A sense of scale: connecting the dots of seabird movement ecology

Dr. Rachael Orben @RachaelOrben

Oregon State University

Tracking technology has exploded in the last 20 years, but there is still the need for continued miniaturization and sensor development. Through tracking, we gain the perspective of individual birds on their central-place foraging trips or migrations. Considering scale, in both time and space, is important, from overall distributions to fine-scale behaviors. Fine-scale data can help disentangle foraging events and seabird-boat interactions while species distributions over insights into multi-individual hotspots. Seabirds are declining globally, and the climate is changing. Maximizing data collected by loggers, and its subsequent use for ecology, conservation, and policy is integral to understanding how long-lived seabirds may fare as the oceans continue to change.

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