus users, providing solutions to biodiversity loss."
