Cuba’s first motus tower for tracking migrant land birds

Abstract

Cuba’s first motus tower for tracking migrant land birds Keith Hobson, Professor and Research Scientist at Environment and Climate Change Canada and Western University, discusses updates in the expansion of tracking migratory birds in Central and South America, and the Caribbean. The conservation of migratory birds requires basic knowledge of connectivity between population-specific breeding, wintering, and stopover sites. This recognition has encouraged several government and NGO initiatives since many migratory species cross international borders during their annual travels. While the task is immensely difficult, an array of new tools is now available to track even small birds (~10g) using both intrinsic (e.g. stable isotope or genetic markers) and extrinsic (e.g. attached electronic devices) methods.