Seabirds may offer clues on climate
Source: Agencies |
October 22, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE secret life of seabirds at the bottom of the world may yield valuable clues about global climate change.
Australian researchers plan to learn more about the ecosystem of the southern ocean, including how it is changing, by attaching tiny tracking devices to the legs of snow petrels, one of only a handful of birds that breed exclusively in Antarctica.
"The information will tell us where the birds go and which marine habitats they use during the long winter months," said Colin Southwell, Australian Antarctic Division ecologist on the "Aurora Australia" research ship.
"If we know where they go in the southern ocean to forage for food, we are much more likely to focus and look for the kinds of environmental drivers that might be driving the population," he added.
The tracking devices are about the size of an adult's thumb and weigh only 1.5 grams.
Australian researchers plan to learn more about the ecosystem of the southern ocean, including how it is changing, by attaching tiny tracking devices to the legs of snow petrels, one of only a handful of birds that breed exclusively in Antarctica.
"The information will tell us where the birds go and which marine habitats they use during the long winter months," said Colin Southwell, Australian Antarctic Division ecologist on the "Aurora Australia" research ship.
"If we know where they go in the southern ocean to forage for food, we are much more likely to focus and look for the kinds of environmental drivers that might be driving the population," he added.
The tracking devices are about the size of an adult's thumb and weigh only 1.5 grams.
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