The Waterloo Region Nature monthly meeting presents:
Presentation: The Motus Wildlife Tracking System – A hemispheric monitoring network for migratory animals
Some of the largest barriers to effective conservation and management of migratory animals is our ability to determine the importance of various landscapes and how they are utilized throughout their annual cycle. Our landscape includes numerous geographic (e.g. Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes, Mountains) and anthropogenic features (major urban centers, industrial, utility and transportation infrastructure) that might influence migratory animals use of and movement through the landscape. Gaining a better understanding of these processes will help decision-makers and other stake holders make informed and ecologically sound decisions with regards to wildlife management, policy, and regulation.
Automated radio-telemetry systems allow researchers to track the movements of radio-tagged birds, bats and insects throughout the land and seascape with unprecedented temporal precision. The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is a coordinated hemispheric collaboration of researchers maintaining a network of automated receiving stations throughout the Americas. Motus is a program of Bird Studies Canada (BSC) in partnership with collaborating researchers and organizations. The purpose of Motus is to facilitate landscape-scale research and education on the ecology and conservation of migratory animals. The current Motus array comprises over 300 stations across the Western Hemisphere operated by more than 50 collaborators.
Join Stu Mackenzie to learn about the program and discuss some preliminary results.
Presenter: Stuart Mackenzie
Stuart Mackenzie has been exploring the natural world and birding since the age of 2. He is currently the program manager of the Motus Wildlife Tracking System and the Long Point Bird Observatory at Bird Studies Canada (BSC). He has a MSc. in biology and over a decade of experience conducting, coordinating and managing monitoring and research projects on a wide variety of taxa. He is the current president of the Ontario Bird Banding Association and Chair of the North American Banding Council.